"Come and buy Kueh leaves, practical and healthy!" Yesterday, the author saw several rural women setting up stalls selling Kueh leaves in several markets in Dongshandao County. The cries reminded the author that the most solemn Jia'an Festival (also known as "Xie Ping'an") folk custom in winter is being held one after another in various villages. "How much does this hanging kueh leaf cost?" the author asked, pointing to the kueh leaf the size of a bowl of noodles. "There are about 100 leaves in this hanging. It sells to you for 8 yuan. The red turtle cake is very good." ) celebrate the "Family Peace Festival" with the content of fulfilling one's wishes and repaying heaven and earth. Before this most grand and lively folk festival every year is about to come, almost every household will make the auspicious cake "Red Turtle Cake". This stuffed rice cake is round in shape, as thick as a moon cake, and looks like a raised turtle back. A little red food dye is added to the skin of the rice cake, hence the name "red turtle rice cake". It is both elegant and delicious.
Steamed red turtle cakes require padding at the bottom. In the past, several rice cake trees were planted in every village, which is both a beautiful environment and practical value. The villagers used to pick the leaves to make red turtle cakes during the festival. Later, many people also used clean bamboo leaves and banana leaves to make cakes. However, due to the scarcity of bamboo and bananas in Dongshan Island, and the irregular shapes of the leaves of these two plants, they both need to be pruned. The process is cumbersome, time-consuming and laborious. Most people think that Kuye leaves are better.
The round and green kueh leaves have a fragrance from nature and have health-care effects. In today's world where food is "green and pollution-free", it is very popular among people. The kueh leaves commonly used by Dongshan Island people since ancient times are collected from the Huangjin tree. This is a tenacious evergreen tree, several meters high, with leathery leaves, nearly round or broadly oval, with a diameter of 8 to 15 cm. It is very suitable for making kueh. , so people are accustomed to calling it "Kuai Ye Tree", but most people don't know its real name.
"Kui Ye Shu" has a sweet and light taste. It has the functions of clearing away heat and relieving cough, detoxifying and reducing swelling. It is mainly used to treat exogenous wind-heat, cough, stagnation of phlegm and fire, expectoration of yellow and thick phlegm, cough with lung heat, carbuncle swollen poison. ,bronchitis. In the last century when there was a lack of medical treatment and medicine, many rural people encountered diseases and picked the leaves of the "Kuaiye tree", decoction them or pound them and apply them to the affected area, which had certain curative effects.
In Dongshan Island, " red turtle " is not only made for the Jia'an Festival, but also for several other traditional festivals and happy events. The amount of Kueh leaves required is much larger than that of other counties. This is consistent with There is a certain relationship between the different dates of folk festivals in various villages.
Due to the different dates of the festival, people are used to making a large number of "red turtle cakes". Relatives and friends come and go, giving each other cakes, and also commenting on whose "hands" are good at making the red turtle cakes. As the saying goes, "Health depends on exercise, and relationships depend on walking." Giving each other cakes can help connect people and enhance family ties.
Some families have many relatives, make a lot of "red turtles" during festivals, and use a lot of rice cake leaves, especially in villages where a "big good thing" (also known as "making a Jiao") is done every 12 years. The amount of leaves required is several times more than in previous years. In the past, people had to ask relatives and friends to help pick.
Nowadays, some smart people meet the consumption needs of people during folk festivals. Every summer, when the branches of Kueh leaves are in full bloom, they use their spare time to pick Kueh leaves, dry them and distribute them to relatives and friends. Some use them one by one. The strings are strung together and then sold in the market during the slack season in winter.
At the market in Dongshandao County, I saw quite a lot of people buying Kueh leaves. A well-educated rural sister-in-law gave a thumbs up and introduced to the author: "Kui Ye is covered with 'Red Turtle', which is red with green in it. There is a fragrance from nature, with a unique flavor!
Editor | Tian Zai Pictures | Lin Changhua
