Making Glutinous Paste 2

( www.chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2011-07-18

Glutinous rice cake can be made into a big pie and can be kept for some time. When eating, steam or fry it, so its taste is still tender. It can be minced into small particles, blended with sunflower seeds, soya beans and pumpkin seeds, and then served with a plate of mixed fruits.

The process of making glutinous paste is almost exactly the same as making the glutinous rice cake. However, the former is a bit more complex. Chop small trees first, and let burning tree ash precipitate out the alkaline water. Pour the glutinous rice in to cook, then put it into the bamboo tube to steam. After it is steamed, put the rice into a pan and sift in some rice flour. Then put it into the mortar.

The glutinous paste group blended with alkali is quite delicious. It can be eaten and then stored. There are many ways to make glutinous paste flowers. Some can be made into a camel-like paste, like tiles on the roof of the house. Some can be pressed flat and then made into an oval-shaped paste that is big in the middle and pointed at both ends.

The most advanced method is to use a mold. Press flat, round glutinous paste onto the mold, which can be in the shape of a pony or a pomegranate. Such a delicacy is sure to stimulate the appetite. The genus gnaphalium can be added into the glutinous paste, and then made into e emerald green Chrysanthemum paste, a unique food of the Mandarin Duck Stream, which is very popular. Glutinous paste and glutinous rice cake are the traditional foods prepared for the New Year, given to friends or relatives to express a blessing or good wishes for the New Year.