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Introduction to Wuling Lei Cha

Wuling Leicha has a long history in the Dongting Lake area. According to legend, more than 2,000 years ago, Ma Yuan led his troops to march south and stationed in Sima Cuo City (now Changmaoling Township, Dingcheng District). There was a plague in the military camp, and an immortal offered a prescription. The prescription reads: “Sesame seeds, mung beans, ginger, tea leaves, fried rice, put them in a mortar, mash them with catalpa wood into a paste, and brew them in boiling water.” After taking it, the disease was cured, and it has been introduced to the people since then.

Lei Cha has the functions of promoting body fluid to quench thirst, clearing away heat and detoxification, reducing inflammation and eliminating diseases. When drinking, it is called “Take Tea” with fried noodles with local characteristics and specially made jar dishes. There are at least a dozen kinds of tea, and as many as forty-eight kinds of tea. It is very interesting to eat and drink.

Tanzicai is an ancient Chinese traditional method of making pickles, which is popular in Zhejiang, Hunan, Sichuan and other places. The pickles pickled in jars are crisp, salty, spicy, sour, sweet, rich in nutrition and very easy to stimulate appetite. Jar dishes originated in ancient times, and fresh vegetables were sealed in clay pots for emergency use.

After thousands of years of oral instruction and innovation, jar dishes have developed into a local specialty with unique flavor and various varieties. Jar dishes are different from pickled vegetables such as kimchi and pickles. What stands out is the jar, and the older the jar, the more fragrant the dish.

Newly installed jars can only be used after undergoing strict technical treatment. Not only all vegetables can be made into jar dishes, but also there are many kinds of dishes. Taking radishes as an example, there are dozens of categories of radishes soaked in wine, tofu curd radishes, salt water radishes, and sweet and sour radishes. Each category has a different flavor, but it is a good product for porridge, bibimbap, and wine.

In a broad sense, jar dishes do not refer to a certain dish in a specific region. Jar dishes generally refer to various dishes that have been marinated in ceramic (and glass) jars. Generally speaking, jar dishes are more popular in the south than in the north. For example, dried plum vegetables (mildew dried vegetables) in Jiangsu and Zhejiang can also be classified into such a category. In some places, it is called differently, such as in Xiangxi, it is called grandma’s food. But in any case, jar dishes should go through a process of pickling (or storage) in jars.

According to the state of the dishes stored in the jar, jar dishes can be divided into two different categories. One is a dry jar dish, and the other is a wet jar dish. The so-called dry jar dishes, as the name suggests, the state of the vegetables stored in the jars is dry – the humidity inside at that time may be very different for different types of vegetables. Prunes can be classified into this category. For another category, the pickled cabbage we are familiar with is the wet jar dish. The sour radish sold on the street also belongs to this category.

There is a very important thing to pay attention to when making jar dishes, to ensure that all the water in the small grooves on the edge of the jar will not evaporate. Because the water in the small groove on the edge acts as a seal, it can prevent the vegetables inside from rotting prematurely. Therefore, it is often necessary to add water to the small tank to ensure the quality of the dishes inside.

Features of jar dishes: sour and refreshing, aids digestion, appetizers, and cools off summer heat. It can be fried alone or used as a side dish. Representative dishes include: fried meat with soaked radish, fried beef with bamboo shoots, fried chicken with pickled pepper, and hot and sour fish rolls. Soaked radish and pepper are inseparable. Soak cucumbers and bamboo shoots in nests, which can be eaten the next day.

Lei Cha, popular in Shanwei City, Jieyang City, and some areas in Guangxi and western Hunan, is one of the ways to receive guests grandly and economically in the old days. Its production method is: first put the tea leaves into the tooth bowl (a special kind of pottery with sawtooth pattern on the inner wall), after moistening, make a hammer (wooden pestle) about 3 feet long with hard wood such as pomegranate wood or lychee wood. Stir and mash, then put the cooked peanuts, sesame, basil (also known as Jinbuhuan) into the tooth bowl to make a paste, add an appropriate amount of salt, and pour boiling water into it, so it is also called Leicha .

Then the host puts big handfuls of fried rice into a bowl of salted tea, and brings them steaming hot to the guests. Everyone sits in a circle in the living room, drinking and chewing, chatting about homework, or talking about current events, while the host graciously adds salted tea and fried rice from time to time to persuade them to drink.