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In 2009, the "Xiaoshan Dried Radish Making Technique" declared by Hezhuang Street, Qiantang New District, Hangzhou was included in the third batch of Zhejiang Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Dried radish has influenced generations of sandy people.
It has a long history
When it comes to dried radish, we have to mention River Village. Hezhuang is the protected place of Xiaoshan dried radish and the origin of Xiaoshan dried radish, dating back to 1890 and has a history of 130 years of production and processing.
As early as the early 1960s, farmers who had moved to reclamation areas due to the reclamation of land around the sea were working in the reclamation of saline and alkali land, planting "one knife seed" radish and making "wind and dehydration" dried radish, which became the main source of income for farmers in the sandy land throughout the year. The "wind dehydrated" dried radish made by farmers has been improved by several processes, crossed the ocean, and exported to foreign countries, becoming a cultural brand of dried radish in Hezhuang.
Excellent selection of materials
The reason why Dried Radish can become a delicacy for countless people's hearts and minds is that the ingredients are the key. The choice of radish is very knowledgeable: the fiber-dense sand radish varieties "one knife seed" and "plate vegetable seed" are the first, and the "cauliflower seed" has a large amount of water, and the dried radish made is slightly inferior.
"One knife seed" radish, a Xiaoshan farmhouse variety, is named because its length is similar to that of a kitchen knife and is processed in half with one knife. Its stress resistance is strong, cold and fertilizer resistant, the color is white and thick, the flesh is firm, the water content is small, the nutrient content is rich, and it is a good dry product species.
Traditional craftsmen like to use it as a raw material when making dried radish. Dried radish processed by traditional technology has the characteristics of yellow and bright color, thick flesh, uniform strips, sweet and crispy.
Excellent craftsmanship
In addition to the ingredients, the processing technique is also the key to the production of dried radish. Different from the "salt dehydrated" dried radish sold on the market now, in the eyes of the native sandy people, only "wind dehydration" is the authentic Xiaoshan dried radish. "Qualified dried radish must be salty and fragrant, and only 'wind and dehydration' can be fully achieved." Fang Jianming, the inheritor of the dried radish provincial intangible cultural heritage skills, said.
The key to making authentic "wind dehydrated" dried radish is "wind and sun". Every November, when the northwest wind whistles, the craftsmen wash and cut the harvested radishes (whiskers with strips and skins). After about a week, the radish strips are rolled up like cooked "old shrimp males", at which point they can be pickled with table salt.
In order to thoroughly refine the deliciousness of the radish, the radish strips must go through "three suns and three pickles". That is, when the weather is clear, put the previously pickled radish strips on the reed pad to dry again, and after a day or two, put them back into the jar and then pickle, repeatedly dry and marinate three times, so that they are fully fermented, and the dried radish is counted as made. In the production process, in addition to salt, no more condiments are put, and the most authentic aroma and taste of dried radish are retained to the greatest extent.
When storing, put the dried radish into the pottery altar, take the "vegetable stigma" and press it tightly, squeeze out the air, seal the altar mouth with mud, and then place the pottery altar upside down. In this way, dried radish can be stored for several years.
The older generation of Hezhuang people are familiar with this "wind and dehydration" technique, and the golden dried radish is not only a food, but also a cultural symbol of the sand. Its production skills represent the hard work and wisdom of Hezhuang people, and contain the profound cultural connotation and historical accumulation of Hezhuang Street in Qiantang New District, Hangzhou.
Source: Xinhua Qiantang New District News