Flower Rice

Flower Rice

　　Flower Rice

　　The “flower rice” of the Ma'guan Zhuang people has a long history and is an indispensable and delicious dish in their daily lives.

　　The method of making flower rice involves selecting high-quality glutinous rice, washing and sun-drying it, while gathering various plant leaves from the mountains that are beneficial to health and boiling them to produce red, yellow, blue, orange, black, and other colors. The washed glutinous rice is then soaked separately in these plant dyes for three to four hours before being dried. Once the vibrant colors have thoroughly penetrated the grains and the rice’s color has completely changed, it is rinsed clean by the water and then steamed in a bamboo steamer. The flower rice boasts bright, eye-catching hues—when scooped into a bowl, it resembles a freshly bloomed red rose, exuding a rich fragrance that refreshes the senses. It is delicious when eaten with white or brown sugar. In the bamboo steamer, the red, yellow, blue, orange, and black colors shimmer brilliantly amid the thick steam, filling the room with their pure, enticing aroma.