Mountain Delicacy: Golden-Wrapped Silver

Mountain Delicacy: Golden-Wrapped Silver

　　Generally speaking, there are few in this world who dislike money; many yearn to possess it. In pursuit of wealth and gold, some labor honestly, toiling their whole lives; others manage wisely, prospering through skillful means; some engage in power-for-money deals; and still others resort to any means necessary, even killing for profit. Yet, before the reform and opening-up, the days of the mountain villagers in the deep mountains of southern Zhushan County were such that they had “golden-wrapped silver” every single day of the year.

Before the reform and opening-up, the main crops grown on the barren land and steep slopes of the deep mountains in southern Zhushan County—where hats would fly off your head if you looked up—were only corn and potatoes. Under primitive slash-and-burn farming methods, gathering around a stump fire to roast peeled potatoes was a true reflection of village life. With no paddy fields and thus no rice, these villagers naturally lacked rice to eat. In the past, villagers in the deep mountains could only have rice when seriously ill or just before death. Even families without means couldn’t get a bit of rice to eat when a loved one passed away. Well-off or influential families could only obtain a little rice for the dying as if seeking a medicinal ingredient, showing great filial piety and love. For those who got to eat rice, it meant they could peacefully close their eyes and go to the King of Hell (most people couldn’t even go to Marx). Therefore, in the past, saying someone in the deep mountains of southern Zhushan County ate rice was a way of cursing them to death.

Without rice to eat, life still had to go on. As for how to cook meals with corn and potatoes, one way was to boil or steam potatoes; another was to make corn porridge and steam it with dried corn rice; a third was to boil potatoes mixed with corn porridge; and the fourth was to steam potatoes with cornmeal rice—also known as the famous “Golden-Wrapped Silver.”

There are two ways to make Golden-Wrapped Silver. One is to arrange potatoes at the bottom of the pot, then layer cornmeal on top and steam together; once cooked, use a spatula to mix the potatoes with the cornmeal. The other is to steam potatoes and cornmeal together. Both methods achieve the same effect: golden-yellow cornmeal clinging to snow-white potato chunks—hence the name Golden-Wrapped Silver.

In the first method, the bottom layer of potatoes slowly steams into a golden “cake,” highlighting the aroma of the potatoes. The second method creates a crispy crust from both the potatoes and the cornmeal at the bottom, offering a richer, sweeter, and more aromatic flavor—surpassing even today’s Kangshifu or Sun Cake Crackers. If guests visit, wealthier families might also serve braised wild boar or pork trotters, letting the richness of the lard seep into the golden and silver layers. And the truly lucky guests might even be treated to a thick soup made from civet cat, poured over the Golden-Wrapped Silver—that’s truly luxurious. Your mouth will be watering uncontrollably, no doubt about it.