Fujian : Wuren rice

Black Glutinous rice coloured by blackberry (Photo from Google)

All Souls' Day Thoughts.

Black glutinous rice? It is easy to get black glutinous rice in Sarawak, but in Fujian, glutinous rice is coloured black by a berry, anan shi zie, from the wuren tree. It has been a practice for thousands of years.

Foochows who visit Fujian during the Tomb Festival, would come across  Wuren rice, which is common for the She ethnic group and also a folk practice in Fuzhou and Ningde. Every family would cook wuren fan and exchange the food with each other as a present. It is made from glutinous rice and leaves of vaccinum bracteatum or wuren tree 南烛 nan zhu .The oriental blueberry, wu fan guo (black rice fruit) is also called sha lian (sand lotus), mi fan hua (rice flower) nan shi zie (southern eclipse seed) and wu fan shu (black rice tree).

This tree is found in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang and even Malaysia.

I have been wondering if any one here in Sarawak knows about vaccinum bracteatum or wuren tree.

The fruit is ball shaped and 5-10mm in diameter. The young fruits are dark purple and covered with a small amount of white powder. The flavor of the fruit is sweet yet acid, its nature is warm.

The fruit can supply vital energy, benefit the spirit and stop nocturnal emission. It contains carbohydrates, vitamin C, organic acids, etc.

The black/blue berry wine made from the berries have been used in China to treat rheumatism and arthritis pains. Drink about 60 gm, twice a day. Very interesting information.

This is the preparation. 250 grams of dried fruit and 30 gm of brown sugar, Add to 500 gm of rice wine. Soak for 10 days, shake or stir once or twice a day.