Aroma of Handmade Rice Cake Symbolizes the Start of Lunar New Year / 過年這一味 純手工柴燒年糕
Aroma of Handmade Rice Cake Symbolizes the Start of Lunar New Year
◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
For many Taiwanese, the start of the Lunar New Year holidays is marked by the aroma of rice cake cooking in a steamer over a wood-fired stove. The smell of blazing firewood intertwined with a sweet caramel aroma is amplified by the puffs of steam that rush upward each time the steamer is opened. The sight is hypnotic, ritualistic and ceremonial. It is a beacon embedded deeply in our memories, calling us home so we can be together during this special time of the year.
Mr. Ciou Shuang-ming, a catering business chef, says that when he was growing up, his grandparents always made rice cakes the traditional way, in a big steamer over a wood-fired stove. The burning wood created a thick perfume throughout the house, and cast a warm orange glow over faces filled with excitement and anticipation. Sweets were rare treats in those days, so children would hang around the stove during the cooking process, waiting for the sugar-laden rice cakes to be ready.
Memories are often triggered by the smell and taste of food associated with happy moments. Mr. Ciou's wife, Lin Man-jin, says the family missed the flavor of grandma's rice cake too much to let the custom fade away. There was no precise recipe, so the couple began to experiment. Finally, their efforts were rewarded. Their daughter put her stamp of approval on one effort by declaring it tasted: "Just like the ones grandma used to make it." Since then, Ms. Lin has been making rice cakes every year.
There are just three ingredients: glutinous rice, water and caster sugar. The rice is soaked in water, then ground into a milky paste (preferably using a traditional stone grinder). The paste is poured into a cotton bag, and kneaded vigorously to rid it of excess moisture. The dough that comes out of the bag is slightly brittle, and is broken into even-sized chunks. Sugar is mixed in at this stage, followed by gentle kneading until every grain is broken down, and a glutinous, springy batter formed. It is this stage where experience counts most. It took Mr. Ciou a number of years to be able to identify the perfect texture with his hands. The dough is then poured into molds and put in a gigantic steamer. From this point on, the process calls for immense patience. The rice cake stays in the steamer for 24 hours, and is opened every hour so the batter can be stirred in order to achieve an even texture when eventually cooked through. The rice cakes gradually take on a darker shade as the sugar slowly caramelizes, and stirring becomes more and more laborious as the cake begins to set. At the end of this cooking marathon, the process
yields several amber-colored rounds which are sweet but not overly so. Mr. Ciou says using a firewood stove makes a world of difference in terms of aroma, texture, and color. Making rice cakes represents the accumulated wisdom of his ancestors, so he and his wife are proud to carry it on. In fact, they spend a lot of time collecting driftwood for the stove.
Ms. Lin says rice cakes are really not that difficult to make; the only requirement is a lot of patience. As long as you follow the recipe and do not resort to substitutes, and follow each step to the letter, it is hard to fail. Ms. Lin's annual rice-cake production begins two weeks before Lunar New Year's Eve (the 2013 Lunar New Year's Eve falls on February 8). She says that as production peaks, eight stoves are roaring at the same time, which is quite a sight. This hustle and bustle of rice cake production announces that Lunar New Year is around the corner.
Where to Buy?
Lin Man-jin's Handmade Firewood Steamed Rice Cakes
Tel: 07-6812391
過年這一味純手工柴燒年糕
◎文／侯雅婷
柴燒年糕是許多人記憶裏過年的味道，就像儀式般，過年總在瀰漫著柴燒煙味中展開，掀起鍋蓋剎那間，裊裊白煙襲來，飄出一抹焦糖香氣，喚起過年團圓的印象。美濃區總鋪師邱雙明談起，祖父母過年時一定會製作年糕，燒柴時，滿屋的燒柴香，柴火火光映在人們臉上，呈現暖暖的橘紅色，在物質相對匱乏的年代，小孩們沒什麼甜食解饞，因此製作年糕時，孩子們總是圍著那鍋年糕打轉。
食物的味道是有記憶的。邱雙明的太太林滿金說，想念婆婆做的年糕滋味，動手做起了年糕，經過不斷的實驗，他們發現，歷經24小時的柴燒年糕呈現出最美味也最軟Ｑ的口感，女兒的一句：「這個味道跟阿嬤做得年糕一樣！給了林滿金年年製作年糕的動力。
邱雙明表示，年糕製程需先將純糯米磨成米漿，再把米漿水份瀝出，將其揉碎，再加與純白糖混合，經過不停的搓揉，產生糊狀，動作全憑手感，搓到顆粒感都不見了，口感才好吃。之後放入大鍋隔水蒸煮，期間不斷地加柴火且每小時得攪拌一次，年糕慢慢地變色並且變濃稠，越到後面攪拌時越費勁，24小時後 ，琥珀色帶有焦糖香氣的年糕起鍋。邱雙明特別提起 ，柴燒是老祖先的智慧，以燒柴烹飪食物，口感和風味都鮮明了起來，也因此他們不嫌麻煩地撿拾漂流木 ，以柴燒方法製作年糕。
林滿金說，製作柴燒年糕其實不難，用料實在、再加上得耐著性子按步就班地完成每個步驟。林滿金的手工年糕從小年夜(2013年2月8日)的前半個月開始製作，她說製作時同時燒製8鍋年糕，那畫面才好看，在鍋爐爭相冒著白煙的過程中宣告，年又近了！
哪裡買?
林滿金純手工柴燒年糕：07-6812391