Songxi Xiaojiao

Songxi Xiaojiao

　　Songxi Xiaojiao is a specialty snack from Songxi County, Nanping City, Fujian Province. Xiaojiao, originally called "Xiao Hui," as the name implies, means chopping the Northern Song Dynasty official Qin Hui into pieces, grinding him into meat paste, and wrapping it as food.

　　"Xiao Jiao" was originally called "Xiao Hui," which implies chopping the Song Dynasty official Qin Hui into pieces, grinding him into meat paste, and making it into dumplings to eat, similar to the "deep-fried Qin Hui" (Chinese fried dough sticks) found in various places, as a way to commemorate the famous general Yue Fei. The people of Songxi, because they cut it into small, angular pieces before serving, simply called it "Xiao Jiao" ("little angles"). "Xiao Jiao" has a history of eight or nine hundred years in Songxi and is a unique and famous local delicacy.

　　How is Xiaojiao made? The main ingredients of Xiaojiao are fat pork, white sugar, and sweet potato starch. Initially, bracken powder and yam powder were used, later replaced by sweet potato starch, and now further improved with the use of flour. First, the fat pork is chopped into a paste, then duck eggs are beaten into egg mixture and cooked into egg wrappers. Cooking the egg wrappers is quite particular—the wrappers must be of even thickness, not burnt, and even thinner than spring roll wrappers, golden yellow and translucent. Then, sugar and flour are sprinkled on the pork paste, which is kneaded into a filling that is very sticky and requires a bit of water added. This is because, without water, the white sugar won't melt and you'll end up chewing on sugar lumps, resulting in a poor texture. The egg wrappers are cut in half—using too many layers will cause them to fall apart. After preparation, the filling is wrapped into a long shape, then steamed in a commercial steamer for one and a half hours before it's ready to eat.

　　In the past, Xiaojiao could only be eaten during festivals or when families hosted banquets. Nowadays, eating Xiaojiao is no longer a rarity. The preparation process of Xiaojiao has also been continuously innovated and improved along with changes in people’s tastes. When sliced thinly, dipped in egg mixture, and pan-fried, the texture becomes even crispier.

　　Songxi County now has six provincial and municipal-level intangible cultural heritage items. As a unique local delicacy of Songxi, Xiaojiao is on the list—and it is the only one related to culinary heritage.