This time of year I am always inundated with 粽 though the fact that everybody who lives near me is Hakka speaker they call them gore chungs. They are something say mashed peanuts and dried prawn sometimes a bit of sausage inside the red lap chongs 臘腸 you get.It is supposed to honour somebody or something, I forget who and most Chinese people forget who as well (my dad and his family do not know) it is supposed to be some poet or something,
But around May/ June all the old women in Southern China suddenly get an urge to wrap beans similar to a tuscan style bean soup. Or peanuts, and small amounts dried prawn around some pre cooked sticky rice. Then to wrap it up in bamboo leaves and tie it up with a string, TCG is currently the only Chinese person hanging around this whole area and gets given loads of them, they are either strange pyramidal shape or bar shape. Wikipedia says northern style is the bar shape while southern style is pyramid shape. This is wrong though as Mrs Lo ten doors down is a southerner, Mrs XQ something something something, is a northerner who lived in Zuhai and also makes them pyramid shape. While my aunts make them bar shape because it is simply easier.
Men don't make these things (this is my excuse anyway) The problem with this description is that northerners don't tend to eat rice anyway, so where would they get the rice from?
Anyway they come round and dump them on me I currently have about 25 of them well 24 (burp).
But they are delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother use to tell me that they represent old tiny shoes, which now that I think of it, lily shoes for foot bound women? I sure hope not. And the funny thing is that, none of the old women in my family will teach me how to make them, telling me that I'm too young. Just like many other Chinese traditions in my family which is all "learn by watching". Silly really.
But they are delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother use to tell me that they represent old tiny shoes, which now that I think of it, lily shoes for foot bound women? I sure hope not. And the funny thing is that, none of the old women in my family will teach me how to make them, telling me that I'm too young. Just like many other Chinese traditions in my family which is all "learn by watching". Silly really.
The first one or two are ok, but the local grannies here tend to bring me quite literally boat loads of them so after the 10th one which they WATCH you eat they tend to quickly lose their appeal.
ReplyDelete