Japan: Zongzi/mistletoe cake+calamus wine
Eat zongzi and mistletoe cake. Zongzi was called "Mao Juan" in ancient Japan, and it was conical. At first, the japonica rice was steamed, mashed into rice cakes, wrapped in leaves and cooked with water. Later, it was wrapped with calamus leaves, bamboo leaves and reed leaves, and the production methods gradually diversified. Moreover, the ingredients used in Japanese zongzi are ground rice flour, not glutinous rice. Mistletoe cakes are also eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival in Japan. Because in Japanese culture, oak contains a beautiful meaning of prosperity for future generations.
Drink calamus wine. Because the sword shape of calamus is reminiscent of exorcism, calamus has the function of exorcism in Japanese culture. In addition, its Japanese pronunciation is the same as "martial arts" and "winning or losing", which is a symbol of courage. During the Dragon Boat Festival, people drink calamus wine and bathe with calamus water. It is said that the smell of calamus can exorcise evil spirits.
Korea: wormwood cake+cherry tea+soaking soup
In Korea, the Dragon Boat Festival is used to worship ancestors, pray for a bumper harvest and keep people safe. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Koreans like to eat wormwood cakes, taste cherry tea and drink soup.
Eat wormwood cake. The wormwood cake is also called "wheel cake" because it is shaped like a wheel. Before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, fresh mugwort leaves were picked and mashed with japonica rice to make mugwort cakes with Korean characteristics. It is said that wormwood cakes can ward off evil spirits and replenish physical strength. In addition, it also has the functions of preventing gastrointestinal diseases and diarrhea, diminishing inflammation and stopping bleeding.
Taste cherry tea. After fresh cherries are washed and pitted, they are pickled with sugar or honey. When drinking, add appropriate amount of Schisandra tea soup and ice cubes. Cherry tea can relieve summer heat and restore vitality, and it is a good drink to relieve summer heat.
Drink soup. Decoction is a kind of medicinal drink, one of the ancient palace drinks. It is prepared by adding honey into ebony, Amomum villosum, white sandalwood and Amomum tsaoko, boiling and cooling. Around the Dragon Boat Festival, the sun is strong, and drinking soup has the effect of quenching thirst, so it is very popular with people.
Vietnam: yellow ginger glutinous rice+square zongzi
During the Dragon Boat Festival, Vietnamese people will prepare rice with yellow ginger and glutinous rice to thank their ancestors for bringing ample food and clothing to their descendants, and pray for their ancestors to bless the good weather and good harvests. In addition, Vietnamese believe that the turmeric in turmeric rice has the effects of avoiding plague, detoxifying and preventing sores. Eating glutinous rice with ginger every spring and summer can avoid being attacked by some diseases, so it is essential for Vietnamese to eat glutinous rice with ginger during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Square salty zongzi is also a special food of Vietnam Dragon Boat Festival. This kind of zongzi is filled with shrimp, lean meat, duck egg yolk and red beans, which is quite Fujian-Guangdong flavor. There is also a kind of sweet zongzi, which is made by kneading glutinous rice flour into dough and stuffing coconut shreds, red beans or mung beans into the dough to make a diamond-shaped zongzi. After steaming, dip in honey juice or sugar to eat.