Chaoqi facts for kids
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| Type | food |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | China |
| Region or state | Yuanqu |
| Main ingredients | flour, edible oil, egg, sugar, salt, sesame |
| Ingredients generally used | milk, sesame, and five spices |
Chaoqi (Chinese: 炒琪/炒祺) is a unique traditional Chinese snack. It's made from dough pieces that are covered with a special kind of soil called Guanyin Clay. The main ingredients to make Chaoqi are flour, cooking oil, eggs, sugar, salt, and sesame. You can find it in different flavors, like milk, sesame, and even five spices flavor!
Contents
A Look Back: The History of Chaoqi
Chaoqi comes from a long time ago in Yuanqu County, which is in Shanxi province, China. Back then, travel was very slow because there weren't modern cars or trains. People often felt homesick or found it hard to get used to new places. So, they would bring Chaoqi with them on their journeys. This was because the dough was made with water, flour, and even soil from their hometown.
Chaoqi used to spoil easily. To help it last longer, people started covering the dough with an outer layer of Guanyin Clay (also known as Kaolinite). This helped preserve it. Because of its long history and special way of making, Chaoqi was officially recognized as an important cultural heritage of Shanxi Province on April 24, 2009.
Amazing Stories: How Chaoqi Began
There are some cool legends about how Chaoqi first started. All these stories are connected to Mount Wangwu. This is a famous mountain about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of Jiyuan City in China's Henan province. At the very top of the mountain's main peak, there's a stone altar where the legendary Yellow Emperor was said to have made offerings to the gods.
The Legend of Yugong and the Mountains
In an old Chinese legend called The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains, there's a character named Yugong. He tried to move huge mountains, and one of them was Mount Wangwu! To do this, he could only make one trip between the mountain and his home each year. The story says that the food he carried with him on these long journeys was Chaoqi.
The Legend of Guanyin's Help
Long, long ago, a strange sickness spread around Mount Wangwu. People felt sick in their stomachs, and no one knew how to cure them. They prayed to the heavens for help. The goddess Guanyin was touched by their prayers and came down to Earth. She took some earth from the top of the Temple of Heaven and used it to fry dough. She then gave this special fried dough to the sick people. In just a few days, everyone got better! After that, people called the soil "Guanyin Clay" and passed down the way to make this snack for generations.
What is Guanyin Clay?
Putting the legend aside, Guanyin Clay is a type of soil. In the past, during very hard times when there wasn't much food, some poor people would try to eat Guanyin clay to feel full. While it could make them feel less hungry, this clay cannot be digested by the human body. Eating it would cause bloating and make it very difficult to go to the bathroom. It's important to remember that Guanyin Clay is not food and does not provide any nutrition.
How Chaoqi is Made
Making Chaoqi is a special process that involves several steps:
- Step 1: Prepare the Guanyin Clay. First, the Guanyin Clay is carefully chosen. Large blocks of soil are crushed into a fine powder using a stone roller. Then, a sieve is used to filter the soil, making sure only the finest earth remains. Finally, this fine clay is heated over a fire.
- Step 2: Make the Dough. Flour is mixed with different seasonings to create the dough. Once the dough is ready, it's rolled out flat with a rolling pin. Then, it's carefully cut into small pieces.
- Step 3: Fry the Dough. The small dough pieces are then placed into the hot Guanyin Clay and fried at a high temperature.
- Step 4: Clean the Fried Pieces. After frying, the dough pieces are gently knocked to remove any extra clay that might be sticking to them.
