Zeng’s Sweet Fermented Rice

Zeng’s Sweet Fermented Rice

　　Zeng’s Sweet Fermented Rice (a native of Gongyi Township) sets up his stall opposite Yuan’s Tangyuan. A descendant of a long line of sweet fermented rice makers, he enjoys a stellar reputation in towns such as Fengming, Guanyin, and Gongyi. He brings one jar (forty to fifty pounds) to each market, rain or shine, and packs up once it sells out. At every market, he arrives early to start a fire, burns two loads of charcoal, and places a large copper pot atop the stove. He cooks one batch and serves one batch—each batch yields over ten bowls, served nonstop. As soon as the pot begins to boil, a rich, intoxicating aroma wafts through the air, spreading more than three meters away, sweet and utterly enticing. The sweet fermented rice inside bubbles away, its golden broth neither too thick nor too thin—once it touches the tongue, it’s sweet, smooth, and refreshing. One Sichuan opera actress named Zhu Cuilian once said, “I’ve traveled all over the Western Sichuan Plain, and I’ve never had sweet fermented rice as delicious as this!”