(Chinese New Year News) A mixture of Indonesian flavor and hometown flavor creates a unique New Year flavor for returned overseas Chinese from Guangxi

　　China News Service, Nanning, February 10th: Title: A mixture of Indonesian flavor and hometown flavor creates a unique New Year flavor for returned overseas Chinese from Guangxi

　　Author Wei Jiaxiu Chen Yanyou Lin Hao

　　Lemongrass fried chicken, turmeric rice, white chicken, lemon duck... On New Year's Eve, 86-year-old Indonesian returned overseas Chinese Cai Lanmei, who lives in the Guangxi-ASEAN Economic and Technological Development Zone, sat around with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, enjoying the company While chatting about home life while listening to cheerful Indonesian songs, they ate a New Year's Eve dinner consisting of Indonesian and Chinese dishes. The whole family enjoyed themselves happily.

　　In the 1960s, 23-year-old Cai Lanmei returned from Indonesia with her family and was placed in the Guangxi state-owned Wuming Overseas Chinese Farm (hereinafter referred to as: Wuming Overseas Chinese Farm). Cai Lanmei said in a recent interview with reporters that the taste of hometown is indispensable on the New Year table, and Indonesian dishes and pastries retain memories of her childhood.

　　Walking into Cai Lanmei's home, the wedding photos taken in Indonesia, the music CDs brought back from Indonesia, and the molds for making Indonesian pastries are all still there. "My mother brought back the skills of making Indonesian food," said Cai Zhanyi, Cai Lanmei's son.

　　As Cai Lanmei grew older, the task of preparing family dinners during festivals passed to her son and daughter-in-law. Cai Zhanyi told reporters that he and his wife have been cooking delicious food with his mother for more than 20 years. "Lemongrass fried chicken and white chicken are the must-make dishes every Chinese New Year. My daughter grew up eating these two dishes."

　　Cai Zhanyi said that Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the addition of rich spices. "Lemongrass fried chicken needs to be marinated overnight with lemongrass, red onions and other spices mixed with chicken. After the flavor is absorbed, it is fried and served. It is very delicious." He said that, different from Indonesian cuisine, white chopped chicken is a representative of hometown cuisine. The emphasis is on lightness and deliciousness.

On February 5, Cai Lanmei’s daughter-in-law Li Yueyao (first from right) made Indonesian pastries with her family. Photo by Wei Jiaxiu

　　According to reports, in 2013, Wuming Overseas Chinese Farm was upgraded to China’s national economic and technological development zone and became a demonstration area for the transformation and restructuring of overseas Chinese farms. As the overseas Chinese market develops better and better, in 2020, Cai Zhanyi and his wife Li Yueyao, who were developing abroad, returned to Cai Lanmei. He found a stable job in a property company near his home, and his wife inherited her mother-in-law's cooking skills, making Indonesian prepared dishes and selling them to the outside world.

　　Li Yueyao said that the Indonesian prepared dishes she made are very popular locally and are also sold to many cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. "Orders were very intensive during this period of time before the year. Lemongrass fried chicken, satay pork skewers and chrysanthemum cakes were the most ordered by customers."

　　Li Yueyao said that sometimes her husband and daughter would help by vacuum-packing, boxing and sealing the prepared Indonesian dishes. "Customers only need to handle it a little after receiving it. Cooked products such as lemongrass fried chicken can be heated and eaten. Satay beef skewers are more troublesome and need to be grilled by themselves."

　　"The Spring Festival is our traditional festival, and the New Year's Eve dinner is the most important ceremony on New Year's Eve. My mother once told me that when she was far away from home in Indonesia, she would wait for this day to have a reunion dinner every year." Cai Zhanyi said that on New Year's Eve, On October 1, he and his wife stopped accepting orders for Indonesian prepared dishes, and the family enjoyed the New Year's Eve reunion.

　　According to reports, the Wuming Overseas Chinese Farm was founded in 1960 and has successively housed approximately 12,000 returned overseas Chinese from nine Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam. Since most of the returned overseas Chinese are from ASEAN countries, the "ASEAN flavor" is very strong on the Chinese New Year tables served by the returned overseas Chinese and their families, which together with the flavor of their hometown form a special New Year flavor. (over)