Doumen Mugwort Cake

Doumen Mugwort Cake

Doumen Mugwort Cake is an intangible cultural heritage of Doumen District.

　　Making mugwort cakes during Qingming Festival is a traditional custom of the people in Doumen, with a history spanning several hundred years. The process of making mugwort cakes mainly includes six steps: preparing ingredients, cleaning mugwort leaves, mixing flour, preparing the filling, wrapping the cake, and steaming. All these steps are done manually using traditional methods, making the procedure quite intricate. The tenderest mugwort leaves can only be harvested in March each year, just a few days before Qingming. After harvesting, the mugwort leaves need to be washed and boiled for rinsing over two days, then chopped up with a knife, mixed with sugar, and boiled in a pot. This mixture is then blended with glutinous rice flour to form dough balls. These are filled with a mixture of minced pork, crushed peanuts, white sesame, and white sugar to make the filling, then shaped into cakes. The cakes are placed on banana leaves and steamed in a steamer basket for 40 minutes. Freshly made mugwort cakes are emerald green and translucent, soft, sticky, and smooth on the palate.

　　Mugwort cakes (also known as “mugwort rice cakes”) are a food of the local Hakka people, named after their primary ingredient—“mugwort.” Mugwort has a distinctive fragrance and fuzzy undersides, along with medicinal properties. Every spring, clusters of lush green mugwort grow in fields and by waterways. Hakka women take their children to gather the tender leaves at the right time. After processing, the leaves are mixed with water and glutinous rice flour, kneaded into small portions, and stuffed with fillings such as peanuts and sesame. These are then shaped into small green rice cakes or pressed into wooden “cake molds” (cake-shaped molds) to form shapes, and steamed in a steamer basket. This results in the distinctive folk-style Hakka food — mugwort cake.

　　Mugwort cake is a speciality food with a history of several hundred years in Baijiao Town, Doumen District. It is made in villages such as Xiashan Village, Baishi Village, and Laijia Village, among which Xiashan Village is most famous. Legend has it that mugwort leaves can regulate qi, unblock orifices, ward off evil and epidemics, and prevent colds, making mugwort cake one of the seasonal speciality foods loved by both urban and rural residents in Doumen.

　　Making mugwort cakes mainly involves the following six steps: (1) preparing ingredients; (2) preparing mugwort leaves; (3) mixing flour; (4) making the mugwort cake filling; (5) wrapping the mugwort cake; (6) steaming the mugwort cake. Mugwort cakes are characterized by their regional identity, uniqueness, edibility, and medicinal value, and have been passed down through generations to this day.

　　Historical Origins

　　Mugwort cakes have a history of several hundred years. Since the main ingredient, mugwort, has high medicinal value, the Hakka residents in Xiashan Village, Baishi Village, Xiaotuo Village, and Laijia Village in Baijiao Town have preserved the tradition of making mugwort cakes to this day.

　　The use of mugwort in China has a long history, and it also has a deep-rooted past in Doumen. According to the local historical record, the “Qing · Daoguang · Xiangshan County Annals,” under the “Products” section: “Mugwort: Large mugwort leaves are hairy, coin mugwort leaves are coin-shaped, both treat female blood conditions; field mugwort can be mixed with flour to make snacks; sweet mugwort is not used medicinally but can be cooked and eaten.” This also shows that mugwort was practically used for both medicinal and dietary purposes at that time and place.

　　Mugwort cakes made primarily from mugwort have high nutritional and medicinal value. The villagers of Xiashan Village in Baijiao Town have passed down this precious folk tradition through generations. Nowadays, most families in Xiashan Village grow mugwort themselves, which helps preserve this Hakka-style food. This practice provides good protection for this traditional folk custom, which is easily impacted by modern foods.