What is the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning the flavor of Mid-Autumn Festival? Is it the wide variety of mooncakes or the mellow and rustic moonlight Buddha-shaped pastry... In Songyang, there is a group of people whose Mid-Autumn flavor holds the "Xin'an River memory" 鈥?rice ku.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner. Walking into the home of a Xin'an River migrant family in Chi'an Village, Chishou Township, the whole house is filled with the sweet fragrance of rice. This is also a gentle preview before the Mid-Autumn reunion.

This white, plump traditional food is called "rice ku," also known as "white ku." Different from the delicacies that Songyang people usually eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival, this is a traditional snack that Xin'an River people must make during festivals and reunion times.

In the 1950s and 1960s, in order to support the construction of the Xin'an River Reservoir, many Xin'an River migrants came to Songyang. Decades have passed, and the accents of the elderly have already blended with the Songyang dialect, but the craft of making traditional food has never been forgotten.

The making of rice ku seems simple but contains wisdom and craftsmanship. Rice is ground into fine rice flour, steamed in a pot, and then kneaded while hot to create a soft and chewy texture. The rice ku looks plain on the outside, but the fillings are anything but simple. To accommodate the different tastes of the whole family, the fillings prepared in advance are extremely rich: 01 radish and tofu filling, 02 pickled mustard greens and dried tofu filling, 03 red bean paste filling.

Rice ku commonly comes in two shapes. The elders take the ku skin, fill it with plenty of filling, deftly fold it in half with their fingertips, and then pinch the pleats. One by one, plump half-moon-shaped "moon ku" take shape. Alternatively, with the help of traditional wooden molds, pressing firmly and tapping gently, the round and delicate "mold-printed ku" pops out, bearing patterns, delicious and beautiful.

A boiling earthen stove is topped with a steamer, and the wrapped rice ku is placed in the pot to steam for 10-15 minutes before it is freshly ready.

The moon is full and people are reunited. In previous years, the elderly would make rice ku alone, but this year there are more young figures at the small table. From mixing rice flour with water and kneading the dough, to making a complete rice ku, the younger generation follows the elders step by step, learning the tradition. Sometimes inheritance does not require a grand ceremony, and reunion does not require a lavish banquet. It may just happen at the table where the whole family sits together.

What is the indispensable "exclusive delicacy" on your family's Mid-Autumn dinner table? Come share with us in the comments section!