Xuwu Temple Behind Grandma's Rice Cake Introduction
In Xuwu, returning hometown youths inevitably visit Shuntian Temple to find Grandma and have a bowl of her rice pudding with meat soup, easing their homesickness. Many locals in Xuwu have been eating Grandma's rice pudding since their elementary school days. When they grow up and venture elsewhere for study or work, even after getting married and having children, they bring their whole family back to enjoy it, telling the younger generations that this is the rice pudding they’ve fondly remembered since childhood. Grandma (Li Xie Ju Hua, born in 1939) was originally a farmer who sold groceries by cart during the off-season. A relative was doing business near the market and suggested she set up a stall there, which was less strenuous, leading her to begin making and selling rice pudding. The ingredients for Grandma's rice pudding include: shallots, fried shallots, salted eggs, pork, and traditional rice. The steps are: 1. Sauté pork, shallots, and fried shallots until fragrant, then set aside. 2. Grind the traditional rice into a rice slurry and dilute it with boiled water. 3. Place the sautéed pork and salted eggs in a bowl, scoop in the diluted rice slurry, and steam until cooked. It is customary to enjoy the rice pudding with soup. Grandma's soup started with crowntail fish soup but later switched to meat soup due to the scarcity of crowntail fish. The meat soup recipe involves blanching pork and bok choy, boiling water with cornstarch, adding the blanched pork and bok choy, bringing it to a boil, and adding seasoning to complete the dish. The meat soup noodles are prepared by placing cooked noodles into a bowl and scooping...
