Yongqing Agritainment

Yongqing Agritainment

Yongqing Agritainment

The big iron stove and cauldron in the farmhouse. Cooking in a big cauldron has a truly unique flavor—especially the steamed big buns and the pan-fried layered pancakes, which are absolutely unmatched by small pots and pans. In winter, why not help the farmer’s wife stoke the fire? Break off a cornstalk and toss it into the hearth, and the red flames will dance joyfully, brightening your mood for quite a while.

The farmhouse table is always stocked with fresh seasonal wild delicacies. In spring, shepherd’s purse, bitter greens, and curled dock, served with dipping sauce, are endlessly delicious and also have heat-clearing and detoxifying benefits; thick-leaved purslane and tender oilseed rape shoots are perfect for making dumplings or buns, with purslane also being an excellent remedy for intestinal ailments. When we in Yongqing describe something as delicate, we compare it to “Chinese toon sprouts or cucumber buttons.” Climb up a Chinese toon tree, pick a handful of purplish-green tender sprouts, and stir-fry them with eggs or mix them with tofu for an absolutely delightful dish. In summer, the vegetable garden comes into full play—pluck some extremely tender green beans, chop them up, mix with minced garlic and seasonings, and enjoy their rich bean flavor. The “oilstick cucumbers” covered in yellow flowers, with smooth surfaces and very few prickles, are delicious even when eaten dry without any dressing. If you’ve just finished eating watermelon, you can even make a dish from the rind—slice off the tender flesh with a knife, wash it clean, and mix it with soy sauce, vinegar, and minced garlic.

When autumn arrives, it’s an even better season for indulging in hearty meals. Peanuts, corn, edamame, and sweet potatoes—you can steam, boil, or roast them however you like. Boiled corn is something you might find in the city, but roasted corn is much rarer. Peel the green corn down to just one layer of husk, skewer it on a fire poker, and hold it over the stove to slowly roast, turning it gently—the fragrant aroma can be smelled blocks away. If roasting corn seems too much trouble, you can also “roast sweet potatoes.” After finishing dinner, bury a few smaller sweet potatoes in the stove’s embers. By the time you’re done eating, they’ll be ready—perfect as your “dessert after the meal.”

Even in winter, the farmhouse meals are uniquely special. The tenderness of cabbage hearts goes without saying, and a plate of shredded radish is also a great choice. Old Beijing street vendors used to hawk radishes with the cry, “Radishes are better than pears!” Now, radishes really do cost more than pears. Additionally, in the farmer’s wife’s dark purple clay jars, there are all kinds of pickled vegetables waiting for you to try—pickled green beans, soy-sauce cucumbers, chive flower sauce—the flavors of these small dishes are no less delightful than the main courses.

Exact Location:

Xixingzhuang Village, Yongqing County

Transportation: Take a long-distance bus within the county to Xixingzhuang.