Saturday, April 29, 2017

Mugwort Steamed Cake 艾团/青团


Sometimes around Qing Ming/Tomb-sweeping festival, the Chinese will collect some Chinese Mugwort (艾草)to be hanging around the door, which is believed to be able to chase away unwelcome energy. It is also the main ingredient for the Chinese steamed cake Ai Tuan/Qing Tuan (艾团/青团)eate at or around the tomb sweeping festival.

My mom discovered a big patch of wild mugwort in the woods near my house during her visit few years back, she will bring back a bag full of the wild mugwort and boiled it down to be used for bath when she was feeling under the weather.

I have been meaning to make Qing Tuan by using the young wild mugwort nearby this year, since it is a wild plant and I want to make sure it is 100% safe to be eaten, I have done some research and found out that the wild mugwort near my house is the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort.

几年前我妈来美探亲时发现我家附近的树林里有一大片的野生艾草,她后来感冒的时候还摘了好些回来煮水泡澡。

清明前后是艾草春季出土的时节,我摘了一大包回家取嫩叶做青团,剩下的煮水给咳嗽的俊宝泡澡。




The species used in China/Asia is Artemisia argyi, is often called "mugwort" in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine, can also be referred to by the more specific name "Chinese mugwort".

The Japanese and Korean also uses mugwort in similar context as the Chinese, where the species found in Japan and Korea is Artemisia princeps, also known as yomogi (ヨモギ).

The mugwort mentioned are all under the common species Mugwort and have similar properties and are used medicinally in traditional medicine.

朋友圈里好些朋友问我怎么在郊野辨识艾草。为了安全起见,虽然很确定我家附近摘的是艾草,我还是上网做了好些功课、又拍了些近照让有兴趣摘野生艾草的朋友们参考参考。

一般中国人使用的艾草学名叫Artemisia argyi,美东这里野生的艾草学名叫Artemisia vulgaris,也有把它叫小叶艾草的。两者都是蒿属植物,化学成份类似,药效也相似。


The young plant of Common Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) near my house.

这是我家附近树林里刚长出来的艾草。艾草喜欢长在露天场所,如废弃的空地、农耕地、马路、铁路、树林边。

It is commonly found near waste ground, roadsides, railroads, fallow agricultural land with a lot of nitrogen still in it, sandy, open ground.

Leaves two to four inches long, one to three inches wide, simple, alternate, deeply lobed, and have a distinctive aroma.

艾草的叶子大约2-4寸长,1-3寸宽,呈羽状分裂,揉之有香气。香气是辨识艾草最重要的两点之一。




Leaves on the upper portions of the plant are more deeply lobed and may lack petioles. Leaf undersides are covered with soft, white to gray hairs, while upper leaf surfaces may be smooth to slightly hairy.

另一点就是看看叶子背面,叶子背面呈银白色有白丝绒毛;靠近嫩叶的枝干也有绒毛,而且更浓密一些



I collected a bagful of young leaves, the young plants are tender and less bitter.
这是我在树林里半小时的收获,春季刚出土的艾草味道清香,不苦涩。

I proceed to make Mugwort Steamed cake that afternoon.
当天下午就做了好吃的青团。


Ingredients: (makes 15-18 pieces of cake)
60 g of young tender tips of mugwort
1/8 tsp of baking soda
15 g/1 tbsp of sugar
60 g rice flour
120 g glutinous rice flour

The filling:
40 g of Adzuki bean  toasted
20 g of Sesame seeds  toasted
100 g of Peanuts  toasted
30-50 g of sugar 

材料: 
60 嫩艾叶/
1/8 小勺小苏打
15 /1 大勺
60 粘米粉
120 糯米粉

馅料:
40 红豆 焙香
20 芝麻 焙香
100 花生焙香
30-50 g





1. Toast the peanuts, sesame seeds and adzuki bean separately, let cool. Grind all three in a mixer or coffee grinder into fine powder, add sugar and mix well.

2. Blend together rice flour and glutinous rice flour.

1. 把花生、芝麻、红豆分别炒/焙香。冷却后磨成粉,拌入白糖备用。

2. 把粘米粉和糯米粉混合备用。



3. Clean the mugwort tips and cook for around 15 minutes in water with 1/8 tsp of baking soda, the baking soda will reduce the bitterness and retain the color of mugwort better.

4. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water.

5. Grind the leaves with a little water into a coarse paste. 

6. Place the paste in a cooking pan with 1 tbsp of sugar, cook for a few minutes, when the paste started to boil, add about 3 tbsp of the mixed rice flour, stir using a spatula and continue cooking until the paste turn into a sticky dough.

7. Place the remaining rice flour in a large mixing bowl, add the sticky dough from pan into the flour while it is still hot and knead into a soft dough. Use a pair of glove if you may to prevent burning your hand, you can also use a spatula to bring the flour together before kneading it with hands. Use a little more flour if the dough is sticky.

3. 把艾叶洗净后放到锅里加水和1/8小勺的小苏打粉一起煮15分钟。小苏打可去除艾叶的苦涩并保持翠绿。

4. 煮好的艾叶沥干用凉水冲洗几遍。

5. 用食物料理机把艾叶磨成糊状,可以适当加一点水。

6. 把磨好的艾叶糊倒到一口锅里,加入1大勺的白糖,煮滚。加入3大勺的粘米粉/糯米粉,用个铲子不断搅拌至滚热浓稠。

7. 把剩下的粘米/糯米粉放到一口大盆里,把锅里的艾叶糊盛到米粉里,用个勺子拌匀,稍微冷却后和成一个不黏手的粉团。如果面团很粘的话,可以适量加些糯米粉揉至不粘为止。


8. Rub a layer of oil over palm and take a portion of the dough (around 25g) and shape into a small disc. 

9. Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the middle of the disc, pinch to seal the edges to form a small ball. Place the ball on a piece of parchment paper or banana leaf.

10. Repeat the steps for the remaining ingredients. Steam the cake for 12-15 minutes and serve warm. 

11. I also made some small glutinous balls/Tang Yuan out of the dough and serve with the filling on of instead of stuffing it in. It is super delicious!

8. 手掌上抹点油,取一小团粉团(大约25克),压扁,盛入1大勺的馅料,捏起成团。摆到剪成小张的油纸/香蕉叶上。

9. 把青团都包好后,上蒸锅蒸12-15分钟。间中可以每五分钟开蒸笼盖子一次,这样蒸出来的青团不会塌。 

10. 我还做了些艾叶汤圆,撒上馅料粉吃,也很好吃哦!


Here are the steps of making Tang Yuan -- 






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