Chapter 396 Origin
Princess Lejia said to Chen Huazheng excitedly: "Zhengzheng, I will make Tangbuliang with you."
Chen Huazheng and Zhou Ying exchanged glances and knew that Aning would definitely not be able to hold back.
"Okay, then wash your hands and come with us."
There is a story behind many delicacies.
The origin of Tangbushuang is actually related to a myth.
Legend has it that Lu Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, passed by a place and found many people smoking opium there.
Lu Dongbin was well aware of the harm of opium to the human body and was determined to help the people in that area quit their smoking addiction.
So, he came up with an idea. He hid the elixir that could cure smoking addiction in balls made of glutinous rice flour, and then coated them with syrup, peanuts, sesame seeds, etc. to make the sweet and sticky "Tangbushuang".
The name "Tangbushuang" implies that the syrup sticks to the pill and the two cannot be separated.
Later, Lu Dongbin transformed himself into an old man, carrying a load on his shoulder and selling things on the street.
After people ate the candy, their smoking addiction was immediately broken.
Each of them felt like they were reborn and returned to their normal lives.
It is for this reason that Tangbushuang is also called "Ruyi Fruit", symbolizing a happy and fulfilling life.
Grandma said that in the past, when men and women went on blind dates, sugar played a very important role.
People were more reserved at that time, especially girls.
After the blind date, whether the guy likes or not, he will not say it easily, but use sweet soup to express the girl's feelings.
If the girl likes the boy, her family will serve her a piece of candy which symbolizes sweetness, happiness and contentment.
When the matchmaker saw it, he knew that he was about to get the big red envelope.
When the man saw that the sweet soup served on the table was made of sugar, he knew that the girl’s family was quite satisfied with him.
If after finishing one bowl, the man asks for another bowl, it means that both parties are interested in this marriage.
If what appears on the table is a bowl of sweet bean curd soup with beaten eggs, then the plan is doomed.
Princess Lejia washed her hands, and the making of Tangbushua began.
The cooks followed the instructions and divided the glutinous rice flour into two portions and put them into two bowls respectively.
Chen Huazheng then had someone add room temperature water to the glutinous rice flour in one of the basins, but the water was not poured into the basin all at once.
Instead, one person stirs the dough in a bowl while another person slowly pours water into it.
Add water while stirring.
Stir thoroughly until there is no white powder in the bowl.
Add freshly boiled water to the glutinous rice flour in another bowl using the same method and make sure to stir thoroughly.
Then they are kneaded together and tanned repeatedly.
In a short while, the dough became smooth and soft in the cook's hands.
Shen Huazheng looked at the tanned dough and nodded with satisfaction.
The next step was to divide the glutinous rice dough into small balls. Princess Lejia came over.
"Zheng Zheng, I'll come and help too."
"Okay, we'll have to put the glutinous rice balls into the pot and cook them later, so don't knead them too much, otherwise they won't taste good."
As she spoke, Shen Huazheng rolled a small ball as a demonstration: "It should be about this size."
The finished candy should not be shaken, and it is best to make it into a size that can be swallowed in one bite.
One bite at a time, perfect.
Everyone in the kitchen, including Princess Lejia and Zhou Ying, silently noted the size of the little fat ball in Shen Huazheng’s hand and began to rub it.
Soon, round and small glutinous rice balls appeared obediently on the chopping board.
Chen Huazheng asked someone to light a pot, added an appropriate amount of water to it and brought it to a boil, and then put all the glutinous rice balls into the pot.
While Shen Huazheng was cooking sugar, the cooks ground the roasted peanuts into peanut crumbs according to Shen Huazheng's instructions.
Take the roasted sesame seeds and coconut flakes and put them into the bowl along with the chopped peanuts.
Qingzhi also beat an egg, spread it into egg skin, cut it into shreds, and set it aside.
As the water in the pot continued to boil, glutinous rice balls floated on the water one after another.
Princess Lejia stood aside and watched eagerly. Tangbushuang and Tangyuan really look alike.
However, she had just seen that there was no filling in the tangbushuang, which was different from the glutinous rice balls.
Besides, Zheng Zheng also said that there is no sugar if the sugar is not poured out.
So they just look similar, the taste should be quite different.
When the glutinous rice balls in the pot floated on the water, Shen Huazheng scooped them all up and rinsed them with cold water again.
Princess Lejia: "Zhengzheng, why do you have to go through cold water again?"
Chen Huazheng: "If you don't cool the water now, the glutinous rice balls will easily stick together when you boil the sugar later."
For making sugar, boiling sugar is a very important step.
Shen Huazheng did not choose to use brown sugar, but asked someone to bring rock sugar.
The syrup made with rock sugar is not that dark in color, and the candies made later will look better.
Shen Huazheng lit another pot, poured rock sugar into it, picked up the spatula and started frying the sugar.
After high-temperature roasting and frying, the rock sugar in the pot gradually turns brown, and the sweet fragrance comes out immediately.
Seeing that the rock sugar had turned into caramel, Zhou Ying, who was standing by, poured clean water into the pot at the right time.
As she moved, a stream of steam came out of the pot.
Shen Huazheng put the sliced ginger into the pot and started to boil the syrup.
The addition of ginger slices masked the original sweet fragrance a lot. As the temperature continued to rise, the caramel aroma and the spicy aroma of ginger slices collided with each other and drifted in the air.
Princess Lejia couldn't help but sniff the sweet fragrance at the tip of her nose. It smelled so good! !
Just by smelling the syrup, you can tell that the Tangbushuang must be delicious.
According to what Zheng Zheng said just now, the glutinous rice dumplings should also be put into the syrup pot and cooked later.
It will definitely taste sweet then.
As Princess Lejia expected, seeing that the syrup in the pot was almost cooked, Shen Huazheng put the glutinous rice balls that had been rinsed with cold water into the pot and started cooking over medium heat.
During the steaming process, Shen Huazheng kept holding a spoon and slowly stirring the glutinous rice balls in the pot until each glutinous rice ball was coated with tempting syrup.
When the sugar buns were taken out of the pot, there was no extra syrup left in them.
Princess Lejia looked at her with admiration, thinking that Zheng Zheng was so amazing that not a single bit of syrup was wasted.
Zhou Ying also stood by and carefully wrote down every step.
I plan to follow the steps again when I get back.
Chen Huazheng put the glutinous rice balls evenly coated with syrup into a bowl, and then sprinkled crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut flakes and shredded eggs on them.
"The sugar is ready, let's go have afternoon tea."
"Walk!!"
*
The three of them came to Chen Huazheng's yard and sat down. The maids swiftly placed the sugar candies and freshly brewed tea in front of them.
Chen Huazheng spoke first: "Cousin Ying, Aning, try it and see how it tastes."
Princess Lejia couldn't help looking at the golden, round candies.
She picked up a bamboo stick beside her, picked up a candy, and put it into her mouth.
As soon as the candy was put into her mouth, Princess Lejia was slightly stunned.
Tangbushuang and tangyuan look very similar, like twin sisters.
But there is a big difference in the way they taste.
When you take a bite, you first feel the crispy and crunchy peanuts and sesame seeds wrapped around it.
The next moment, the rich coconut aroma suddenly touches the tip of the tongue, then lingers between the lips and teeth, and even throughout the entire mouth.
I don’t know if it’s because there’s no filling inside or because it was boiled and then washed with cold water.
Compared with rice dumplings and other glutinous rice-crusted snacks, tangbushua tastes chewier.
Because it is coated with syrup, the sugar cake tastes slightly sweet but not too sweet.
When you chew it, two completely different textures of crispness and chewiness explode in your mouth at the same time.
If you taste it carefully, the crispy fragrance of peanuts, the rich aroma of sesame, the sweetness of coconut, the fresh fragrance of eggs and the unique spicy aroma of ginger juice blend together to bring the ultimate enjoyment to your taste buds.
The more you chew it, the more delicious it becomes, and the more you enjoy it.
Princess Lejia curled her eyebrows in pleasure, it was so delicious.
No wonder Zheng Zheng sprinkles shredded eggs on the outside of the sugar-coated dumplings in addition to other fillings. It turns out they taste so delicious.
Chen Huazheng and Zhou Ying also ate the candy bite by bite and drank a sip of tea from time to time.
The texture of Tangbushuang is soft, sweet and not sticky at all.
Compared with glutinous rice balls, the sugar-free dumplings have a more crispy and smooth texture.
Zhou Ying swallowed the candy in her mouth, and a flash of surprise passed through her eyes.
I originally thought that the presence of shredded egg was a bit redundant, as other ingredients would go better with the sugar-coated dumpling.
But only when you actually put it in your mouth will you realize how delicious the sugar-coated dumplings with shredded eggs are.
The shredded egg is not only not redundant, but also the finishing touch.
“I didn’t expect shredded egg to go so well with this soft and sticky dessert.”
Chen Huazheng ate the Tangbushuang happily: "Actually, you can also add egg shreds to the Tangbushuang, but I think it will be more fragrant with it."
She likes to eat this kind of glutinous food the most.
It is crispy, sweet and delicious.
Zhou Ying nodded to show her agreement.
“It’s really fragrant, and the taste is completely different.”
In order to verify the importance of shredded eggs in this dessert, Zhou Ying even ate one without shredded eggs.
As expected, adding shredded eggs will make it much more fragrant.
Princess Lejia swallowed the candy in her mouth, then picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"In fact, besides the name of "Tang Bu Shuan", I think the name "Yuan Tang" is also very suitable for it."
Zhou Ying was stunned: "Original soup?"
Princess Lejia knew that Zhou Ying didn't understand what she meant, so she explained: "It's the word 'tangyuan' reversed, 'yuantang'. Don't you think that tangbushuang and tangyuan are two completely opposite foods?"
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