Shaoxing cakes |
The Hangzhou people in ancient times had a habit to climb mountains on the first day of the Chinese New Year, because they thought that climbing to a higher place step by step on this day can bring people good luck. Legend has it that young man from Shaoxing sold muffins at the foot of Chenghuang Mountain by the side of Hangzhou's West Lake.
People called him “ Mr. Shaoxing.” He would always get up in the early morning to grind the rice and steam the muffins. Then he went door to door to sell his handmade, steamed muffins from a dangling shoulder pole. He earned the money to feed his blind mother and himself.
One of these New Year's days the Chenghuang Mountain was full of the hiking people. Mr. Shaoxing’s cakes were sold out after a short time, with only small cake left. Mr. Shaoxing left for home because he wanted to save the last piece for his mother.
When he passed the Chenghuang temple, he saw an old, raggedy looking man with a white beard begging for food. His head rested on a "pillow " made from by two small, broken bowls. He gave the old man several coins he just earned. To his surprise the old gentleman refused to accept the coins, but begged for the muffin. Mr. Shaoxing handed him the last muffin that he had saved for his mother. The old one ate it, without expressing his gratitude.
Mr. Shaoxing told what happened to his mother. His mother approved of his deeds. Every time he met the old man again, he would give him one of his muffins.
One day when Mr. Shaoxing passed him with a frown the old man asked,” what is the matter?” Mr. Shaoxing replied,” it has been raining for many days, and business was not good. My mother helped me to eat those leftover muffins. But now she is ill at home and can’t eat anything."
The old man said with a smile,” Don’t worry. I don’t have any food to eat here, but I have some good medicine.” He brought out a gourd and handed it to Mr. Shaoxing, asking him to put the medicine in the gourd into the cakes that he was making and give some of them to his mother to eat. He promised that Shaoxing’s mother will feel better after eating those cakes made with this medicine.
The old man disappeared soon after these words. Mr. Shaoxing realized immediately that the old man must be an immortal. Recalling the way that he laid on two broken bowls. He thought the old man must be Lu Tong-bin.
With great joy Mr. Shaoxing returned home and made the muffins according to LuTong-bin's instructions, putting the medicine into the rice cake flour and steamed them.
When the muffins had cooled down, they turned golden brown. All of a sudden their old hut was filled with an exotic fragrance. Mr. Shaoxing’s mother, who didn’t have food for three days felt hungry and want to eat muffins; once she ate the muffins her illness disappeared.
Since then, Mr. Shaoxing kept on making his Muffin that way, and because the muffins made this way smelled good and tasted very sweet and delicious, and he had made them, people called them “ Shaoxing Cakes.” Later on, people got to know that the substance put into the cakes was one of the traditional Chinese medicines, called Amomum (in the ginger and cardamom spice family).
Because Amomum is warm to the chest and can help increase appetite, so Shaoxing Cakes came to be enduring, much liked traditional cakes.
From - http://en.kanzhongguo.com/culture_history/the_legend_of_the_shaoxing_cakes.html