Trip to Longsheng--toast you more wine

03.11.2006

An old saying is people pay most attention to food. During my trip, Longsheng local favor also impresses me besides Longji terraces and Ailing hot spring. Of all special dishes, unforgotten ones are rice in bamboo;air-dry fish on iron board.
1 Alcohol. This is a kind of sweet wine made from sticky rice. The way of brewery is really pristine, put raised sticky rice in a wooden cask, and then put the wooden cask in a big caldron, at last braise it, wine will stream from the bamboo which is inserted in the middle of wooden cask. White wine rushes down from pot, aroma of wine blow on my face. Shake the goblet, aroma is getting denser. Like yellow wine, after warming up, I feel the warmth of wine coming through goblet to my palm; it seems to paste my palm to the goblet.
According to guide Mr. Su, water of brewery is drawn from the stream outside the village, with gentle of water and fragrance of flower. Sticky rice grains popple in the wine, like boat in river, ups and downs.

[img]http://www.achinatravel.com/photos/ls-jiu/ls-jiu_03.jpg[/img]
Slightly sip makes me sweet which I have never experienced, after tasting carefully, gingers flavor comes out. For the climate in villages is really humid, to boil the wine with some ginger can dispel algidity.
Tossing off, you will find warm current flows to your stomach, and your heart. With strong local customs in village, girls in folk costumes will toast you. Touched by songs of toast, I am getting drunk. With beautiful scenic spots, beautiful wine and beauties, how can I avoid drunken?
There are many minorities in Longsheng; their wine has its own specialty. To toast you more wine can eliminate your grief.
2 Rice in bamboo.
Cutting bamboo into sections with 35CM length, villages put sticky rice which was emerged in stream into these sections, together with wind-dry meat, agaric, dried bamboo shoot and peanut. Fill all the stuff from a small hole on bamboo, seal it with sweet potatoes, the last step is to burn the bamboo sections.

[img]http://www.achinatravel.com/photos/ls-jiu/ls-jiu_01.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.achinatravel.com/photos/ls-jiu/ls-jiu_02.jpg[/img]
Firewood is charcoal or bamboo so that it is more convenient to burn the sections and water will not lose. Fire can not be too fierce so that bamboo sections will not be on fire. Faint scent of bamboo and sticky rice spills out with vapor from the burnt bamboo sections. After 30-40 minutes, all things have been done. Scratching black ashes outside the bamboo sections with sharp knifes, and then hack it into two half. Mixed fragrance with meat, agaric and bamboo shoot, it really makes me water.
3 Wind-dry fish on iron board
After tasting alcohol and rice in bamboo sections, wind-dry fish on iron board attracts me again.
Streams outside the village come out from remote mountains, they are really transparent. Small fishes can be easily caught, for there are many cobbles in stream, so villages call them cobble fish.

[img]http://www.achinatravel.com/photos/ls-jiu/ls-jiu_04.jpg[/img]
First of all, wind-dry the fish, and then spice them, the last step is to saute; fishes with local capsicum and garlic shoots. Its favor is hot and acetous with fragrance, it is most suitable for accompany with rice.
One more interesting thing is vegetables on the mountains, which is authentic green vegetables; without pesticides. Its favor differs from vegetables in cities, really dainty!
Sitting under boundless sky, smelling wine fragrance from far, I feel drunk again.