Unwrapping the runbing: a tale of Ching Ming - Taiwan News

... runbing spring rolls are actually a kind of festival food, usually eaten during the Ching Ming Festival(清明節)or Tomb Sweeping Day. StayloggedinForgetpassword? Login Notyetamember？Register E-Mail 送出 返回登入頁 密碼設定成功，請使用新密碼登入  | Home World SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradish... SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradishes,corianderleaves,peanutpowder. SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradish... SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradishes,corianderleaves,peanutpowder. SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradish... SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradishes,corianderleaves,peanutpowder. SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradish... SomeoftheingredientsthatpeopleinthenorthernTaiwanwouldputinsidethestuffingofarunbing.Fromlefttoright,fishcrunches,driedradishes,corianderleaves,peanutpowder. Makingarunbing:Achefisseenmakingarunbing. Makingarunbing:Achefisseenmakingarunbing. Makingarunbing:Achefisseenmakingarunbing. Makingarunbing:Achefisseenmakingarunbing. Therunbingwrappersareusuallymadeusinghigh-proteinflourorbreadflour,whichgivesititschewytexture. Therunbingwrappersareusuallymadeusinghigh-proteinflourorbreadflour,whichgivesititschewytexture. Makingarunbing:Achefisseenmakingarunbing. Makingarunbing:Achefisseenmakingarunbing. Runbingisatypeofnon-friedspringrollthatisacommonlyfoundfood. Runbingisatypeofnon-friedspringrollthatisacommonlyfoundfood. GourmetLucilleHan GourmetLucilleHan PhotosbyJosephYeh WhatChinesedishleftcontemporarygourmetLucilleHan(韓良露)awestruckandledhertodescribeitasromantic,universalandsharedbypeopleallovertheworld,akindof"ancientbuffet"thatallowsyoutoenjoydozensoftastesinasinglebite? ThisisalsothesamefoodthatinspiredmanyofthegreatestancientChinesepoetsincludingTuFu(杜甫),SuShi(蘇軾)andLuYou(陸遊)toscribefamouslineshundredsofyearsagoincelebrationofanancienttraditionalfoodthatisstillwidelypopulartoday. Thefoodinquestionisrunbing(潤餅)orlumpia,popia,atypeofnon-friedspringrollthatisacommonlyfoundfoodwhichnotonlycontainsdozensoffreshanddeliciousingredients,butisalsoapartofalong-treasuredtraditioninspecialtyfoodsthatgoesbacknearlyathousandyearsinChineseculturearoundtheworldandinTaiwan. Youdon'tneedtobearocketscientisttofigureoutwhythefoodissowidelypopular,sinceitisbotheasytomakeandeasytoeat,somethingalongthelinesofaChinese-styleMexicantaco. Whatmaycomeasasurprisetomany,however,isthetimingforeatingsuchfood:runbingspringrollsareactuallyakindoffestivalfood,usuallyeatenduringtheChingMingFestival(清明節)orTombSweepingDay. TombSweepingDayand Runbingspringrolls Thereisinfactaquitecomplicatedhistorybehindthislong-runningtradition. ChingMingisatraditionalChinesefestivalthatfallsonthe104thdayafterthewintersolstice,usuallyoccurringaroundthefirstweekinApril.ThisyearitfallsonApril5.Theliteralmeaningofthefestival'sChinesename,(清明),meanspureandbright,suggestingatimewhenpeoplegooutandenjoythegreeneryofspringtime.Itlaterturnedintoafestivaltomemorializethedeceasedandtotendtothegravesofdepartedones. ThefestivalisnowanimportantnationalholidayinTaiwanandothercountriesthatsharetheChineseculture. BackduringtheancientChineseTangandSungdynasties,however,whichheldswayfromaround600to1200AD,thefestivalwasseenasanextensionofanotherfestivalthatfellonlyafewdaysbeforeit,HanShiJie(寒食節)orColdFoodFestival.Astheself-explanatorynamesuggests,onthisdayonecanonlyeatcoldfood,andthesignaturefoodoftheancientfestivalwas-asyoumighthaveguessedalready-runbing,asitdoesnotneedtobecookedoverafire. TheColdFoodFestival,Jie Zitui(介子推)andRunbing ThereisasadstorybehindthespecialtraditionofeatingrunbingonColdFoodDay.ThefestivalisinfactamemorialdayfortheancientscholarJieZitui(介子推)wholivedduringtheChineseSpringandAutumnPeriodbetween770BCand476BC. JiewasoneoffollowersofDukeWenofJin.Beforehebecameadukeandearnedthetitleofoneofthetopfivedukesoftheperiod,Wenwasinahardshipexilefor19years,duringwhichtimeJiewasadevoteeandhardcorefollowerofWen. JieevencutapieceofmeatfromhisownthightomakeameatsoupforWenwhenthefuturedukehadnothingtoeatduringhisexile.TorepayJie'sdedicationanddevotion,Wenpromisedtorewardhimoneday.WhenhefinallybecameaDuke,however,WenrewardedjustabouteveryonewhohelpedhimduringhisworstdecadesbutforsomereasonorotherforgottorewardJie,whobythenhadmovedintothemountainswithhismother,refusingtotakeanypositionasareward. DukeWenwenttotheforest,butJiewasnowheretobefound.Anxioustolocatehismostdevotedfollower,Wenfollowedanill-advisedsuggestionfromoneofhissubordinatesandsetthemountainonfiretoforceJieout.UnfortunatelyJierefusedtogiveinandultimatelydiedinthefirealongwithhismother. Feelingremorseful,DukeWenorderedeveryonetogothreedayswithoutlightingafiretohonorJieforhisloyaltyanddevotionaswellashispietytohismother. Sincenofirescouldbesettomakefood,andthefestivaloccurredatspringtimejustasbudswerebeginningtosproutinthefields,peopleateuncookedspringrollsonthisdaywhichcontainedallkindsoffreshly-pickedvegetables. ItlaterbecameahabitforpeopletoworshiptheirancestorsattheirtombsduringtheColdFoodFestival.ThispracticeandtheeatingofrunbingwerebothlatermovedbackafewdaystocoincidewiththeChingMingTombSweepingDay,sincethetwofestivalswerecloseintimeanyway. RunbinginTaiwan Thisfestivefoodhasbeenpasseddownfromgenerationtogeneration,movingfromnorthernChineseprovincesandheadingsouthbeforeultimatelylandinginTaiwan.ItisnowawidelypracticedtraditioninmanyfamiliesinTaiwan,especiallythoseofSouthernFujianorigin. Tomany,runbingisasimplefood.TogourmetLucilleHan(韓良露),however,whohasdoneextensiveresearchonthisparticularfood,itismorethanafood.Itis"aboatthatcarriesthousandsofyearsofChineseculture,"inherwords. "Thefoodhassucharichculturalconnotation,"saysHan.AccordingtoHan'sstudy,thefoodoriginatedwiththeancientChineseChunPan(春盤)orspringplate,whichisusedasakindofofferingfoodtothedeitySpringGodduringtheseason.Itsingredientsusuallyincludefivekindsofseasonings;greenonions,garlic,leeks,corianderleavesandlaver,collectivelycalledWuHsin(五辛)orFiveSpices. RunbinghasevolvedintoathousandfacesasdifferentsignatureseasoningsoringredientsineachregionorlocalityaroundthevastChinesemainlandhavebeenaddedtothemix. TheinfluencesonthefoodwithathousandfaceshavecomefromnotjusttheChinese,butalsofromotherAsiancountriesaswell,asthefoodhastraveledtothePhilippinesandotherSoutheastAsiancountriestoo. "Theseshowthatrunbingitselfisameltingpotoffoodcultures." EventhoughTaiwanisnotavastlandmasslikemainlandChina,runbingisalsofoundindifferentflavorsindifferentregionsoftheisland. InnorthernTaiwantherollsaregenerallyflavoredwithspicyandfriedingredientsandherbs,stir-friedandsometimestoppedwithfinelygroundpeanutpowder.ThetasteisXiamen(廈門)inorigin,saysHan.Someofthericherfamiliesaddshrimp,bambooshootsandmushrooms,likethoseeateninthefamilyofwriterLin,whosewifewasfromXiamen. InsouthernTaiwan,theingredientsaregenerallyboiledorblanchedinplainwaterandtherecipeisofChuanzhou(泉州)origin.TheseChuanzhou-stylerunbingstillpreservetheancientChinesespringplatetraditionthatusesdriedingredientssuchasdifferentseasonings. Inordertokeepthislong-runningfoodtraditiongoingstrong,HanlaunchedaSpringRunbingCulturalFestivalorSpringPopiaFestivalinTaiwan.ThefestivalisinitsfourthyearnowandisheldannuallyatLinYutang'sHouselocatedontheroadtothehottourismspotYangmingshan,sincethefoodwasanimportantfamilydishforLin'sfamily. "Wewanttokeepthefoodtraditionalive,letitpassontogenerationstocome." Tweet Updated:2022-08-1301:45GMT+08:00