42. 水油堆 (shuǐ yóu duī)
柳江 (liǔ jiāng) is a small market town and county, just to the south of Liuzhou city and part of the prefecture. It is an agricultural area inhabited mainly by the Zhuang, and is relatively poor.
It has one ‘speciality’, although I struggle to see what is so special about it. The dish is said to have originated in 洛满镇 (luò mǎn zhèn) – Luoman Town in the county – although it can be found throughout Liujiang and beyond.
It is mainly made road side by elderly people scratching out a living. To set up in business you only need a pot, some water, oil and glutinous rice flour, some sesame seeds and a heat source, usually charcoal. A basic dough is made from the flour and water and this is formed into balls which are then fried in the oil. Finally, the balls are rolled in sesame seeds and you are done. More upmarket versions (not much more) may come with a simple sugar syrup. These balls are known as 水油堆 (shuǐ yóu duī), literally ‘water oil piles’ and are often sold outside schools.
The local authorities declared them intangible cultural assets of the county although I don’t see how you can eat anything intangible.
Apparently, the number of vendors is falling and the trade in terminal decline, as younger generations find better ways to survive.
