Longtan District, Taoyuan City｜安妮古早味菜包、蘿蔔糕

Vegetable buns are delicious

Every time I go to Rugu Mountain, I see this vegetable bun shop. This time I stopped to buy the pickled cabbage buns. The pickled cabbage buns were sold out at 10:30 in the morning, so I had to buy traditional vegetable buns and grass cakes. After I got home, I ate a vegetable bun and found that the skin was very soft and tender. My mother said that the skin can become so tender only after the rice balls have been kneaded for a long time. It has enough peppery and radish flavor and is not as oily as the vegetable buns in Zhongli, which is a good choice; in addition, the Caozi Kueh has the taste of mugwort, and the skin turns from green to a little yellow after steaming, which means that no pigment is added and the skin is also Very Q, with lots of fillings. I will buy it earlier next time----the pickled cabbage buns that I haven’t eaten yet.

I feel ashamed to say that I have been wandering around the world for decades and have tasted all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas, big fish and meat, lobster and abalone, but today I fell into this dish. The ordinary white and fat vegetable buns, when you take the first bite, the aroma of glutinous rice that hits your nostrils, and the sticky but not greasy consistency amazes my taste buds. The second bite, it is full of flavor. The traditional Hakka spirit of sauerkraut and a little minced meat are garnished. I have to say that the minced pork is the finishing touch. When the mouth is full of vegetables, coupled with the chewy texture of the minced meat, I think it is not an exaggeration to think that this is the feeling that Emperor Qianlong had when he had a Man-Han banquet. Another mouthful will follow. Can't stop after one bite. I think this is the magic of traditional Hakka cuisine. I seem to have walked into the tunnel of time and saw the hard-necked spirit of the Hakka people. At this moment, I am not just eating a vegetable bun, but also a witness to history.