

Stick rice flour (粘米粉) and glutinous rice flour (糯米粉) are essential ingredients of traditional Hakka pastries. In bygone days before the establishment of supermarkets, pre-packaged rice flour was not available in rural areas. To make Ban-kwo (Hakka rice cake,茶粿和糕粄), farmers had to crush rice grains into powder by manually grinding the ingredients with a stone mill.
The stone mill is a traditional instrument employed for processing grains like rice, wheat, and soybeans into fine powder. Water can be added while grinding to create rice milk and soy milk. A stone mill is made up of two stone discs with carved grooves. While the lower disc (bed stone) remains stationary, the upper disc (runner stone) can be rotated manually around the axis, creating a ‘scissoring’ motion that grinds grains into finer powder. Through a hole, grains flow into the grooves from the center to the edge, emerging as smoother and finer flour. A bed stone can be found near the Pak Gong (伯公) in So Lo Pun village. Keep an eye out for stone mills in Lai Chi Wo village too!

