How to make handmade rice cakes

How to make handmade rice cakes:

The first step is the ingredients: the raw materials for making rice cakes are mainly glutinous rice and late japonica rice, collectively called "rice cake rice". The taste of rice cake and the length of storage time have a great relationship with the ratio of rice cake and rice. First, the rice cake and rice should be mixed together in a certain proportion, and the two kinds of rice should be mixed as evenly as possible. The ratio of glutinous rice to late japonica rice is usually 3:7. This ratio produces rice cakes that are neither glutinous nor glutinous, non-sticky, taste good, and can be stored for a long time. Some are also made according to the ratio of 4:6, but the rice cakes made in this way are often too glutinous and easy to stick to the mouth. And the storage time is not long. In addition to glutinous rice cakes, there are also millet rice cakes and corn rice cakes, but these are usually made by families with relatively difficult financial circumstances and food shortages.

The second step is to wash the rice: Next, the mixed rice cake rice must be washed. This process is called "rice washing". Washing rice is a very critical step, and it must be done in moderation. If the rice is soaked in water for too long, it will easily cause the "water head" to be too long. Rice with too long "water head" will easily stick to the grinding belly when grinding, and it will also stick to the stone mortar when making rice cakes. The rice cakes made will not be stored for a long time and will easily deteriorate. This process usually requires two people to complete it. One of them pours the rice into a bucket or water tank and soaks it for about 10 minutes, stirring it with hands or other tools to make the rice fully absorb the water; the other person then pours the rice cakes soaked in the water into the water. Wash the rice in river or pond water, remove impurities, then pour it into a prepared foot basket and let it dry on its own.

The third step is to grind powder: the tool used for grinding powder is a stone mill, which is composed of two circular stones. The fan can move in a circular motion with the grinding center in the middle of the fan being the center of the circle. Grinding rice cake flour is a very hard work. In the past, because there were few mills and time was tight, in order to grind dozens of households' rice flour in a few days, they had to work overtime day and night. Therefore, during the grinding period, farmers often You have to ask a few helpers to work all night long. At least four people are required to open a pair of mills, one is grinding (also called feeding the grinder), and the other three take turns grinding. The grinder stands in front of the stone mill, constantly adding rice grains from the feed hole, and controlling the thickness of the flour by adjusting the amount of rice added at the feed hole. The other three people take turns holding the grinding handle and pushing it clockwise. The stone grinder makes a circular motion to complete the grinding process. The ground flour should not be too coarse, nor should it be too fine. If it is too fine, the steaming will be "closed" (that is, the rice flour will be stuck in the steaming pan, the heat will not come up, and the rice flour will not be easily steamed). If it is too thick, the steaming will be "closed". It will affect the taste of rice cakes.

The fourth step is steaming: pouring the ground rice noodles into the steaming barrel and cooking to mature the rice noodles. This is the most technically demanding and most problematic procedure in the process of making rice cakes, - Generally, they are handled by experts with rich experience in this field, and people often call them "steam-watching people". People who watch steaming must skillfully master the operation sequence, grasp the temperature of the steam at any time, and sense the rawness and doneness of the rice noodles in time. The process of steaming rice noodles is to first put the rice noodles into a box made of wood or plastic, add cold water and stir it into a dough of about 1 to 2 cm in diameter. The amount of water added is determined according to the proportion of the two kinds of rice in the rice cake powder. Glutinous rice If it is less, add more water, otherwise, add less water. Next, slowly spread the dough ball on the steaming basket in the steaming bucket. A gauze or grass-based "steaming rice handkerchief" will be placed on the steaming basket in advance, and a handful of salt will be sprinkled on it. Its function is to prevent the rice noodles from leaking out. Putting it in the pot can also extend the storage time of rice cakes. When the flour ball covers the steaming basket, slowly and gently pour the remaining flour into the steaming bucket. Under normal circumstances, the time required to steam a bucket of flour is 7-8 minutes.

The fifth step is to make rice cakes: when all the rice noodles in the steaming barrel are steamed (the so-called "round steaming"), they can be put into the stone mortar to make rice cakes. This is the last process of making rice cakes, and it is also the most labor-intensive process, so it requires the cooperation of many people to complete it. A team usually consists of six or seven people, two of whom take turns making the steamer, and the others take turns making the cake. The so-called steaming means that one person sits in front of the stone mortar and constantly turns the dough in the stone mortar. Because the dough just out of the pan is very hot and can easily stick to the stone mortar and cannot be pulled out, so the person who steams it must move very quickly. .

The hammer used to beat the rice cake is made of sandalwood or palm tree and weighs up to forty kilograms, so those who participate in beating the rice cake need to be strong. When the steamed rice noodles are poured into the stone mortar, sprinkle some salt in the stone mortar to prevent it from sticking to the mortar. First use a hammer to gently flatten the cooked flour (to prevent splashing), and then start to beat the cake vigorously. The steamer took advantage of the moment when the hammer was raised, quickly leaned down, pulled a handful of dough balls into the mortar with both hands, and filled the hole made by the hammer. Beat it repeatedly in this way, and constantly apply some water on the dough until the rice cake is thoroughly beaten and tough. The time for steaming rice cakes is synchronized with the time for steaming rice noodles, which usually takes seven or eight minutes. When the rice cake is beaten and about to come out of the mortar, the steamer will make the rice cake into a mushroom shape. When the person watching the steaming shouts "yuanzhan", he will immediately take the beaten rice cake ball out of the stone mortar and put it on the cake making board. Use both hands to press the rice cake dough into the shape of a large gong, about 50 cm in diameter and 3 cm thick. After the rice cake is pressed into shape, apply a little cooking oil on it to make the surface smoother and more delicate. On the first piece of rice cake made, a red word "Yuan" must be written neatly with a calligraphy brush, which means "reunion and reunion."

The sixth step is to cut and dip the cake: After the rice cake is beaten, it is necessary to cut and dip the cake. After the rice cakes spread out on the bamboo mat are completely

cooled, you can cut the cakes. Cutting rice cakes is also very particular. You must first cut the piece with the word "Yuan" written on it. Cut two square pieces of rice cake about 12x12 cm into the rice cake with the word "Yuan" to greet the Bodhisattva in the New Year. Cut the rest into strips. Frozen rice cakes will affect the storage time and easily deteriorate and smell, so the cut rice cakes should be stacked in rows and covered with thin sheets, old clothes or coir raincoats to prevent freezing. After the rice cakes have been left to dry for about a week, they can be soaked in water and stored in a vat. The water used to soak rice cakes is also very particular. Winter water must be used to soak rice cakes. Winter water is the water before the "beginning of spring". Use winter water to soak rice cakes. The rice cakes are not easy to deteriorate and will last for a long time. However, rice cakes soaked in spring water after the "beginning of spring" will not be stored for a long time. Therefore, you must budget for the time when making rice cakes. Let the rice cakes fall into the water before the beginning of spring. The surface of the rice cake dipping tank should be covered with a bamboo plaque to prevent debris and insects from falling in. If the rice cakes are stored in the tank for a long time, a layer of white foam will appear on the water surface, and some sediment will accumulate around the tank. At this time, the water in the rice cake tank must be changed to keep the water clean.