Listen to this articleOverview
Chinese Name: 芋头糕
English Name: Taro Cake
Category: Snack小吃
Main Ingredients: Taro
Taro Cake芋头糕 is a traditional specialty snack in Chaoshan潮汕, Guangzhou广州, Yangjiang阳江, Foshan佛山, and other places in Guangdong广东, belonging to Cantonese cuisine粤菜. The snack is also sold in tea houses in Hong Kong香港 and Macao澳门. Its materials include sticky rice flour, taro, dried shrimp, mushrooms, sausage, and bacon.
Chaoshan is rich in taro, which belongs to the Araceae family. It is said that taro originated in East India, Malaysia, and other places.
There are many kinds of taro, including green taro青芋, signature taro签芋, white taro白芋, nine flour taro九面芋, purple taro紫芋, etc. The most famous ones are Gezhou taro葛洲芋, Wutian taro蜈田芋, Hengyan taro横洋芋 and Dongliao taro东寮芋 in the Chaoshan area.
Through frying, boiling, braising, steaming, frying, and other cooking methods, taro can be made into more than ten dishes, such as anti-sand taro, honey-soaked taro, taro rice, taro cake, taro cake, fish head taro, etc. Taro kueh is one of Chaoshan kueh products. It is used to boil fish heads or grass carp heads with taro. The taste of taro and fresh fish complement each other, which has become a household name in Chaoshan. Some people call the mashed taro, crispy taro, and anti-sand taro “three wonders of taro flavor”.
The legend of the Japanese aggressors coming to rob the ancient building taro three times during the Jiajing period also spreads about the ancient building taro. At the beginning of the Jiajing嘉靖 period in the Qing Dynasty清朝, Xu Dong许栋, a Huanggang man, rallied people to the sea and collaborated with the Japanese to strengthen his momentum. Xu Dong sent the ancient building taro to the Japanese every year, and the Japanese were very happy.
In the 36th year of Jiajing (1557), Xu Dong went to Japan. The autumn taro is abundant, and the Japanese cannot eat good taro, so they are salivating for three feet. In December, when the Japanese learned that there were still many Shangzhuang taros ready to sell to the bakery in the fields of Gulou Mountain, they sent troops to rob the village. At that time, although Huanggang built the Great Barbican City, the military and civilian thought was backward. Not only were taros dug up, but also a lot of property was looted.
The Japanese tasted delicious food and came again in October of the next year. This year, Gulou Mountain set up a flooded camp in the northeast of Gurong古榕. The soldiers and civilians of Wengcheng were more vigilant. The Japanese pirates suffered losses this time. According to the Annals of Raoping County, “in October, the Japanese invaders occupied Huanggang City, and Huanggang soldiers and civilians fought back, defeated the Japanese invaders, captured and killed 146 people, and fled to the west.”.
The Japanese did not give up their minds when they failed. In November of the third year, they came again and were beaten away. In December, Japanese invaders came from Yunxiao County, Fujian Province. Huanggang soldiers and civilians were overwhelmed by victory and robbed of many good taros and property.
How to make Taro Cake?
Ingredients：
- 180g sticky rice flour
- 540g areca taro
- 2 sausages
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 280 grams of water
- Vegetable oil 20 g
- 1/2 teaspoon of five-spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instruction:
- Step 1, Mix 180g of sticky rice flour and 280g of water in a bowl to form a paste.
- Step 2, Steam the sausage and cut it into small granules; Chop garlic; The taro is cut into 1cm square granules.
- Step 3, Put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan, add cold oil to garlic, and stir fry until fragrant. Add sausage pieces and stir fry until fragrant. Then add the taro pieces, add water, the amount of water is less than the taro, stir fry slowly over medium-low heat.
- Step 4, Bring to a boil over high heat, add 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. After a little mixing, add the prepared slurry water (stir it again with a spoon before use to avoid sedimentation).
- Step 5, After all the slurry water is poured in, turn it to low fire and cook it slowly. Turn the bottom with a shovel while cooking to avoid the bottom sticking. Boil until the batter is caked and there is no liquid. Turn off the fire.
- Step 6, Brush a layer of vegetable oil on the mold to prevent sticking, put the boiled taro pulp into the mold, and pat the taro pulp while filling it. Then put it into a steamer, and steam it for 40 minutes over medium heat (do not take out the steamed taro cake immediately, but take it out after it is cooled).
- Step 7, Cool the cake and cut it into rectangular pieces (stick some cold water on the knife when cutting the cake, which is not sticky).
- Step 8, Heat the frying pan, add vegetable oil, cool oil into the taro cake, and fry over medium-low heat until the surface is slightly charred.
