   The carriage tugged by horse can be seen, even on the main streets of Beijing. These carriages are actually mobile stalls selling fruits, in most cases. The pedlars take advantage of their horses because of its maneuverability to the inspection of local police. Running in the flow of traffic in a metropolis, the horse-driven carriage is so striking as the horse looks quite free running, ignorant of traffic constraints. :-))
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  String your happiness and sweetness
Given three keywords for a Chinese to tell a Beijing local snack: sweet, red and stringed, without a second thought many people probably speak out in one voice, “Bingtanghulu!”This test seems to be too simple for a Chinese. However, it may also help you realize why Beijing people have a great favor on this particular snack. The three properties of Bingtanghulu, that is sweet, red and stringed all have propitious meanings in China. So eating Bingtanghulu brings about wonderful desires to people for a sweet, prosperous and abundant life. Bingtanghulu, or candied haws in a stick is actually sugar-coated haw apples stringed in a bamboo stick. Usually there are five or eight haws in a stick depending on the size of haws. It tastes sweet and crisp first of all, followed by a sour and sweet mixture that subtly spreads in the mouth. Unlike many other snacks, it’s not everywhere that you can find a peddler selling Bingtanghulu because it is not quite profitable. As a matter of fact, although it costs normally two Yuan, people don’t seek to buy it. It’s something people buy just for pleasure. Neither is it available whole year around because firstly the frozen coating of sugar can’t stand in the summer, when the haws are not in season then in the second place. Even though the Bingtanghulu is not so much into people’s daily life now, it has always had a special place of fondness in the mind of Beijing natives. As a typical and traditional snack in Beijing, adults love Bingtanghulu because it may recall their childhood stories. For children, it is so attractive thanks to its sweet taste and lovely looking. Besides, Bingtanghulu is also a very healthful snack, which is mostly attributable to the haw. By eating haws there are considerable benefits to different parts of body, including stomach, brain, kidney and blood, etc. As a folklore goes: In Song dynasty (about 800 years ago), an emperor sought desperately for the healing of his favorite concubine who was in bad sick. After many failed efforts, an unknown medical practitioner diagnosed and then prescribed“Decoct haws with sugar candy, and then eat 5 or 10 haws before each meal. It takes no more than half a month to heal.” Guess what? The concubine really healed so. Since then, the sugar-coated haws went popular among people, and later took the form of a stick. That is said to be the origin of Bingtanghulu. It’s intereting to know something related to the royal court. But what really intrigues me is the long history of it. If you haven’t tried Bingtanghulu before, stop for a while by a stall and get one. You must feel the old Beijing life style in one way or another from it. How to DIY a stick of candied haws? Ingredients: washed haws, sugar Steps: - Remove the pits: Cut haws narrowly and squeeze out the pits, and if you like put some filling inside, e.g. puree, yam, or walnut. (However, this step is optional if you prefer haws with pits); - Pierce haws in a stick: - Cook the sugar: 1.Put sugar in a wok and add water to the same depth of sugar; 2.Cook the sugar in high heat for about 20 minutes. Then turn low heat and keep stirring the sugar for about 10 minutes. - Coat haws: Roll over haws in sugar mixture - Cool down: Hold the stick and press the haw stick on a wooden board that has been thoroughly soaked in cold water. (A wooden board thoroughly soaked in cold water creates the best condition for the sugar coating to cool down and shape. Alternatively, you may as well use any type of board (Just soak it in cold water for a while). In a few minutes, a cute and delicious Bingtanghulu is made. Lyrics: ( Song of “Bingtanghulu”) It’s said Bingtanghulu tastes sour, while it’s also sweet It’s said Bingtanghulu tastes sweet, while it’s also sour The mellow haw is fully round, and sticked by the sugar candy It is good for both health and appetite, and makes you much younger It’s said Bingtanghulu tastes sour, while it’s also sweet It’s said Bingtanghulu tastes sweet, while it’s also sour A nice-looking Bingtanghulu is stringed by a bamboo stick. It embodies happiness and union If happiness and union are stringed together like a Bingtangluhu, never does anxiety or worry go to you  LINE UP FOR ... ...  “How many pieces after this?” “It’s soon, just a few pieces.” This is the type of conversation I can often hear when I am standing by Wang’s cart. Tonight I am on my way back home from work and the familiar smell from his cart attracts me to it again. Wang is always busy at that time. It’s 11:00 on a chilling evening in Winter , believe it or not? Wang’s business is making Jianbin Guozi, a Tianjin styled pancake roll. Jianbin refers to Chinese pancake rolls which originated in Shandong while Guozi, as Tianjian people call it, stands for deep-fried flour sticks. But now it has become one of the most popular snacks in Beijing, or even around the country. “I want to have one with sausage and preserved vegetable shreds”. A passing taxi driver pulls up his car and joins us. In effect, like every other sort of food from outside the city, the pancake roll has also undergone the process of being localized for Beijing. The main ingredients of an authentic Jianbin Guozi made in Tianjin are millet batter, egg, deep-fried flour stick, green onion and sweet flour sauce with coriander, sesame, and chili sauce as optional seasonings. The most visible difference between the pancake rolls in Beijing and the ones originally in Tianjin is that a thin sheet of deep-fried flour is put in a pancake roll as filling rather than a stick of deep-fried flour. “What do you want to have in yours?”, Wang asks me. It now comes to my turn. “I want the normal one, and no spice please”, I answer. “It’s three Kuai”Wang says. It costs about a bit more than a one-way subway fare in Beijing, which partly explains why the pancake roll is so popular with working people. If a person wants a snack that is cheap, quick, delicious and heavy enough to fill the stomach, there is probably no better option than a piece of Jianbin Guozi. It is fun to watch how my meal is made. A scoop of millet batter is firstly put on the pan. Then Wang uses a roller to get the round pan evenly covered by the flour. When the flour sheet gets almost solid, it is the time to break the egg and drop it on the sheet. Once again a roller is needed to disperse the egg. Right after that, Wang turns the flour sheet upside down using a spatula and dusts the sesame on. Following the spreading of sweet sauce is the scattering of green onion bits and coriander. Then, after a piece of deep-fried flour sheet is put atop, the last step is only to fold up the whole pancake and get it tucked into a little plastic bag. Here I get my lovely night delicacy. “How many pieces ahead”, another young man comes to ask. “Only two. Soon”, Wang replies without looking up. “I want two”, the man says. “Hi, honey. Mine is no spice”, a young lady is shouting opposite the street from a car. Wang has his cart parked beside one of the busiest streets in the city late every evening when the local police are at their least active. But Wang is never alone. You may have to wait for your turn to get a pancake roll. For those people who still move outside at night, a piece of Jianbin Guozi is hardly resisitable for a pretty good night snack.  |
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January 2017
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