Miao Sticky Rice

Miao Sticky Rice

　　Sticky rice is one of the staple foods of the Miao people and holds an important place in their daily lives. It is a beloved food for all ages, as people believe that regular glutinous rice is less filling, bland in taste, and not as fragrant as sticky rice. It can be eaten without side dishes and is extremely convenient to consume by hand without the need for chopsticks. It is commonly given as a gift when visiting relatives and friends, and serves as a staple during various festivals (such as the Sisters' Festival), often in the form of various sticky rice dishes. These include steamed white sticky rice, colorful glutinous rice, pyramid- and triangle-shaped zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), sticky rice cakes, as well as rice wine. For long journeys or when working on slopes, sticky rice is often carried in bamboo containers for easy transport and consumption. When a new daughter-in-law meets her parents-in-law for the first time, or when a son-in-law visits his wife’s parents, sticky rice-based gifts like these are essential.

　　　　Therefore, the proportion of sticky rice used is quite significant. In the county's Miao communities, people commonly steam regular glutinous rice using wooden steamers or cook it in a covered pot until tender. They usually cook rice with water in proportion to the amount of rice, without straining out the rice water—a method locally referred to as “soup-rice” and called “gào wēng hè” in the Miao language. This way of cooking results in rice that is neither bland nor lacking in nutrition. As for sticky rice, it is first soaked in cold water until swollen, then drained and steamed in a wooden steamer before being served in a wooden basin. Both regular and sticky rice varieties are typically husked once and consumed within a day, a practice followed year-round. It is believed that freshly husked and cooked rice is more nourishing, while rice that has been stored for a long time is considered "stale" and less beneficial to health. Traditional grain processing tools include stone mortars and water mills, both of which have been used for a very long time and are found in every household. Water mills (sometimes called water grinders) for hulling rice have only been around for three to four hundred years and are said to have been introduced by other ethnic groups. Villages near water sources may have one or several water mills, but these are generally used only during busy farming seasons. During dry periods, reliance primarily falls back on stone mortars. The processing method involves placing sun-dried or kiln-dried rice grains into a stone mortar, then stepping on the back end of the pestle lever to make it rise and fall, using the downward force to pound the grains. Once pounded, the chaff is sifted out to obtain clean rice.