Fern starch skin

Fern starch skin

　　A snack from the Ankang region, most famous in Hanyin. Among Hanyin’s snacks, “fern starch skin” is the most renowned. It surpasses both “Hanzhong rice noodle skin” and “Qinzhen noodle skin.” Due to its remote location and lack of fame, coupled with the absence of celebrity endorsements or literary praise, it has remained “hidden deep in the mountains, unknown to the world.”

　　Fern starch skin is made from locally sourced wild fern starch, a specialty of the mountainous area. Hanyin is located in the heart of the Qinba Mountain region, where wild ferns grow abundantly. Their roots store a large amount of starch, ranging from 40% to 76%, which can be processed into fern starch. The fern starch is fine, glutinous, pollution-free, and highly nutritious, making it an excellent tonic food that even surpasses lotus root starch. It also offers various health benefits such as dispelling rheumatism, reducing fever and promoting urination, reducing swelling and calming the nerves, cutting through greasiness, aiding digestion, refreshing the spirit, and having anti-cancer properties.

　　The preparation method: first mix the fern starch with water to form a starchy slurry. The consistency should not be too thick or too thin—ideally, it should be a thin paste. Then pour a thin layer of the slurry onto a specially made round, flat-bottomed tin pan, place it in boiling water, and it will cook quickly. Remove the pan, briefly dip it in cold water, twirl the edge of the pan with chopsticks, flip it over, and a slightly purplish-red piece of fern starch skin is ready.

　　When eating, fold the skin and slice it into finger-width strips, then place them in a bowl with seasonings before serving. Fern starch skin is tender, soft, smooth, and silky, with a moist and refreshing mouthfeel. It has a distinctive wild aroma and a delightful taste that stimulates the appetite. The seasonings for fern starch skin must be comprehensive—vinegar, garlic water, minced ginger, MSG, chili, sesame oil, salt, and sesame paste, all essential. Especially the chili—it is indispensable. Without it, the dish loses its soul.

　　Its flavor is greatly diminished. You’ll see that even the most delicate and refined young ladies, no matter how pampered they usually are, will absolutely refuse to stop until they’ve eaten until their lips are tinged red.

　　Fern starch skin is a premium snack served to guests in Hanyin, appearing at banquets of all sizes. Even when fine wines and delicacies from land and sea are served, a bowl of fern starch skin is still essential—placed right at the center of the table and often the first and most popular dish to disappear. For those “who left home young and returned old,” the first meal back in Hanyin must include fern starch skin. Even critically ill patients on the brink of death, who have lost all appetite, may still wish to eat a little fern starch skin to stimulate their taste buds—even if it means dying without regret. However, due to the scarcity of fern starch nowadays, sweet potato starch or potato starch is often used as a substitute, but their taste cannot compare, and the flavor is greatly reduced. Authentic fern starch skin has become quite rare.