Her Chinese Grandparents in the Countryside Only Saw Hamburgers on TV, So She Made Them From Scratch
By Carl Samson
This is the moment a woman’s grandparents in southern China tasted hamburgers for the very first time in their lives.
Dianxi Xiaoge, a native of Yunnan province, runs a traditional cooking channel on YouTube.
In one of her videos, Dianxi describes how far her home is from the town market and how much she wants to take her family out to dine.
“When working away from home, I’m always thinking about taking some time after saving enough money to take my family out and let them eat something they have never eaten before,” she says.
According to Dianxi, the nearest market only sells traditional food — which means “city food” such as hamburgers are a rare presence. For this reason, she decides to prepare them herself for her grandparents.
“I’m going to make beef hamburgers for my grandparents who have never eaten them before,” she says. “They only saw hamburgers on TV.”
The video begins with Dianxi gathering tomatoes right from their own backyard. She soaks them in boiled water for two minutes before peeling off their skin.
She then brings the peeled tomatoes to a boil and filters their seeds out. With a bit of lemon juice, the result is a fresh tomato “ketchup.”
Dianxi then mixes fresh eggs, flour, yeast, sugar and salt to prepare the dough. When it forms, she adds some lard and sets it aside for 40 minutes.
She moves on to prepare the beef. She chops it until minced before adding red onions, pepper, salt, starch and tsaoko powder.
Dianxi divides the dough into several parts and rolls them into bun balls. She then covers each with egg and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
The next step is to bake the buns in a makeshift oven — a steel pot with burning charcoal at the bottom and top — until each becomes twice its current size.
While waiting for the buns, Dianxi fries the beef in cooking oil. She collects the buns after 25 minutes.
Dianxi then prepares the hamburgers. She puts some of her homemade “ketchup,” tomato, lettuce, beef patty and red onion between the buns.
Finally, Dianxi serves the hamburgers to her grandparents and younger brother.
Needless to say, Dianxi’s grandparents enjoyed their very first taste of hamburgers, especially because they’re made with love.
The video has received nearly two million views since August, with many expressing that it touched their hearts.
Images via YouTube / Dianxi Xiaoge
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