Ash Water Pushed Rice Cake

Ash Water Pushed Rice Cake

　　“Ash Water Pushed Rice Cake,” also known as Green-Yellow Cake, is a beloved green-colored snack among the Hakka people, and its preparation technique is quite intricate.

　　First, you need to prepare naturally sourced plant ash water (alkaline water). Before making the cake, go into the mountains to burn the ash for the yellow cake—burn these dry firewood and grasses into ash, wrap the ashes in clean gauze, and filter the ash with boiling water to make ash water.

　　The second step is to make the rice slurry. Rinse glutinous rice (about one-third) and indica rice (about two-thirds), then soak them in the ash water for several hours before processing them into a rice slurry.

　　The third step is to form the cake dough. Pour the rice slurry into a pot and cook it over low heat while continuously stirring. Once the slurry turns yellow and forms a dough-like consistency, shape it into strips, circles, or duck-tongue shapes.

　　The fourth step is steaming the cake. Place the shaped rice cakes—whether strips, circles, or duck-tongue shapes—into a steaming basket and steam them over high heat. The golden, tender, and fragrant Green-Yellow Cake is then ready.

　　Ash Water Pushed Rice Cake is soft yet not mushy, and it tastes even better when served with soy sauce and chili. Though the process is complex, Hakka women take great joy in making it and have passed down the tradition through generations.