Longji Fragrant Glutinous Rice

Longji Fragrant Glutinous Rice

　　Longsheng Longji Fragrant Glutinous Rice boasts pure grain quality, snow-white color like jade, a rich aroma, and is soft and highly sticky when used in various dishes. For instance, steamed glutinous rice has glossy, shiny grains that are sweet and tasty, can be pressed into firm shapes yet expand softly when left, offering a soft, smooth, and slightly sticky texture with excellent taste and a fragrant aroma. This is why there’s a saying: “When one field grows fragrant glutinous rice, the whole valley smells of it; when one family steams it, the whole village is filled with its aroma.” It is a premium ingredient used in traditional festival foods such as zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), New Year cakes, puffed rice, tangyuan (sweet rice balls), glutinous rice cakes, and steamed glutinous rice, all of which have distinctive local flavors and health benefits when consumed regularly. Longji Fragrant Glutinous Rice is also the main ingredient in brewing Longji glutinous rice wine, crafted using specialized traditional wisdom unique to Longji and only available there—nowhere else in the world.

　　 “The phrase ‘When one field grows fragrant glutinous rice, the whole valley smells of it; when one family steams it, the whole village is filled with its aroma’ refers to Longsheng Fragrant Glutinous Rice. Red glutinous rice is as red as rouge, exuding a strong fragrant aroma, becoming fluffy and chewy when steamed, and soft, sticky, and smooth when kneaded—making it perfect for making traditional holiday treats like zongzi, New Year cakes, and glutinous rice cakes. ‘Don’t you whistle!’ the legend goes, ‘because if you do, the dogs will come, scaring away the glutinous rice granny.’ In ancient times, impoverished Yao people cooked the few remaining grains of rice they had to feed a begging old woman. Grateful, she left them a sack of red glutinous rice seeds that would never run out. The local Tusi (feudal lord) grew jealous and released hunting dogs to scare the old woman away. Dogs are sacred to the Yao people, so they dared not offend them, but they continued to call the old woman the Glutinous Rice Granny, also known as the Grain Goddess.

　　 In Dream of the Red Chamber, among the red tablets presented to the Jia family by the village head of Heishan Village under their jurisdiction, Wu Jinxiao, one item listed is ‘Imperial Field Rouge Rice,’ of which only ‘two dan’ (a unit of measurement) were offered—not available for anyone outside the imperial family or nobility.

　　 Red glutinous rice cannot be grown in just any field. It requires an altitude of 400–450 meters, a cool or semi-cool mountainous climate, and fertile paddy soil—all conditions found only in Longsheng.

　　 During harvest season, locals in Longsheng Dilin hang bundles of red glutinous rice on wooden racks erected along riverbanks. These rows of hanging rice bundles are referred to as “sky threshing floors.”

　　 Red glutinous rice can stay fresh for several days or even up to a week. When Yao people go out to work in the fields, they carry a “gourd” filled with red glutinous rice. During slack farming seasons, they eat the rice with preserved meat—it leaves a lingering fragrance in the mouth and is extremely filling.

　　 “Longji Glutinous Rice Wine” is made from premium Longji glutinous rice, brewed with traditional homemade wine yeast, sealed, and then blended with sweet spring water. Aged cellar wine features glutinous rice that dissolves into small clumps sinking to the bottom of the jar. The wine is crystal clear, drips in threads, and clings to the lips upon drinking. With a fragrant, honey-sweet taste that’s incredibly refreshing, even those who don’t usually drink alcohol find it hard to resist—earning it the nickname ‘Oriental Magic Water.’

　　 Every year during the Double Ninth Festival, when the climate is mild, the aged wine brewed is considered a rare delicacy. Wine aged for half a year is called “young wine,” which tastes as sweet as honey with no aftereffects. When sealed for a year, it becomes “aged wine.” Upon opening a jar of aged wine, the fragrance fills the room. The first bowl of wine drawn from the jar is always offered to ancestors—not only as a gesture of respect to the Glutinous Rice Granny, but also as a deep reverence for the Longji Terraces.

　　Source: Longsheng Tourism Website