Su Haizi

Su Haizi

　　Su Haizi, also called "Sticky Haizi," "Perilla Leaf Bun," or "Perilla Leaf Dry Food," is a traditional Manchu flour delicacy. To prepare it, sticky sorghum or glutinous rice is soaked in water and ground into sticky rice flour. Red beans are cooked and mashed into a paste to form the filling, which is then wrapped inside a round sticky rice dough cake. The outer layer is covered with perilla leaves, and it is steamed until cooked. It has a sweet and delicious taste with a fragrant aroma of perilla leaves. Not only do the Manchu people enjoy eating it regularly, but it is also commonly offered as a ceremonial food during worship rituals.

　　There is a legend among the Manchu people about the origin of Su Haizi, featuring the story of a clever wife who encouraged her husband to be diligent.

　　In early Manchu households, every able man was required to serve in the military. Some men, after serving, gained wisdom and achieved great things. Others, however, returned home lazy and gluttonous. There was one such couple where the husband, after returning from military service, refused to work in the fields and grew tired of plain farm food. He spent his days being idle, wandering around with no purpose. His wife tried to reason with him many times, but he would not listen at all and continued with his bad habits. One day, on the 25th day of the sixth lunar month, which happened to be the lazy husband’s birthday, the wife said to him, “Today is your birthday. Tell me what you’d like to eat, and I’ll cook it for you. Honestly, you were born in the Year of the Tiger—you should be able to eat anything without being picky. But instead, you’re so choosy—this you won’t eat, that has no flavor.”

　　The lazy husband listened to his wife and replied nonchalantly, pretending to be refined: “Ah, you only know part of the story. Yes, I was born in the Year of the Tiger, but it was a ‘small year’ (a lunar year with only 29 days in January). The month I was born was also a ‘small month.’ Tiger plus ‘small’—doesn’t that make me a little tiger cub? And with two ‘smalls,’ doesn’t that make me even smaller than a tiger cub? What’s even smaller than a tiger cub? A cat, of course. So, although I’m nominally a Tiger, I’m actually a Cat. And everyone knows cats are the most gluttonous—they absolutely must have their pick of fish and meat!” Having said this, the lazy husband gave a smug smile and looked at his wife.

　　The wife, realizing she couldn’t win the argument—and seeing that it was her husband’s birthday—held her frustration in and went to prepare the meal. She went to their field intending to pick some greens when a whiff of perilla fragrance drifted by on the breeze. She looked up and saw that the perilla leaves by the edge of the field had grown as big as small dishes. She casually picked one, held it to her nose, and took a deep sniff, exclaiming, “How fragrant!” Observing the shape of the perilla leaf and recalling the scolding she’d just received from her husband, she suddenly came up with an idea to teach him a lesson. She quickly picked a bunch of perilla leaves, tucked them into her clothes, and brought them home. She also found some sticky rice flour, filled it with red bean paste, and shaped it into little figures resembling mice. She then wrapped each one with a perilla leaf, using the stem of the leaf as the mouse’s tail. Looking at the fragrant steamed rice mice, the wife already had a plan in mind, waiting for her husband to return. When the lazy man came back at noon, the wife greeted him cheerfully and said, “Today, I’ve prepared your favorite food for your birthday.” Hearing there was something tasty, the lazy man’s eyes widened and he asked, “What is it? Where is it?” “Look,” the wife said as she lifted the pot lid. The lazy man took one look and immediately frowned, saying, “What’s so great about these sticky buns? I’ve long stopped liking them.” The wife calmly replied, “Take another good look. These aren’t ordinary sticky buns. They’re ‘Su Haizi.’ You claimed you were a cat, right? And cats love to eat mice. It’s your birthday as this lazy cat, so I’m serving you mice as your treat. Don’t you like that?” Since the husband had just claimed he was a cat that very morning, his wife’s “mouse” lunch left him speechless. He had no choice but to grudgingly sit down and eat. After trying one, he found the fragrance of the perilla leaf and the taste truly delightful, so he ate one after another and soon polished off more than half the pot. Seeing he was full, the wife picked up a hoe and said, “You’ve eaten too many sticky foods. You need to do some work to digest it properly, or you’ll get sick. Go hoe the field now!” The lazy man looked at his wife, thought her advice made sense, and cheerfully picked up the hoe to start working the field. From that day on, the lazy man not only grew fond of eating “Su Haizi” but gradually became more hardworking. The couple’s life grew better and better. Other wives in the village, hearing about this, also started making “Su Haizi” for their husbands. Over time, making and eating “Su Haizi” became a custom among the Manchu people.