Three Treasures of Guilin Rejuvenating You

By Ji Siyu

East or west， Guilin's landscape is the best. However， other than beautiful landscapes， there are more reasons for you to fall in love with this city. For example， the three treasures of Guilin： Sanhua Liquor， Fermented Bean Curd and Chili Sauce. You will be attracted not only by their mysterious tastes， but also by intriguing stories about their origins.

Sanhua Liquor： Liquor of blossoms

The origin of Guilins Sanhua Liquor dated back to the Southern Song Dynasty （1127-1279）. It is said that this type of liquor was invented by a royal cook. Professional liquor factories in Qing Dynasty （1636-1912） began to manufacture Sanhua Liquor and made it popular. Since then， the liquor has become one of the symbols of Guilins colorful local culture.

Sanhua Liquor is made of fragrant Osmanthus blossom. Legend has it that there was a man named Xianglang living on the Fragrans Island. He planted a fragrans tree when he was a child， and regarded it as his most precious treasure. He took care of the tree at his best. Finally， the fragrans tree grew into a huge one. On a Mid-Autumn evening， Xianglang was preparing moon cakes and liquor. It was at this moment something marvelous happened： He heard a voice calling him softly， “Xianglang， Xianglang...” As he turned over， he saw a beautiful girl walking out from the tree. The girl then explained to him that she was a fairy living within the fragrans tree and had been into this virtuous man for a long time. Xianglang， of course， was happy with such a beautiful wife-to-be. They made a family and joined together to produce fragrans liquor with blossoms of the tree. The liquor was so delicious that it soon got popular all over Guilin. That was how Guilin Sanhua Liquor came into being.

In fact， there are many explanations about the name Sanhua Liquor. One is that during the producing process， the liquor is steamed for several times. Because of that， sprays will appear if you slightly shake the bottle. The better the quality is， the more sprays you will see. Thats how the name “Sanhua” comes， since San （three） in Chinese is often referred to as “many” and “hua” sprays. No matter which one is correct， Sanhua Liquor has won a worldwide reputation， and has been listed on the second batch of autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritages， contributing not only to Chinese culture， but also to the world wine culture.

Fermented bean curd： Fermented but not spoiled

Like Sanhua Liquor， Guilins Fermented Bean Curd is also among the second batch of autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritages. Fermented Bean Curd， made of soybeans， is popular in China. It has a smooth and soft texture， orange and transparent surface and extremely delicious taste.

To produce fermented bean curd， the most important “tool” is mucorales. During the fermentation period， mucorales is used to produce enzymes in order to decompose protein， fat and carbohydrate in the bean curd. Ethanol and organic acids， as a result of carbohydrate fermentation， synthesize esters that produce rich tastes. Both esters and amino acids contribute to the deliciousness of the fermented bean curd. After this period， salt is also used to prevent mucor from overgrowing， keep other microbes away and harden the bean curd by separating out the water. Finally， fermented bean curds are bottled up and sealed， waiting for being tasted.

There is a long history about the fermented bean curd. According to historical data， the technology of Guilin Fermented Bean Curd springs from Hengshan village in Guilin. Even today， the tradition of handmade fermented bean curd is still maintained by the villagers. Every year from November to next March， the villagers make fermented bean curd not only to satisfy themselves， but also to gift their friends. As the bean curd gets increasingly reputed， the production has also become more large-scaled. Chen Fuxi， the inheritor of Hengshan fermented bean curd， encourages mass production of the bean curd and hopes that more and more people will like it. However， he also insists on the tradition of hand-making， so as to bestow the ancient technology to younger generation.

Chili sauce， fermented soybeans， best match！

Chinese people seem to be especially fascinated with spicy foods. Thanks to this enthusiasm， today we can enjoy spicy hot pot， Mapo tofu， Sichuan boiled fish， etc. Guilin Chili Sauce， is also one of them. Unlike sauces of Sichuan styles， Guilin Chili Sauce is made mostly of garlic and chili pepper. At this stage， the sauce is called Garlic Chili Sauce. Put some fermented soybeans， Sanhua Liquor and table salt into it and seal for several months， you will get a jar of fermented soybean chili sauce. Both of them can be directly eaten， or serve as seasoning. Its red color and hot taste will always stimulate your appetite！

Before chili sauce appeared， there was no access to fresh chili pepper after certain seasons. One day， a man named Wang noticed that many people were hanging cured meat  to maintain its quality. He thought， why not deal with chili peppers in the same way？ He took actions at once， and checked the result 2 months later. Fortunately， the first trial was successful. Wang soon started his business by producing and selling chili sauce. Yet something unexpected happened months later. There was a wet wind right after he prepared several jars of garlic and chili pepper， and it lasted for days. Finally， the materials became watery and sour. One day when he came to a rice noodle shop， he saw a man eating a black pancake while having rice noodles. The man seemed to be unsatisfied with the noodles and threw the pancake into the bowl. Wang was curious about it， and looked into the mans bowl， where he saw red and black colors， with an amazing odour. The red part was chili， but what was the ingredients of the black pancake？ He then talked to the man and was told that the black pancake was made of dried fermented soybeans. After being placed for a while， it would get dry and of strong absorbency. Clearly， dried fermented soybeans and chili sauce matched each other. It suddenly enlightened him that he might save the chili sauce by putting fermented soybeans into it. Sure enough， the chili sauce became delicious again after being reprocessed. And that was the first batch of Fermented Soybean Chili Sauce in the world.