Shefan (Communal Rice)

Shefan

　　    Shefan

In Jiangkou, people place great importance on celebrating the She Spring Festival. On the fifth Wu day after the Beginning of Spring (usually around the Spring Equinox), every household makes Shefan to honor their ancestors. Around the Spring Equinox each year, people eat Shefan and gather with relatives and friends. Especially in families with new graves (which are usually honored for three years), they invite relatives and friends to share Shefan, visit the burial grounds to sweep the tombs, and the more people the better. During these times, the surrounding hills are crowded with people, incense smoke wafts through the air, and firecrackers sound incessantly, creating a strong atmosphere of memorial reverence.

    The main ingredients of Shefan are rice, mugwort, cured meat, walnut kernels, and peanuts. It not only has a fragrant aroma but also offers benefits such as refreshing the mind and energizing the brain.

    With the sweet taste of glutinous rice, the smoky flavor of cured meat, and the fragrance of tender mugwort, Shefan’s unique flavor is very popular. In Jiangkou, during the season when the grass grows and flowers bloom, and peach blossoms and willows turn green, friends, family, and neighbors customarily exchange Shefan to enjoy together. This simple and heartfelt rural custom continues to be passed down from generation to generation.

In Jiangkou, people place great importance on celebrating the She Spring Festival. On the fifth Wu day after the Beginning of Spring (usually around the Spring Equinox), every household makes Shefan to honor their ancestors. Around the Spring Equinox each year, people celebrate by eating Shefan and gathering with relatives and friends. Especially in families with new graves (which are usually honored for three years), they invite others to join them in eating Shefan and visiting the tomb site, and the more people, the better. At these times, the surrounding hills are filled with people, incense smoke curls into the air, and firecrackers resound loudly, giving the act of eating Shefan a solemn memorial tone.

The main ingredients of Shefan are white rice, mugwort, and cured meat. Before the festival, fresh tender mugwort branches are picked, washed, rubbed to squeeze out the bitter juice, then rinsed again, chopped, and stir-fried in a pot with ginger, wild onions, and garlic sprouts until the mugwort turns yellow and is dried. Cured meat is washed, diced, and stir-fried until fragrant. Then, glutinous rice and regular rice are washed in a ratio of 3:1 or 2:1 (i.e., 3 kg glutinous rice to 1–2 kg regular rice). The glutinous rice is soaked in water for 3–4 hours and then drained. The regular rice is briefly boiled in hot water, removed, and the starchy cooking water is discarded. The drained glutinous rice is mixed with the parboiled regular rice, along with stir-fried cured meat, mugwort, salt, and MSG. The mixture is placed in a steamer and steamed over high heat until cooked. As living standards have improved, ingredients like walnut kernels and peanut kernels have been added to Shefan, which not only adds fragrance but also has benefits such as refreshing the mind and energizing the brain.

With the sweet taste of glutinous rice, the smoky flavor of cured meat, and the fragrance of She (communal) vegetables, Shefan’s unique flavor is very popular. In Jiangkou, during the season when the grass grows and flowers bloom, and peach blossoms and willows turn green, friends, family, and neighbors customarily exchange Shefan to enjoy together. This simple and heartfelt rural custom continues to be passed down from generation to generation. With the development of the times, Shefan has gradually made its way into the market.