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FLAX
[instrumental music playing]
[narrator] The Minqin Oasis,surrounded by the desert on three sides,
is an important grain andfruit production area in Gansu.
MINQIN COUNTY, WUWEI, GANSU
August is the season of watermelons.
Harvesting would take one whole day.
The watermelon farmers need food,to be eaten around the area.
This kind of dried staple food, juanjuan,is the quickest option.
FLAX MEAL JUANJUAN
It’s the main course and also the utensil.
When it encounters watermelons,its burnt and crispy texture
immediately becomes soft.
[indistinct Mandarin]
[woman] It’s so good.
It’s delicious.
[narrator] It’s a combinationof salty and sweet with a rich aroma.
Flaxseed. They look like sesame.
This is the sourceof the juanjuan’s aroma.
Add salt to season.
Grind it repeatedly.
The heat produced from frictionaccelerates the spread
of aromatic molecules.
Add oil to prevent sticking.
Cover the whole thing with flax meal
to break the monotonous toneof white bread.
Fold, roll, and press it.
Smoothly and naturally,she completes the shape of the dough.
Freshly-baked juanjuan smells really good,full, and soft.
But during harvest season,fresh food isn’t the best option.
Spread out and dry them.
Juanjuan needs to be air-dried.
The desert windquickly takes away its moisture.
After drying,juanjuan can be stored for a long time.
Even the aroma of flax is long lasting.
[woman] Flax meal juanjuandipped in watermelon is so delicious.
DRIED JUANJUAN SOAKED IN WATERMELON
HUINING, MINQIN
[narrator] Flax is producedall throughout Gansu.
Go 300 kilometers towards the east,harvest is proceeding without haste.
After three months of growth,the flax fruit has become big and full.
Without much rain,the Longzhong Plateau is dry.
There is a big temperaturedifference between the day and night.
In such an environment,the flax accumulates more oil.
Flax came from Central Asiaover two thousand years ago
and became one of the main oil cropsin China’s northwestern region.
After baking themunder 120 degrees Celsius,
over 30 different flavors emergeat the same time.
Bright and thick oil slowly seep out.
Flaxseed’s oil coloring abilityis very strong.
Using it to fry white breadmakes it golden brown.
FRIED SANZI
Yellow rice.
Just one spoonful of boiling oilis enough to awaken the grain’s aroma.
FLAXSEED YELLOW RICE
The most amazing flavor is producedwhen it encounters meat.
The meat of sheep up to three months oldis tender with no gamey taste.
Stir-frying it with flaxseed oiluntil it’s golden brown
releases the aroma.
Stew them in high heat.
Then, add small and light rolls.
The mutton is very tender,and the rolls absorb the rich sauce
as well as the nutty aromaof flaxseed oil.
MUTTON WITH ROLLS
YONGDENG COUNTY, LANZHOU, GANSU
Mid-Autumn Festival.
Everywhere in China,people want to eat a certain kind of food:
Mooncake.
Zhang Chenglan prepared theflaxseeds early in the morning.
These flaxseeds are very aromatic.
They’re being prepared for the mooncake.
In Gansu’s villages,
they still retain the customof making mooncakes in the family.
The family needs to gatherand work together on them.
Use flaxseed oil as the base.
Add tonka beans, turmeric, rose, and red yeast rice.
Flax meal is the last ingredient.
This makes it the leader among the flavors.
A pastry of this sizecan be considered the biggest in China.
Yet in Gansu,
it’s something every familymust prepare for special occasions.
The Zhang family’s mooncakeweighs as much as five kilograms.
It’s enough for the whole family to share.
Surrounded by steam, the porous doughstretches, and its shape keeps expanding.
The complicated and enticing aromacontinues to grow inside,
and it bursts out.
The rose is nice and sweet.
The red yeast rice is a bit sour.
The turmeric is fragrant.
Surrounded by the sweetness of wheat,
all the flavors are connectedthrough the flax’s aroma
and embrace each other.
YONGDENG MOONCAKE
[indistinct Mandarin]
This is the children’s favoritefor this festival.
Different from most of the mooncakesin China,
food eaten by the people of Yongdengduring the mooncake festival
is very unique.
The full moon has risen.
Zhang Chenglan represents her familyin worshipping the gods
with this appealing food.
She prays for prosperityand for a happy family reunion.
Flax was introduced through the Silk Road.
Nowadays, as the soulof the northwestern region’s flavor,
it has long been integratedinto the daily lives
of the people in Gansu.
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