Tracing the Origin·Memory of Rice Cake in Folk Festivals and Customs
In the extremely vast rice-growing cultural area of China, pastries made with rice as raw materials often carry extremely profound folk significance and connotations. Rice cake, as a traditional steamed pastry category with a very long history, the production technology and craftsmanship are passed down from generation to generation among the people, especially occupying a very important position in various festival etiquette. In the past years, every household would steam steamed cakes during festivals or sacrifices, choosing the auspicious meaning of the word "Fa" to symbolize that the days could rise step by step, and wealth would flow in like a stream of water. This kind of snack transformed from ordinary rice is not only a market snack that can satisfy the appetite, but also a taste link that can connect family emotions and regional culture. The process of making it is often led by the female elders in the family. Through oral and heart-to-heart teaching, skills and experience are passed down together, forming a typical community-family inheritance model of intangible cultural heritage.
Process analysis of manufacturing methods and traditional handicrafts
An art closely related to the balance of water, rice, fire and time is the art of making traditional rice cakes. First of all, the core process lies in the selection of materials. It needs to use high-quality non-glutinous rice, which must be washed repeatedly and then soaked with clean water until the rice grains fully absorb water and soften. In traditional craftsmanship, slow stone grinding is the key to obtaining fine rice milk. Its low-temperature, low-speed grinding method can retain the original flavor and aroma of rice to the greatest extent. This is slightly different in texture from the high-speed cutting of modern electric mixers. The ground rice pulp needs to be slurried, and the excess water is filtered out with the help of cloth bags to obtain fine wet rice flour, which is the basis of the "embryo body".
Then, it enters the "pulping" and "fermentation" stages that play a decisive role in the flavor. Among them, the technical difficulty lies in the blending of "raw and cooked rice milk": select a small part of the raw rice milk and slowly heat it over a low fire until it is slightly mature to form a paste, and then mix it with the remaining raw rice milk. This step, with the help of gelatinization, is used to increase the thickness of the rice milk and its ability to retain gas, laying the foundation for the straight state and hole structure of the cake to be made later. The key link, called the "fermentation process", has been done for a long time in the past, relying on "old pulp" or "noodle seeds" as natural yeast species. People engaged in related techniques observe the shape of the bubbles on the surface of the slurry involved, and then smell the sour aroma emitted by the slurry to judge the state of the fermentation. Generally speaking, it needs to be left in a temperature environment that meets appropriate standards for many hours until the slurry appears to expand and its interior takes on a dense honeycomb-like shape. If it has become too sour, then a small amount of edible lye needs to be used to neutralize it, and this all relies on the sensory experience accumulated by the operator over a long period of time.
Aesthetic value and form presentation in steaming and heating
Lining the bamboo steamer with wet cloth is the key to giving the rice cake its final shape during the steaming process. Traditionally, the cloth eyes are pre-processed to prevent the slurry from leaking. When the water in the steamer boils and the steam rises, the fully fermented rice slurry is quickly poured into the steamer and spread out, and sprinkled with sweet-scented osmanthus or sesame for fragrance. The steaming environment is strong enough to make the rice slurry rapidly expand and shape in a short time to form a porous "sponge"-like structure with a bloom on the top. After it is released from the steamer, it can be fully cooled before cutting into pieces. A successful piece of rice cake has a shiny and white appearance, or the color of brown sugar, with uniform holes inside, in the shape of a crystal flower. It is soft and elastic when touched, and slightly tough in the mouth. The aroma of rice and the slightly tipsy smell produced by fermentation are intertwined, showing a very high aesthetic value of traditional food.
Dilemma and revitalization in the context of inheritance and intangible cultural heritage protection
With the process of industrialization and changes in lifestyle, the long-term and experience-based craft of making rice cakes is facing difficulties in inheritance. The younger generation has difficulty controlling the complex blending principles of "raw and cooked pulp" and the invisible and intangible "fermentation heat". In addition, traditional tools such as stone grinders were replaced by electric instruments, causing the "handmade warmth" and local flavor contained in this craft to be gradually lost. Currently, under the promotion of a work called intangible cultural heritage protection, the making techniques of rice cakes have begun to be included in the research scope of local food culture. It has something called historical and cultural origins. From the self-sufficient state of family workshops to the commercial circulation in streets and markets, it reflects the microscopic historical situation of the transformation of China's agricultural society into a commercial society. Its social and cultural significance has gone beyond the scope of food itself, and has become a cultural symbol that condenses nostalgia and identifies regional identity.
Path, inheritance, development and reshaping of the value of the times
The key to exploring the inheritance and development path of rice cake technique is to achieve the transformation process from "living memory" to "cultural resource". On the one hand, it is necessary to rescuely record the skills of old artists and transform the "feeling" experience into text and image files that can be quantified and used for teaching. This is the cornerstone of academic standardization. On the other hand, it is necessary to explore what is called the activation value of the times, and while maintaining core techniques such as natural fermentation and raw and cooked pulp methods, explore where it fits with the contemporary concept of healthy eating. Introducing this technique into community cultural education and intangible cultural heritage research experience allows the public to personally touch the vitality of rice milk fermentation, which can convey its cultural essence far better than just tasting the finished product. Only in this way can this traditional skill, which is full of folk wisdom, continue its historical documentary value, maintain its artistic vitality, and achieve a living inheritance in the true sense in a modern context.
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