Author: Kunik
Kueh is the soul of Chaoshan.
Speaking of Chaoshan, many people's first reaction is to think of kung fu tea.
However, there is another unshakable food in Chaoshan that is as important as tea: kueh (guo).
As a food that also fascinates Chaoshan people, kueh is the soul of Chaoshan.
To get to know a Chaoshan person, don't eat with them, eat kueh with them.
图 | pexels-elly-fairytale ©
On the eighth festival of the year, Chaoshan people often greet each other:
"Lu Shi Kuewei?"
Excuse me, what is this question asking?
Those who have dealt with Chaoshan people may be able to blurt out: "Have you eaten kueh?" ”
Wrong!
I can responsibly tell you that if this is placed in the exam, you can also get a little comfort point from the teacher, this is not a translation question, but a short-answer question.
The correct answer depends on when.
When I asked you for the New Year, did you eat fermented kueh? When Qingming asked you, did you eat Pu seed cake? When I asked you during the Dragon Boat Festival, did you eat gardenia kueh......
If you ask it in ordinary times, this question is almost unsolvable, because in Chaoshan, the types of kueh are comparable to the stars in the sky.
A Chaoshan ballad is sung well:
"Chaoshan people, still eat kueh, oil kueh, sweet kueh, pomegranate kueh, flour kueh, fermented kueh, fried kueh, horseshoe crab (hou) kueh, soft kueh, beef kueh, cabbage round and shelled peach kueh."
In terms of making kueh, Chaoshan people are not only talented, but also quite industrious, and the combination of the two has a variety of kueh products.
If you go to Chaoshan for the first time, there is a high probability that you will be dizzy by all kinds of kueh.
Although they are all processed with rice flour, flour, potato flour, etc., each type of kueh is very different in shape, color, filling, and taste.
Most importantly, the naming method of kueh is the title party.
There are no rats in the rat shell kueh, only fillings such as rat koji grass kueh skin and glutinous rice and peanuts.
There are no red peaches in the red peach cake, and some are shiitake mushrooms, peanuts, glutinous rice, etc.
Kueh sauce is not the juice we drink, but a soup made of kuay skin with sauce, marinated large intestine, etc.
There are also names such as horseshoe crab kueh, grass kueh, saltwater kueh, cabbage kueh, etc., which are all concocted in the same way.
Figure | Picture Worm Creativity ©
Forget about the title party, eating the same kind of kueh in Chaoshan is like opening a blind box.
Serve a plate of red peach cake, you just ate a mushroom glutinous rice filling, think about eating another one becomes sweet glutinous rice filling, try another one and turn it into peanut crushed filling.
After going to Chaoshan, others ask you, what does the red peach cake taste like? You have mixed tastes in the same place, and you can only give the answer after thinking for a long time: I don't know.
Without taking a bite, you never know if the kueh is sweet or salty.
This can't be blamed on Chaoshan people, after all, kueh bao has been inherited for a long time.
Figure | Jacket ©
In the old days, Chaoshan people went to the sea to make a living, and other food was inconvenient to bring, so they used rice to grind into flour, and what was wrapped around them made kueh.
When you're hungry, take it out and heat it up, and you can carry three meals a day.
Looking back now, kueh is actually a little comfort in the suffering years of our ancestors, and it is also a carrier of the spirit of hardship.
The companionship in those difficult years made Chaoshan people more determined: everything can be kueh.
Passed down from generation to generation, the industrious Chaoshan people have painstakingly researched many types of kueh.
Eat it on holidays, drink tea, eat it as three meals, and eat it as a snack...... So today, kueh has become inseparable from the Chaoshan people.
For the Chaoshan people, kueh is not only a food, but also carries the culture engraved into the bones of the Chaoshan people.
If you want to understand Chaoshan, you must first understand Kueh.
图 | Pexels-Bryanken ©
Chaoshan people who grew up by the sea used to have to look up to God to make a living, and they had to sacrifice and pray for blessings every once in a while.
Over time, Chaoshan people have a lot of gods to worship.
On the fifteenth day of the new year, you have to worship, you have to worship during the New Year's holidays, you have to worship for blessings, and there are other miscellaneous local customs.
In these important festivals, kueh is the most critical link.
Children don't understand anything, but when their parents make kueh, they know that they have to worship God.
No matter how busy they are, Chaoshan people have to take time out to worship God, and they are particular about when to do what to worship.
Make fermented kueh and red peach kueh during the Chinese New Year, make Pu seed kueh on the Qingming Festival, and make gardenia kueh on the Dragon Boat Festival......
Chaoshan people can forget to eat, forget to go to work, and even if they forget to sleep, they will not forget what to do and worship any god.
Because of different kueh, different good wishes are placed.
Figure | © Yu
Take the Dragon Boat Festival as an example, it is called the May Festival by the Chaoshan people.
In the eyes of Chaoshan people, May is the "evil month". The weather is often hot and humid, which breeds mosquitoes and makes it easy to get upset.
Therefore, Chaoshan people will mash the gardenia that can clear heat, mix the gardenia juice with glutinous rice batter and steam it, and it becomes gardenia kueh.
When eating, you don't need to cut it with a knife, cut it into slices with white thread, and then dip it in some sugar to eat, you can fight against a whole "evil moon".
And eating gardenia kueh is called "eating strong" by Chaoshan people.
▲Gardenia kueh, a bit similar to sweet kueh, is broken down into pieces of yarn and dipped in sugar
When I was a child, adults would always serve "Zhuang" on the table while popularizing science for children, and after eating, their bodies became stronger and stronger.
I don't know if the body is strong or not, but what other children can think of when they reach the Dragon Boat Festival is zongzi, while Chaoshan children are special, and they are all "strong and strong" in their minds.
Under the perseverance of adults, every Chaoshan child can say the meaning of one or two kueh.
The red peach cake, which is shaped like a longevity peach, symbolizes good luck.
Figure | Maybe it will be red~ ©
The fermented kueh steamed on the surface until it is cracked, also known as the fat cake, and the part that is cracked is called "laughing mouth", and the bigger the "laughing mouth", the more good luck and wealth.
Figure | Picture Worm Creativity ©
The Pu seed cake used to worship ancestors during the Qingming Festival is a unique way of remembering the ancestors of Chaoshan people.
Figure | Bucket waist big ingots ©
In addition to festivals, in all aspects of life, Chaoshan people can have a relationship with Kueh and skillfully give it a beautiful meaning.
Like the unique coming-of-age ceremony "out of the garden" in the Chaoshan area.
When every child reaches the age of 15, parents will "go out of the garden" on the seventh day of the seventh month or on an auspicious day.
Make some auspicious kueh pin to worship the god of in-laws, sprinkle water soaked in 12 kinds of flowers, implying that children can go out of the garden and grow up.
There are also weddings and funerals, etc., kueh is an indispensable thing.
When I was a child, I felt that adults were very superstitious, and I couldn't finish making kueh and worshipping gods, and I didn't understand why I had to work hard to make kueh to worship God.
Later, I gradually understood that the kueh that was given various meanings was actually a belief in beauty.
And making kueh is the ability of Chaoshan people to believe in beauty by their own hands.
图 | Pexels-Cristian-Rojas ©
The yearning for beauty is hidden in the kueh, and the longing for home is also hidden in the kueh.
In Chaoshan, there is a saying that "there is no bitterness but sweet cake".
In the past, in order to have a better life, Chaoshan people left their hometowns to work hard.
Other foods are prone to spoilage, but sweet kueh has a long shelf life, so you will make some sweet kueh before going out to satisfy your hunger.
Those who are forced to make a living, and miss their wives and children at home, can no longer restrain themselves after eating a bite of sweet kueh on the road.
This is the best portrayal of the Chaoshan people who are working hard outside at that time.
Many Chaoshan people who are outside will go up to take a look when they see a small shop or stall selling kueh, because in everyone's eyes:
Kueh Li is the breath of hometown.
Figure | Secretly drink milk tea ©
Chaoshan people are a group of family lovers, so they all have a soft spot for kueh.
When I was young, I didn't have any concept of festivals, but when Grandma took out the flour and began to knead the dough, she knew that it was time for the festival.
At this time, the Chaoshan children will be very happy and want to make kueh.
Learn from Grandma's appearance, gather around the small table, knead some dough, knead it into a bowl, dig some filling with a spoon, wrap it up and roll it round, and then press it into the mold to print the shape carving.
And Grandma will always teach you how to look better on the side, while constantly reminding you not to get your clothes dirty.
But no amount of reminders will help, and no matter how hard the children try, they will fail Grandma.
After making it, it will always be covered in flour, and when the kueh is steamed, you can easily tell which kueh is made by yourself, and the thick kueh skin is made by yourself.
Despite this, every time the children make kueh, they will still insist on playing around the small table, and grandma will also teach patiently.
This is a childhood memory that only belongs to Chaoshan people, and these memories make every Chaoshan person equate kueh with home.
图 | Pexels-nadezhda-moryak ©
Every time before the festival, you can find that some Chaoshan people around you have booked a ticket to go home early, no Chaoshan people do not want to go home, only when they go home, can they have the atmosphere of the festival.
But more often than not, due to work, I can't go home a lot of the time.
At this time, the kueh sent from home has become the best comfort for Chaoshan people.
Steamed a plate of steaming kueh, and after eating, I had a video with my family to talk about homely things, although I couldn't reunite, but my heart was still warm enough.
Kueh is home.
It can be said that a small kueh is full of thoughts and advice from family members.
No food can replace the status of kueh in the hearts of Chaoshan people.
Just as there is no Chaoshan person who does not miss his hometown.
图 | Nam Quan Nguyen ©
A few years ago, kueh was inscribed as an intangible cultural heritage.
It was supposed to be a happy thing, but I was a little worried.
In recent years, when I returned to my hometown, I found a very small detail: everyone no longer uses the previous wooden kueh seals, but plastic kueh seals.
It's a signal, a sign that something is dying.
You must know that if you want to make a good kueh, it is a very particular thing.
The most important thing is the kueh seal.
▲Wooden kueh seal (Figure 1, Figure 2, source network)
In the past, Chaoshan people used wooden kueh seals, compared with today's cookie-cutter plastic kueh seals, the printed kueh is fine and beautiful.
There is no other reason, it takes a lot of effort to carve the kueh seal, from the selection of wood to polishing, any step must not be sloppy, it takes a long time.
But in this fast-paced era, wooden kuay seals are gradually being replaced by plastic kueh seals made from assembly lines.
The generation that mastered the craft grew old, and there were no successors, and the wooden kueh seals that could be seen everywhere when I was a child became very few.
This is followed by the craft of making kueh.
Although Chaoshan people have a soft spot for kueh, making kueh is really troublesome and unattractive to the younger generation.
Many Chaoshan people have also gradually moved to the metropolis, returning to their hometowns only once a year, and more people buy kueh directly from the market for convenience.
Over time, the craft began to gradually disappear.
图 | pexels-lifephotographer ©
There are also those slang terms related to kueh.
It is used to describe the impossible "begging and throwing kueh";
describe the "virtuous and elegant cake" who is good at doing superficial articles;
The "bite cake" that describes things is exposed......
All came to an end with the decline of the craft.
To be honest, it's quite uncomfortable.
Will there be a day when the older generation dies and the next generation grows up, and there are only a handful of people who have mastered this craft?
The fun of making kueh when I was young, the expectation of steamed kueh, and grandma's advice can only stay in memory.
This will undoubtedly give Chaoshan a sad undertone.
图 | pexels - makafood ©
When I returned to Shantou for the Chinese New Year this year, I was walking in the old city one day, and I heard the rhythmic sound of "bell bell" not far away.
Very familiar voice, getting closer.
It was Ah Bo, a straw cake seller, riding an old bicycle with a pot full of straw kueh in the back seat.
My favorite thing in the past was to grab a few cent-to-cent bills from my grandmother and buy a bowl of hunger.
But nowadays, there are fewer and fewer people who sell straw kueh, and I haven't seen such an ancient way of selling grass kueh for many years.
When he got closer, I stopped him:
"Uncle, if the grass cake is full of money, the bowl will come."
I scanned the QR code hanging on the front of the car with my phone and paid.
Then Abel got back on his bike, and the familiar sound sounded again.
"Bell, bell, bell, ......"
The sound is getting farther and farther away......
图 | Pexels-Rachel-Claire ©