Yangshan Corn Porridge 阳山麦羹

Yangshan Corn Porridge (阳山麦羹) is a porridge of ground maize from Yangshan County (阳山县), Qingyuan (清远). The 'mai' (麦) of the name refers to maize, which local people call 'baomai' (包麦). The Yangshan county government describes the dish as maize ground into a mix of flour and grains and boiled with water until it sits between a paste and a soup, and says it is found everywhere in the county, from villages to the county town and from family kitchens to restaurants. It entered Qingyuan's first list of municipal intangible cultural heritage items in 2009.

How it is made

The Yangshan government recommends a local farm variety of maize called 'Dashu mai' (大暑麦, 'Great Heat maize') and local mountain spring water. In the most traditional method, the kernels are pounded in a stone mortar to strip off the skins and break them into a mix of flour and small grits. The meal is stirred into cooled boiled water, poured into boiling water, and a plant alkali that Yangshan people call 'ash water' (灰水) is added; the pot then simmers over low heat for about two hours. Only Kengbian village (坑边村) in Jiangying Town (江英镇) still keeps the traditional hand method, which almost everyone there knows.

How it is eaten

The porridge is smooth, fine and sweet on the palate. Most people in Yangshan eat it plain, with no sugar or salt, alongside other dishes; it can also be sweetened, or mixed with milk and with peanuts roasted and ground to powder. A basin of golden porridge is a regular sight on Yangshan tables.

Where it comes from

The Yangshan county annals record that maize reached the county in the 12th year of the Qianlong reign (乾隆) of the Qing dynasty, after which it joined rice and sweet potato as one of Yangshan's three staple crops. Jiangying is a known maize-growing town; a Kengbian village official explains that the cold uplands, with much hillside and little field land, suit maize, so maize became the staple and drinking the porridge followed.