There is a traditional snack in Wenmingpu Town, Qiyang, Yongzhou, Hunan, called Liangba, which is pronounced "Langba" in the local Qiyang dialect. Qiyang Liangba, Yongzhou, Hunan, this snack is a small glutinous rice cake. , the taste is sweet and refreshing. However, due to the complicated production process and low selling price, the number of vendors selling cold cakes is becoming increasingly rare. The authentic cold cake making method is on the verge of being lost. Many people born in the 1990s have never eaten it. Cold cakes are quickly becoming a legendary snack. On the verge of extinction. Unlike other snacks, there are fewer and fewer people making cold cakes nowadays. However, Wenxiang and his wife, the heirs of ancestral craft making in the town, have been making cold cakes for decades. No matter it is spring, summer, autumn or winter, they walk around with cold cakes. The streets and alleys of Wenmingpu Ancient Town.
"Selling langba, selling langba, langba is coming..." As long as you hear the shouting and shouting in Wenmingpu ancient town, everyone from children over one year old to seventy or eighty years old Most of the elderly people will stop going to the market to buy this unique local traditional snack and take it home to share this delicious snack with their families.
Wenmingpu Ancient Town, bustling with traffic, is one of the three earliest towns established in Qiyang County. According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, an old man named Yiwen did business here in a civilized manner and treated people well. Later, the number of people who became neighbors with him increased, and it gradually developed into a town, hence the name "Wenmingpu Town". Wen Xiang and his wife, who are in their 40s and heirs to the ancestral cold cake making industry, appear on this ancient street on time from morning to noon every day. A frame of cold cakes and the constant sounds of shouting and selling form a unique scenery of the ancient town.
"Liangba" is called "Langba" in the local dialect of Wenmingpu Town. It is a small rice cake made of glutinous rice. It is sweet and refreshing with peanut, sesame and mint oil. It is the most regional specialty in Qiyang County. snack.
Langba snacks have a long history, low prices, and are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In Qiyang, the three generations of ancestors, fathers, and sons can fondly recall the wonderful taste of eating a cold cake with a few cents when they were young. taste. The author also grew up in Wenmingpu Town. During the eight years of working in Shenzhen, he never forgot to buy some Langba to take back to Shenzhen every time he went home, because he often ate this Langba snack when he was a child. When I work outside, I always miss the taste of Langba, and I always want to go back to my hometown to buy some. Therefore, every time I go back to my hometown, I have to bring more "Langba" with the taste of my hometown to Shenzhen.
Because the production process of "Langba" is complicated and the price cannot be sold, few people now inherit the traditional craft of "Langba" production, but Wenxiang and his wife have persisted for more than 20 years. Speaking of which, they The craftsmanship was learned from his father-in-law. Wenxiang and his wife said: "This kind of specialty snack is only made in Wenmingpu Town. "Langba" is also famous throughout the country from this town, but no one knows how to make it elsewhere. The craft of making is about to be lost.”
Wenxiang and his wife insist on using traditional techniques to make every process. From soaking the glutinous rice to forming the rice cake, they need to go through eight processes and take more than ten hours. The first step is to select tough glutinous rice and soak it in well water for twelve hours. In order to be able to sell it during the market time in the town, I get up at around 2 o'clock in the evening and use a stone to grind out the glutinous rice slurry, filter it through a gauze bag and remove the excess water, then steam it in a steamer for an hour and a half. The secret at this time is the heat. The heat is too high. If the temperature is too high, the glutinous rice flour will be too hard. If the heat is not enough, the glutinous rice flour will be too soft. Only when the softness and hardness are moderate can the Langba be elastic and not soft. The steamed glutinous rice flour was pounded by the Wenxiang couple while it was still hot, and pounded with a stone mortar and pestle. This primitive craft was very labor-intensive, but the Wenxiang couple stubbornly insisted on not using machines to replace it. He believed that the original glutinous rice cakes were better than those made by machines. The cooked glutinous rice cake is much more delicious. Wen Xiang and his wife alternately pound the glutinous rice cake, and it takes half an hour to pound a pot of glutinous rice paste.
Wenxiang and his wife: "I think its viscosity will get better the longer it is pounded." After grinding, boiling, and pounding the pulp, it was already dawn at 5 a.m., and there was no time to rest. We had to prepare glutinous rice balls and stuffings. Lao Wen and his wife make 500 glutinous rice cakes at a time, pound them into glutinous rice balls, squeeze them, fill them with fillings, and touch butter. The two of them have to be busy from about five o'clock to eight o'clock before they can make the glutinous rice cakes and take them to the market. hawking. Wenxiang and his wife make good rice cakes and are honest people. They only pay two yuan each and never bargain.
Liangba - freshly made and best to eat
The best taste of Langba is within 12 hours of making it. It is easy to transport and store. At the same time, the craftsmanship of Liangba is truly passed down. There are only a few of them, so it would be a blessing to have a taste of Wenxiang and his wife’s cold cake!