What are the traditional foods for the Lantern Festival in 2018?
Our country has a tradition that there are always many customs and delicacies during major festivals. The types of delicacies are also countless depending on the local conditions. As the saying goes, the Lantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. According to traditional Chinese customs, in addition to watching lanterns and guessing lantern riddles, people also gather with their families to eat Yuanxiao, which symbolizes a sweet reunion in the New Year. What are the traditional foods for the Lantern Festival? If you want to know more about the first month of the lunar calendar in 2018, please pay attention to our Fortune Teller website!1. Rice BallsSoutherners eat glutinous rice balls mainly to pray for family reunion. The glutinous rice used to make Tangyuan is mild in nature, sweet in taste, and can replenish deficiency and regulate blood, strengthen the spleen and appetite, invigorate qi and stop diarrhea. It has the functions of warming the middle, promoting body fluid and moisturizing dryness. Furthermore, the regular fillings of various types of glutinous rice balls are mainly fruits and dried fruits, including sesame seeds, walnuts, peanuts, and add vegetable oil, which makes the nutritional value "even higher." Boiling glutinous rice balls is the simplest way to prepare them, and it is actually also the healthiest way to eat them.Lantern Festival Food 2. Lantern FestivalNortherners eat Yuanxiao, which is a kind of food that Chinese people cook and eat according to custom during the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the Spring Festival. It has had many names, such as mianjian, fenguo, yuanbao, tangbing, and yuanbuluojiao. It was officially named Yuanxiao during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty.Many people think that glutinous rice balls are the same as Yuanxiao. Although there is not much difference between Yuanxiao and glutinous rice balls in terms of raw materials and appearance, they are actually two different things with essential differences. Production process The making of Yuanxiao in the North is much more complicated than that of glutinous rice balls: first, the mixed and solidified stuffing needs to be cut into small pieces, rinsed with water, and then thrown into a basket filled with glutinous rice flour to roll. Then, rinsed with water again, and put back into the basket to roll. Repeat this process several times until the stuffing is covered with glutinous rice flour and rolled into round balls. In addition, Yuanxiao can be cooked in soup, steamed, or fried. Especially the fried Yuanxiao, the glutinous rice flour on the outside will become fluffy after frying. The glutinous rice will be very sticky when you bite it, and the filling will flow out by itself, which is very smooth. The method of making glutinous rice balls in the south is a bit like making dumplings: first add water to glutinous rice flour and knead it into a dough (just like kneading dough when making dumplings), then pinch a small ball of wet dough with your hands and squeeze it into a round shape. Pick up a ball of stuffing and put it on the glutinous rice slices, then use both hands to turn and close the edges to make a glutinous rice ball. Usually, glutinous rice balls in the south can only be cooked. Taste: Due to the different production processes, Yuanxiao has a rougher texture than Tangyuan. After the Yuanxiao is cooked, the soup will be relatively thick, like glutinous rice porridge, with a soft skin, a firm and chewy filling, and a strong fruit and rice aroma. The glutinous rice balls are finer and softer. The biggest feature of Yuanxiao is that it is sweet. There are relatively few types of fillings, mainly black sesame, five nuts, red bean paste, etc., and some white sugar. Tangyuan is different. In addition to sweet ones, there are also salty ones, and there are both stuffed and solid ones. 3. DumplingsThe fifteenth day of the first lunar month is here. People in the north have the habit of eating dumplings. People in Henan have the Lantern Festival custom and tradition of "flat dumplings on the fifteenth and round dumplings on the sixteenth", so dumplings should be eaten on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Dumplings are a folk food with a long history and are very popular among the people. There is a folk saying that "nothing tastes better than dumplings."4. Yuanxiao TeaIn Shaanxi and other places, there is a custom of eating Yuanxiao tea, which is to put various vegetables and fruits into the hot soup noodles, which is very similar to the ancient "Yuanxiao porridge". This tea increases the intake of fiber, minerals and vitamins, and is not as greasy as ordinary Yuanxiao. It can neutralize the acidic constitution caused by eating more animal foods during the festival, and also makes the Yuanxiao more nutritionally comprehensive.5. NoodlesThere is a folk saying in Jiangbei area that goes "Eat noodles on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month to wish for the coming year". Locals eat noodles on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, which may sound unrelated to the Lantern Festival, but it also means praying for good luck. "Yihui Sui Shi Ji" records: "On the 18th day of the first lunar month, the lanterns are turned off and people eat noodles, which is commonly known as 'dumplings for the lanterns and noodles for the lanterns'. Each family holds their own banquet to celebrate." Eating noodles when the lanterns are turned off symbolizes continuous joy.6. LettuceDuring the Lantern Festival, Guangdong people like to "steal" lettuce, mix it with cakes and pastries and cook it. It is said that this food represents good luck. Guangdong people are peaceful and down-to-earth, and they seek good luck in festivals. Lettuce, which is usually used in festive occasions such as the opening of a new store, is also a must-have for the Lantern Festival. Lettuce is often a common vegetable on southern dinner tables. Its name sounds similar to "making money", which means making money. Therefore, it is also regarded as a festive symbol of wealth and good fortune.7. Steamed buns and wheat cakesIn Pujiang area of Zhejiang, there is a custom of eating steamed buns and wheat cakes during the Lantern Festival. It is said that the reason is that steamed buns are made of leavened dough and wheat cakes are round, which means "reunion of children and grandchildren". In Shangyuan, Changde, Hunan Province, families use pepper as soup and add leeks, fruits and other ingredients to entertain guests, which is called "seasonal soup".8. SoupPeople in Taizhou eat fermented rice soup after watching the lanterns on the 14th day of the first lunar month every year. The rice soup is made by stir-frying shredded pork, shredded winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, fresh dragonfly, dried tofu, fried dough sticks, Sichuan bean curd, spinach, etc., then adding a little rice flour and cooking it into a salty paste. The fermented rice soup drunk on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is sweet, made with sweet potato starch or lotus root starch, lotus seeds, sweet dates, longans, etc.9. Date CakePeople in western Henan like to eat date cakes during the Lantern Festival, as they represent good luck and fortune. Date cake was originally a royal pastry of the Qing Dynasty. It has a fragrant flavor and is sweet in the mouth. It contains nutrients such as vitamin C, protein, calcium, iron, vitamins, etc. It can not only nourish the spleen and stomach, invigorate qi and promote salivation, but also protect the liver, increase muscle strength, nourish the skin and prevent aging.10. Sticky CakeSticky cake is also known as rice cake. In addition to Yuanxiao and noodles, people also eat sticky cakes during the Lantern Festival. Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Prescriptions for Emergencies: Food Therapy" that "Rice is sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic, can remove heat and benefit Qi." After the Tang Dynasty, there were also records of eating cakes on the Lantern Festival in the Yuan Dynasty. |
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