Seeing this pot of braised sauce reminded him of his hometown breakfast, and a food he had eaten since childhood immediately came to mind.
Glutinous rice ball.
This thing is available all over the country, with different methods and flavors in different regions, and even different names.
In their area, it's divided into salty and sweet versions, but more people prefer the salty one, made from a mix of purple rice and glutinous rice.
The filling inside isn't fixed; it's just some stir-fried vegetables stuffed inside. The soul of it is those diced pickled radishes and crispy old fried dough sticks.
The most common combination in his hometown includes shredded potatoes, shredded carrots, diced green beans, shredded lotus root, and shredded taro.
They use tender lotus roots, the kind that's crispy, tender, juicy, and whitish.
