Hakka Food Documentary

Hakka one month infant wine (乡土 – 土楼满月酒 )

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

This documentary provides insight with the traditions and customs surrounding the Hakka celebration of one month of infant age as well as the related purposes and information pertaining the Hakka yellow wine .

Hakka yellow wine making process picture

click to enlarge

taken from http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/liquorstory/article?mid=18&fid=-1&action=prev

Hakka wine making

Wine drinking is a common Hakka culture.People from all ages drink wine. Some Hakka provinces, will treat wine as tea at peaks of summer.  The wine also played an important role in celebrations as well as milestones of one’s life, for example, when one is getting married or celebrating its 50th birthday, graduate from school, babies been born, etc wine is been made. This wine played as a commemorative device. The wine mostly commonly referred as the yellow wine which is made from glutinous rice and was said that each Hakka household knows how to make it, more so is handled by the women in the family. Not only does the wine is used to shared with guests, it is also served as a gift. These gifts are especially evident in weddings, which the family of the bride will give it to the groom. when a child is born, the yellow wine , a chicken coupled with a string of firecrackers will be sent to the mother’s family to announce the good news.

info and pictures taken from http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=421307

Process

1) selection: havest glutinous rice,  yield it at night will be better.
2) soaking glutinous rice in water for 2 hours

3) steam the rice in earthen jar, this process is important, firstly use strong fire to initiate boiling, maintain it with medium fire before it turns sticky,  do not scorch the rice.

4) Transfer the steamed rice into big jars , cool it in clean water

5) After 20mins, mix wine biscuit with the steam rice soaked it water, these will help in fermentation process.

6)Fermentation: in around 7 days, tilt the wine jar, then seal it properly for 2-3 months
(although wine extraction is possible it 2-3 weeks, but prolonged period
will increase  alcohol quality and prolong the livespan)

7)Extract wine: Press the distiller grains, seperate the wine “juice” fom the fermentaed rice . Put the wine juice to altar, seal it with lid , is to prevent bacteria

(8) place rice straw around the earth jar to heat the wine. Boil it for a day, this is to enhance flavoring.

9) let the wine to cool and leave it for a week. wine is ready for consumption after that.

Lei cha 擂茶

Lei cha (; léi chá; literally “pounded tea”) is a Hakka tea-based beverage or gruel consisting of a mix of tea leaves that are ground or pounded together with various roasted nuts, seeds, and grains. The tea is drunk for breakfast or on cold winters as a tasty and healthy restorative. Lei cha is very popular in Taiwan, Southern China, Malaysia as well as any locations with a large population of Hakka people

Lei cha is traditionally a savory drink, however now it is usually consumed sweet.

Production

Although commercially prepared and prepackaged Lei cha can be bought, the drink is usually made “from scratch” just as it is about to be consumed.

The any type of tea leaves can be used however, the most popular and common are either Green tea or Oolong. For ease of use, sometimes matcha is used. Roasted peanuts, mung beans, and sesame are most commonly used seeds and nuts in Lei cha, however other types may be used. Such as:

• Cooked or puffed rice
• Roasted soybeans
• Lentils
• Lotus seeds
• Pinenuts
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Wheat

The ingredients are ground in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle until it is reduced to a powder resembling fine cornmeal. The powder is then place into a serving bowl and hot water is stirred into it such that a thin soup-like beverage is produced.

taken from Wikipedia : Lei Cha

Step 1 Grinding up the nut and tea mix.

step 2 : Nuts and tea are added to the dish and then ground up with a stick.

step 3 : After the mix is ground to become oily a powder is added and mixed in.

step 4:  Mixing the tea with hot water

step5 : Lei Cha after the water and puffed rice has been added. Ready to drink.

Equipment used to prepare Hakka lei cha

Pictures and caption  taken from David’s Formosa Photo Gallery : lei cha

youtube vid