Wenxi Huamo [Shanxi Wenxi Specialty]

Wenxi Huamo has a chewy texture, among which Huagao is the heaviest, weighing nearly 20 kilograms. It is divided into 4 layers, with the bottom layer being the bottom layer of the cake, followed by cloud clusters and red dates, and the top layer being the cake dough. These 3 layers are the edible portion of the cake stand. The top layer is the pattern design layer, with the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showcasing their own abilities, myths and legends, love stories, and flower and bird patterns. Flower cake is often used as a gift, called "top cake" during weddings, "beam cake" when used on building beams, "birthday cake" when used to celebrate birthdays, and "cloth basket cake" or "section cake" during festivals. The themes include Dragon and Phoenix Cake, Four Dragons and Eight Phoenixes Cake, Twelve Zodiac Cake, Pomegranate Cloth Basket Cake, Nine Lions (World) and Same Chrysanthemum (Residence) Cake, Great Fortune and Prosperity Cake, Wealth and Treasure Attraction Cake, Double Happiness and Door Arrival Cake, Top Scholar Street Tour Cake, Fish Leaping Dragon Gate Cake... The more complex the pattern of Huamo, the worse its edibility, and the stronger its appreciation

The dish top of Wenxi Huamo is not edible. It is a special item used in sacrificial activities and a dough sculpture art piece placed at the top of the food basket festival. It has characters and animals, reflecting local characteristics. The dough sculpture of characters is a popular handmade art. The Huamo is made with Beiyuan flour, which is white, firm and tough, and is closely related to the quality of Beiyuan wheat (high terrain, long wheat growth cycle, sufficient sunlight) and the popular fermentation and kneading methods. Beiyuan bread is not fermented with baking powder or alkali flour, but with flour. Noodle fermentation is made from corn flour as raw material, and the scale and steps of the process are accurately controlled. Only by making good noodle fermentation can good bread be steamed. Knead the dough and use flour for Hua Mo. Choose refined flour, which requires higher standards than regular bread. Use the finest flour sieve to sieve it. Mix the fermented dough and flour, add water and knead the dough at least eight times. The kneaded dough should be shiny and elastic. Add an appropriate amount of vinegar to the dough, and the steamed steamed steamed buns are white, tender, and smooth; Adding sugar water, milk water, and honey, the bread is not only sweet but also not easy to dry and crack. It has a long storage period and the wheat aroma will not be affected

Wenxi steamed buns can be used in various activities of daily communication in the festival, including big steamed buns, pair steamed buns, jujube steamed buns, Wonton steamed buns, pomegranate steamed buns, etc. Large ones weigh over ten kilograms, while small ones are as big as jujubes. Commonly used ones weigh over 2 pounds and half a pound. "Where there is a steamed bun, there is a steamed bun." There are many folk arts such as Paper Cuttings, steamed bun, cloth painting, embroidery, straw weaving and so on in Wenxi rural areas. Among them, Wenxi steamed bun is the most popular, because it is always closely connected with the folk culture of the people, thus forming a relatively complete steamed bun system, such as festival steamed bun, wedding steamed bun, birthday steamed bun, funeral steamed bun, Shangliang steamed bun, relocation steamed bun and so on

The production method of Wenxi Huamo

Through thousands of years of inheritance, Wenxi Huamo has not only been infused with rich cultural connotations, but also formed a unique production technique. Including more than ten processes such as rolling, kneading, twisting, rolling, shearing, cutting, tying, pressing, pinching, and rolling, the tools used include rolling pins, scissors, chopsticks, combs, bamboo sticks, etc. The production process of Wenxi Huamo includes wheat screening, air drying, flour processing, fermentation, dough making, shaping, steaming, shaping, and coloring. To make a Wenxi Huamo, it takes at least 4 to 5 days and involves 9 major processes, including water setting, noodle making, fermentation, kneading, shaping, bread making, steaming, coloring, and inserting dough flowers. There are over 100 small processes, all of which are manually kneaded and kneaded

Ingredients

The main raw material for making Wenxi Huamo is Beiyuan noodles, with additional ingredients such as beans, dates, and pepper. The Wenxi Huamo made with Beiyuan flour and Beiyuan water is the most authentic. Wenxi County Beiyuan is located in the hinterland of Emei Mountains. The wheat produced in this area has a longer growth period of several tens of days than others, with a long growth cycle, large and full grains, and excellent wheat quality. The bread made from wheat flour in this area has a fragrant and nutritious texture, and when eaten, it is sweet with a hint of fragrance. Not only should we use the wheat from Beiyuan, but also the water from Beiyuan

Tools: rolling pin, chopsticks, bamboo sticks, scissors, comb, kitchen knife, etc.

Methods: cutting, kneading, pinching, pulling, picking, pressing, kneading, plucking, pressing, etc.

Operations:

1. After selecting the raw materials, enter the kneading program. The flour used for Huamo, when grinding with a stone mill in the past, took the first two layers and selected the best refined flour. Exquisite artists need to go through a noodle basket before using it

2. Prepare the "fermented water" one night in advance, and the next day mix the prepared fermented water with flour, add water to make the dough, and knead it. Rub the dough at least 8 times, and the resulting dough should be smooth and elastic. You can add an appropriate amount of vinegar to the flour when making dough, and the steamed steamed buns will be white, shiny, and smooth. Some may also add sugar water, milk, or honey to prevent the buns from drying out easily

3. "Awaken the bread" means making the bread loose and weak. Place the kneaded dough sculpture in a hot basket, then place a bowl of hot water in the middle of the basket, cover it tightly with a cotton mattress, maintain appropriate temperature and humidity, so that the steamed bun product does not deform, dry or crack, and is moist and smooth

4. After the bread has become weak, it can be steamed in a steamer. When steaming steamed buns in a basket, attention should be paid to adding boiling water to the basket, adding air over high heat, sealing the basket tightly, not forgetting to release air, steaming the size separately, and removing air from the basket<5. After the steamed buns are released from the basket, the last step is to color them while they are hot, which can make the color bright and not easily fade. After the color is ready to air dry, the auxiliary parts that need to be assembled also need to be combined with the supporting petals using bamboo sticks

The award-winning honor of Wenxi Huamo

Wenxi Huamo was selected as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage in Shanxi in 2006. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008 and exhibited at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Four world records were set at the "China Wenxi Huamo Culture Festival" held in 2012