Cornmeal "Tuo"

Cornmeal "Tuo"

　　In the past, due to the scarcity of side dishes and vegetables, locals ingeniously repurposed cornmeal into various side dishes and snacks. The "Tuo" made today is stuffed with filling, features decorative patterns on the surface, and has an attractive appearance—it was once an indispensable "gift" when visiting relatives and friends. Now that food is abundant and there are more gift options, few people still know how to make these homemade "Tuo."

　　 The tool used to make "Tuo" is a wooden mold carved from hard wood, with a circular indentation in the middle. Patterns such as “Fu” (blessing), “Shou” (longevity), or flowers are carved at the bottom of the circle. The prepared cornmeal dough needs to ferment for 24 hours. Take a piece of dough, stuff it with red bean paste made from azuki beans, and press it into the "Tuo" mold so that the pattern imprints on one side of the cake. Master Jin places the shaped "Tuo" in a pot over a firewood stove to bake until cooked.