A traditional breakfast of the Yulin and Mizhi area in northern Shaanxi. Autumn-harvested hemp seeds are pan-roasted, ground and simmered into a fragrant, oil-rich 'ma broth', then cooked with soaked millet, wheat berries, cowpeas, bean flakes and sorghum into a thick porridge, finished with pickled cabbage, little flour flakes, scallion and ground Sichuan pepper. One warm bowl runs deep and lingering; as the old saying goes, three bowls won't fill you and you won't put the fifth one down.
Ma tang fan is a traditional country food of Yulin, Mizhi and neighbouring counties of northern Shaanxi; the 'ma' is hemp seed. In the old days, cooking oil here was pressed at home from home-grown hemp seed, and the oil residue and dregs left in the pot after pressing were too good to waste, so they were simmered with seasonings and pickled cabbage into a base broth, then combined with a thin porridge of millet, beans and wheat berries to make a fragrant, oil-rich bowl. Born of frugal, lean-year resourcefulness, it has been handed down for its honest richness. Hemp seed ripens around the autumn equinox, its shell thin and crisp, its kernel fragrant and especially aromatic once roasted, the very soul of this bowl. It recurs in the nursery rhymes and sayings of northern Shaanxi: the line 'ma tang fan stumps a strong man, three bowls won't fill you and you won't put the fifth down' captures both how filling and how moreish it is. Once a food of mere subsistence, it has risen into a regional breakfast specialty.
Before the spoon reaches your lips, the toasted-hemp aroma and the warm scent of grain rise to meet you. The millet and wheat berries are simmered to a soft bloom, the beans powdery-tender, the flour flakes slippery and chewy; the ma broth, laced with fine droplets of oil, is thick without being gluey. A touch of pickled cabbage cuts the richness, and ground Sichuan pepper with scallion brings a faint warming tingle at the finish, so the more you eat, the warmer you grow, and no wonder you won't put the fifth bowl down.
Hemp seed is rich in oil; roasted, ground and simmered long in water, its oil and protein are sheared apart and emulsified by the boiling water and suspended into the broth, the source of the ma broth's mellow, lasting richness. The starch in millet, wheat berries and sorghum gelatinises as it heats, the starch chains unwinding and cross-linking so the porridge thickens from thin to creamy, while the beans' protein and starch soften alongside. The light Maillard browning and oil oxidation during roasting generate the nutty aroma that anchors the whole pot, and the lactic acid of the pickled cabbage cuts a clean line through the richness to balance the bowl.
Variations
Ingredients vary house to house: some build on sorghum, others lean on millet and wheat berries, with bean flakes, cowpeas and red beans all welcome in the pot. Careful cooks roll out little flour flakes or drop in mixed-grain noodle bits for extra chew, while plain versions keep to grain and ma broth and heartier ones add pickled greens and chilli. A simpler modern method skips pressing oil altogether, just roasting and grinding hemp seed to make the broth. Eastern Gansu and northwestern Shanxi have their own close cousins of hemp-seed porridge, each with its local accent.
On the Palate
Where Yulin Hemp-Broth Grain Porridge sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 20 min
- 1480 min
The night before, soak the sorghum, cowpeas and bean flakes in water; rinse the millet and wheat berries and set aside.
- 28 min
Dry-roast the hemp seeds in a pan over low heat until fragrant and lightly coloured, then pound or grind them to a coarse meal.
Watch outRoast the hemp seeds until fragrant and lightly colored — this toasting is the nutty aroma that anchors the whole pot, so don't skip it.
- 320 min
Simmer the ground hemp in plenty of water for about 20 minutes, then strain to draw off the milky, oil-rich ma broth (or leave it in for a rustic texture).
- 460 min
Add the soaked grains and beans to the broth, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for about an hour, stirring now and then, until thick and creamy.
Watch outSimmer the grains gently about an hour, stirring now and then, until thick and creamy — leave it and the bottom scorches and turns the pot bitter.
- 510 min
Roll out a little dough and cut into small flake-shaped pieces, then drop them into the porridge to cook through.
- 65 min
Stir in the chopped pickled cabbage or dried greens.
- 75 min
Season with salt, ground Sichuan pepper and scallion, simmer a few minutes more and serve hot.
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