Delicious Treats from Feng County: Have You Ever Tried Lygianthus Meatballs?

Zhang Kelong: My Hometown's Delicacy

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In my hometown of Fuyang, there are many delicacies. Oil donuts, steamed buns, spicy soup, porridge, lygianthus (white poplar flowers), willow sprouts, hemp nut leaves (Chinese toon), rolled donuts, crispy greens, deep-fried meatballs – the list goes on and on.

When it comes to meatballs, most people are familiar with them. But before the Spring Festival, crispy greens come first, followed by 'overfrying' by older relatives. During difficult times, it's only when having a big feast or during the New Year that one can enjoy this treat. Nowadays, with better living conditions, people can have them whenever they want, and they'll fry a basket of meatballs when the craving strikes. The aroma from frying meatballs in any household can carry for several miles. You don't need to go out to eat; just smell the aroma, and you'll be lost in delight.

There is also a type of meatball that you may not have tried before – fried lygianthus meatballs.

Every time around Qingming Festival, when the lygianthus begins to sprout in the clear river of our village, the villagers will take boats to the riverbed to harvest the new shoots. They then return home to make meatballs and enjoy them – the freshest they can be.

Eating a lot of fish, meat, rice, and noodles, and then suddenly having a serving of meatballs made from fresh, natural ingredients like lygianthus – it's truly a delightful surprise. The meatballs are golden and green, with a delicate earthy aroma, making them unforgettable.

As for lygianthus, it's actually a very common plant found in water. It mainly grows in clear water bodies.

Lygianthus has many uses, not only for raising fish but also for fermenting and making excellent organic fertilizer. It's even a good feed for pigs and sheep.

Lygianthus is a lifesaver, especially during difficult periods in the 1950s and 60s. It saved many lives in our hometown. People have a special affection for it.

As the saying goes, 'Mountain provides, and water provides.' Lygianthus is not only used to make excellent organic fertilizer but also to raise fish and pigs and sheep. It's a precious resource.

Thus, a special delicacy, lygianthus meatballs, was born in our hometown.

Around Qingming Festival, the newly sprouted young leaves, floating along in the clear river, are most suitable for making meatballs.

After the harvest of wheat, the green leaves turn dark green, and at this time, lygianthus can only be used as feed. In autumn, as the lygianthus grows larger, it is used to make organic fertilizer.

To make lygianthus meatballs, you need to harvest the tender young shoots – they taste best. You need to rinse them repeatedly to remove the fishy smell.

Cut them into small pieces, add egg white, flour, salt, scallion, ginger, and white pepper, and mix well. Just like frying radish meatballs, they are deep-fried in hot oil until golden brown and crispy – delicious lygianthus meatballs are ready.

I remember the first time I tasted lygianthus meatballs. It was many years ago. That year, my neighbor, Shiwu (Uncle), was frying meatballs, and I went to visit. He pointed to the freshly fried meatballs and invited me to try one. I didn't know what it was filled with, but after tasting it, I realized it had a seafood flavor. I asked him what kind of meatball it was, and he said, 'It's lygianthus meatballs.'

Every year around Qingming Festival, I would go to the Xinhe River to harvest some lygianthus and fry meatballs. Sometimes, I would make a lot of them as gifts for relatives and friends who were far away, so they could taste the flavor of their hometown.

I believe we not only savor the deliciousness brought by this pure natural ingredient but also remember the difficult times of the past, a deep nostalgia for the simple years of the past, and a hometown sentiment.

While savoring the fragrance of lygianthus meatballs, I deeply miss the rich hometown flavor and the nostalgic feeling of being homesick.

Our hometown's delicacy, lygianthus meatballs, would you like to try them?