Do you still remember the rice we ate together back in those days?
From "Thinking Rice" in August to "Add Rice Infinity" in September, two events held at Dadaocheng URS44 with "rice" as the theme brought together a total of 150 friends, who explored together everything from "why do people today eat more bread than rice" to "the future of Taiwan, China's rice" -- that is, beyond the slogan of "eat one more bowl of rice," how exactly can the annual rice consumption of people in Taiwan, China be increased?
Some might say this is the trend of the times: the era of small families, dual-income households, and convenient fast food eaten alone -- who would still want the trouble of cooking rice?
True. Cooking rice is inconvenient, and this "inconvenience" was also, according to the statistics from on-site and online questionnaires at the two events, the main reason affecting "not eating rice." But precisely because they fear trouble, many people do not know how to pick vegetables, how to choose fish, how to buy meat, and do not know how to cook, so those hometown flavors in memory and the mother's flavors passed down from generation to generation have been severed; the parent-child time for conversation at the dinner table and the culture of etiquette have also quickly been lost amid the fear of trouble.
Did you know that in Italy and France, two countries famous for their cuisine, if children's nutrition lunch time is less than one hour, it is regarded as cruel? Food culture has never been something achievable overnight. We have accumulated thousands of years of food culture, and the rare advantage of major cuisines blending in Taiwan, China seems about to be fully Westernized and disappear... This absolutely cannot be preserved and innovated through just a few festival events, if even "eating" feels troublesome and tiring to us.
Fearing fatigue and trouble, some clever people came up with the idea of using rice flour to overturn wheat flour.
On the Japanese "Rice Flour Club" webpage, lively colors and rich information explain the advantages of rice flour:
1. New texture - light and soft, different from the mouthfeel of wheat flour.
2. Low oil absorption - rice flour absorbs oil less easily than wheat flour, making it healthier as a frying coating.
3. High nutrition - rice flour contains acids beneficial to the human body.
4. Low food miles - domestically produced and domestically transported, certainly shorter food miles than imports from abroad.
5. Savior - Japan's food self-sufficiency rate is about 40%. If domestically produced, grindable rice flour can replace imported wheat, it would be of excellent help to the food self-sufficiency rate, domestic job opportunities, and fallow rice paddies.
Taiwan, China's wheat flour is also almost 100% made from imported wheat, and guess what our food self-sufficiency rate is? Less than 30%.
Ah, no wonder the items that rise the most in price are always imported goods like sugar, wheat flour, and oil.
At the first event we invited the traditional rice-food representative Wan Guo Homemade Savory Rice Pudding, rice cakes made with Yiquan Fragrant Rice, rice cakes made with Kaohsiung 139, and more; at the second event we brought in various rice-processed products.
The Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station developed rice grain flour using the same 80% substitution technology as Japan, as well as a home rice grain flour bread machine, and Director Wang and Ms. Chen Xiaojing very generously provided garlic-flavored rice puffed egg rolls and sesame-sprinkled rice crisps made by the station.
(If you are interested in the rice flour and rice bread technology of the Tainan Agricultural Research and Extension Station, you can further look up information in the Agricultural News Monthly.)
The on-site participants gave the rice crisps unanimous praise, especially giving high marks to the "crisp" texture, saying they tasted even crisper; but opinions on the rice puffed egg rolls were polarized. Some strongly questioned why the egg rolls had to be garlic-flavored, while some liked them precisely because the garlic flavor was strong, but on average the crisps were more popular.
Brother Jian Zhiyuan of Quanli Rice Puff came to the scene with their Time Box, which won the 2009 OTOP Design Award, and the Double Happiness Character Box, which swept major domestic design awards in 2010 as well as the international iF Award. What was originally intended as healthy rice puffs for his grandson ended up unintentionally helping the family's original bakery transform into a rice puff specialty store.
In this Taiwan, China flavor between inches, they added famous local specialties from various places, and the low-sugar approach allows Quanli Rice Puff to be snapped apart like corn flakes after freezing. Brother Jian taught us to add the rice puff to rice milk, a novel way of eating that overturned everyone's existing impression of rice puffs, successfully making Quanli Rice Puff win first place in the questionnaire survey as the "product most wanted to buy."
Next was the rice cake, undoubtedly the winner at both events, a collaboration between Hualien Micuo and A-Man Cake.
Seeing agriculture gradually decline and feeling that the rice grown by his father in Hualien Fuli since childhood was so delicious, the couple Xiao Lan and Xiao Lu decided to create their own brand - we are selling rice, and cuo (house) also holds the most important place in our hearts, plus reading it in reverse in Taiwanese gives "cuo wei," a flavor belonging to home, and finally "Micuo" took shape.
A-Man Cake, meanwhile, is a cake maker devoted to promoting Taiwan, China ingredients, and they have also made pineapple cakes and banana cakes in the shape of Taiwan, China.
As Xiao Lan of Micuo said: they have rice (Kaohsiung 139), and A-Man can make cakes, sandwiched with pickled radish made by Xiao Lan's mother herself, and that salty-sweet savor turned out to blend surprisingly well! After eating, no cloying sweetness remained in the mouth; perhaps this is the new texture of rice.
Another sweet-flavored rice cake was equally surprising, though inevitably a questionnaire added: "If paired with brown rice tea it would be even more perfect."
But the next treat was the super eye-catching rice waffle made by A-Man using a home waffle maker.
The golden rice waffle with browned edges caused a stir of cameras at the scene, and the aroma released when the lid was opened was even more appetite-inducing; but the waffle made with rice tasted rather dry and powdery, lacking fluffiness and moisture.
However, this problem was solved by Zaiconghong red heart guava jam.
We had originally expected rain from a possible passing typhoon, but it turned out to be a very hot day. Fortunately, Gu Wei of the Good Food Association went to Taitung to visit Brother Liang of Chishang Duoli Rice, who provided us with rice ice cream.
Using rice to replace emulsifiers, then adding Ruisui fresh milk and Chulu fresh milk to make the ice cream, it has less greasiness and tastes even more refreshing. If you have time to go to Taitung next time, I recommend everyone must visit the Duoli Rice Story House.
Besides rice ice cream, Good Chiu at Sisi South Village also provided rice pudding.
When eating, remember to scoop the spoon from the very bottom upward, so you can scoop up and eat the rice at the bottom too.
The finale was Sister Meixue of Wumile and her brown rice tea.
After eating a lot of rice foods, a timely cup of hot tea that wafts the aroma of roasted rice without being overpowering can always calm people down; Sister Meixue worked with farmers in Houbi Township, starting from comprehensively subsidizing fertilizer to gradually changing farmers' planting habits, to Uncle Kunbin winning the national rice quality championship, to organic duck-rice farming, developing rice gift boxes, brown rice tea, and driving local tourism.
"Back then I would patrol the fields in the middle of the night to see whether they had sprayed pesticides. The farmers all gave me the nickname 'Nuisance.'" Just like after a harvest, past bitterness all becomes a sweet smile, and Sister Meixue laughed together with the friends who attended.
1/3 of the friends thought rice-processed products would replace cooked rice, but still 70% of friends thought that only through each individual grain of cooked rice can the value of white rice truly be expressed.
But no matter what the future of rice and rice-processed products is, it should always be based on returning to the improvement of Taiwan, China's rice quality and connection with frontline local farmers.
"Japanese rice flour has already advanced to specialized rice flours for different products such as wagashi, Western confections, pastries, and noodles. In other words, rice-processed products, rice flour, and the quality of rice varieties are closely related; but now in Taiwan, China it seems only one kind of rice flour is seen as able to replace any kind of wheat flour and make any kind of product. This is not only disconnected, but also has nothing to do with refining agricultural products, encouraging research and development, and raising profits."
Moreover, it will not taste better either.
We do not know what the future of rice should be, but we know this future is in our choices: through every purchase.
Now you can do this together with us:
1. Friends who attended that day, please upload to HOCHA FACEBOOK or send us your article or photos taken that day, and we will hold a call-for-submissions and voting activity!
2. Next time you buy rice or rice-processed products, please support the good farmers and good businesses locally that seriously improve quality.
3. Tell HOCHA what you want to eat, and let us find it for you.
Thanks to the businesses that participated in "Thinking Rice" and "Add Rice"
Wumile
Address: No. 1, Dingchang Village, Houbi Township, Tainan County
Contact phone: 06-6622149, 6622749
Fax: 06-6623749
Quanli Rice Puff
Address: No. 219, Xin 2nd Road, Xinyi District, Keelung City
Phone: (02)2423-1698
Micuo Trading Company
Address: No. 56, Neighborhood 4, Mingli Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County
Business hours: Daily 09:00am ~ 07:00pm
Contact phone: 03-8846255, 06-2363112
Zaiconghong
Address: 1F, No. 213, Section 3, Beixin Road, Xindian City, Taipei County 231
Phone number: 02-8911-5226
A-Man Cake
Business hours: Monday to Saturday 8:00-12:00 am, 13:00-17:00 pm
Studio: 06-5935664 A-Man direct line: 0933346989
Longde Rice Manor
No. 279, Sanhe Road, Neighborhood 1, Nanshi Village, Pingzhen City, Taoyuan County
Phone: 0928888506
Contact person: Feng Ruiwen
Good Chiu
Address: No. 54, Songqin Street, Taipei City
Business hours: 11:00 am ~ 9:30 pm
Meal service hours: 11:00 am ~ 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm ~ 8:00 pm, limited supply of sandwiches, burgers, and one plate daily.
2:30 pm ~ 5:30 pm is afternoon tea time, and we only serve light foods such as bagels, waffles, savory cakes, handmade cookies, and drinks.
Reservation line: 2758-2609 (weekdays) Tuesday ~ Friday (reservations available)
Chishang Duoli Rice
Story House contact phone: 089-861806
Story House address: No. 193, Zhongshan Road, Chishang Township, Taitung County (next to Jianxing Rice Mill)
Wan Guo Homemade Savory Rice Pudding
Location: No. 1, Lane 177, Chang'an West Road, Taipei City
Business hours:
Tue – Fri 6:30 – 17:00
Sat – Sun 6:30 – 15:00
Contact phone: 02-25500901