What is Penang Lang

Betel nut is known as natural chewing gum. It is mainly distributed in southern China and has both edible and medicinal value. Many people chew betel nut as a hobby, but you should not eat too much of it, as it can easily lead to oral cancer. Betel nut is becoming more and more common in our lives, but we need to have a correct understanding of it and use it reasonably to avoid impacts on our health. So, what is Penang Lang? Let’s take a look below.

1. The way of eating betel nut in Taiwan is different from that in Southeast Asia where betel nut is dried and eaten as candied fruit. Taiwanese people like to eat fresh fruit with white lime and betel leaves.

1. Red-gray betel nut: After splitting the betel nut (Jingzai), apply a proper amount of red ash in the middle and then sandwich it with betel flowers.

2. White lime betel nut: After splitting the betel nut (jingzai), apply an appropriate amount of white lime in the middle and then sandwich it with betel flowers.

3. Betel nut wrapped in betel leaves: Betel nuts (betel nut) are directly wrapped in betel leaves, and usually some white ash is applied on the betel leaves.

4. Split the betel nut: Split the large betel nut (jingzai) in half, apply white lime on it, and wrap it with betel leaves.

5. Gemini Betel Nut: Wrap two smaller betel nuts (jingzai) together with betel leaves, and then wrap them with betel leaves again.

Why match white ash? Betel nut is a strong acid and lime is a strong base, so betel nut must be added with lime to neutralize the acid and base. The so-called lime is lime. Of course, this lime is not the kind used for plastering cement walls. This kind of lime has to go through a series of processing procedures before it can be eaten. The raw material of this kind of lime is marble. The marble is burned to a high temperature of over 2,000 degrees Celsius, and then continuously washed with water before it can finally become the "white lime" that is eaten with betel nut.

2. The way Hainanese people chew betel nuts is similar to that of Taiwanese people. First, cut the betel nut into three or four pieces, a shape a bit like an orange segment, and then peel off the skin and stem of the betel nut (because the skin is not easy to chew and the stem has a bitter taste).

At this time, you generally cannot put the betel nut directly into your mouth. Instead, you have to pair it with the leaves of a vine plant, commonly known as "laoying leaves" in Hainan. Apply some lime on the laoying leaves and roll them into a triangle. Finally, put the betel leaves coated with lime and the betel nut into your mouth and chew them together. If you chew betel nut directly without coating the betel nut with lime, it will be tasteless. This is what the saying “a mouthful of betel nut, a mouthful of ash” means.

3. There is a saying in Hunan that “Xiangtan is gold and Yiyang is silver”. The Hunanese people's custom of eating betel nuts is most prevalent in these two places. The way of eating betel nut in Hunan is different from that in Taiwan. Taiwanese people probably eat it fresh, so their mouths turn bright red. The food in Hunan is pickled, just as Hunanese people like to eat cured fish and cured meat. Kezi is another name for betel nut in Hunan. The spindle-shaped betel nut looks like a small boat when cut. After buying dried betel nuts from Hainan, they need to be pickled, which is called "making betel nuts" in Hunan dialect.

Betel nut is made not with salt but with maltose (and lime and other things). The betel nut pickled in malt sugar has a subtle sweetness that lasts for a long time after chewing. When it comes to pickling betel nuts, each family has its own secret recipe. The pickled betel nuts are placed on the stall in a large porcelain bowl. They are shiny brown and black in color. The stall owner provides you with chopsticks so that you can flip up and down to choose. Good betel nuts are generally not big, the flesh is thick when cut, and the core sticks to the shell. The stall owner will add cinnamon oil, bean powder, sesame and other seasonings on the cut betel nut according to your request. You can put one in your mouth to taste it first, and then watch the stall owner leisurely wrap the rest of the betel nuts for you with cigarette paper.