Songyang Sha Lei

Songyang Sha Lei

　　Songyang Sha Lei

　　　　On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, they pound Sha Lei. During the Yuanxiao Festival in Songyang, people don’t eat yuanxiao (sweet glutinous rice balls), but Sha Lei. Made from premium white glutinous rice, the rice is soaked in water for three days before being ground into a paste. The paste is then scooped into cloth bags and hung up to drain until it’s neither too dry nor too sticky, at which point it’s used to make dumplings. The unfilled glutinous rice balls are boiled and scooped out of the pot with a strainer, then rolled in a tray already coated with pounded white sugar and roasted sesame seeds, turning them over three times to coat them with a layer of sesame. Hence the name “Sha Lei.” When eaten, they are soft, glutinous, sweet, smooth, and not greasy—truly unique.