Yixing's food：Black rice
宜兴有一种乌米饭，是用乌饭树叶浸糯米，蒸乌米饭吃。
乌饭树也叫南烛，小时候都是家里老人会做这样的东西，我奶奶做过。常州就没有这样的东西。香得很，一股子让人沉迷的怪味道。现在可以买到了，春天时候买，买来其实是晒干的熟食，蒸好就能空口吃。
民国黑官膳食，说是唐代便有了，是道家求长生不老养生食物。
这种树叶是生长在宜兴南部丘陵一带的南烛树叶。生叶呈青红，煮熟时变黑了。
There is a traditional cuisine called "Woo Mee Fan"(black rice) in my home town Yixing. People soak glutinous rice using the "Woo Fan Shu"(the Latin name is called Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb which I have no idea what it is) leaves and then make steamed rice with that.
"Woo Fan Shu", or black rice tree, is also called Nan Zhu. It was always the elderly of a familay knew how to make such thing. They used to make this food on 8th of April in Chinese calendar. My grandmother did. The exotic ordos is weirdy fragrant and even addictive.There is nothing like that in Changzhou. Now you are able to buy it on the market.The best time is spring. It's actually dried cooked food. You can eat it after steaming.
The cuisine made with black rice tree leaves were very popular among high officials of the Republic of China. They call it "Black official diet". The legend says it has been existed since the Tang Dynasty and is a Taoist health food for immortality.
The black rice tree grows in the southern hills of Yixing. The leaves were once green and red, but turned black when cooked.
2020.3.6 lilyma 马莉
英文纠稿 English Editing：黄卿 Qing Huang
Comments