The origin of Laha congee , customs and practices

I, the origin of Laha congee:

China's ancient son of heaven, the lunar calendar in December of each year to use dry things for Lah sacrifice, honoring the gods. Wax sacrifice includes two aspects: one is the sacrifice; the second is the prayer and blessing. Sacrifice is the star god of the eight valleys, with dry things to honor, expressed the meaning of celebrating the harvest. Dried goods called La, eight is the eight valley star god, so it is called La eight. In time, the wax festival is in the lunar calendar every year on the eighth day of the wax month. The eighth day of the first month of the lunar calendar is also known as Laha. Prayer is an important aspect of the La Festival, the content is to pray for the coming year, to ensure that the wind and rain, to ensure a good agricultural harvest. On the eighth day of the first lunar month of every year, with dry things to sacrifice to the eight grain star god, prayer, known as wax eight Zhu or wax eight Zhu, Zhu and congee homophonic, so on the eighth day of the first lunar month of every year, will be dried fruits and vegetables stirred together, boiled into a porridge, dedicated to the gods of agriculture, to express the meaning of the celebration of the harvest, and prayers. The meaning of Lapa congee is to harmonize the meaning of Lapa Zhu, which is the origin of Lapa congee. The meaning is to cook congee with dry materials and offer it to the god of agriculture for prayers and blessings to celebrate a good harvest.

In Henan, Laha congee, also known as "big rice", is a holiday food custom in honor of the national hero Yue Fei. It is said that when the Yuejia army crusade against the Jin Lu in Zhu Xianzhen victory, but by the court of the twelve gold medals to chase forced back, on the way back to the division, the soldiers and hungry, along the way, the people of Henan have been sent to the families of the meal poured in the cauldron, boiled into a porridge to the soldiers to fill the hunger of the cold, which happened to be the eighth day of the month of Lunar New Year. Then Yue Fei was killed in a storm of Pavilion, in order to commemorate the national hero, the people of Henan every Lahai this day, every family to eat "big rice", in memory of.

Another theory is that the congee was originally cooked in Buddhist temples to offer to the Bodhisattva -- eighteen kinds of dried fruits symbolizing the eighteen luohan -- and that the custom later spread among the people. The story of Lapa congee in Buddhism comes from the allusion to the cowherd girl who offered milk porridge, and then the Chinese Buddhist disciples followed suit, making congee with grains and fruits for the Buddha on the eighth day of the eighth month of the Lunar Calendar every year, known as Lapa congee, or "seven treasures and five flavors of congee". Since then, this custom has gradually spread to the people, most of the general family will be cooked on this day, Lapa congee, become one of the folk customs.

Second, Laha congee custom:

Laha congee boiled, after the first Buddha for the monks. After that, it should be given to friends and relatives, and must be sent out before noon, if the porridge is given to the poor people to eat, it is more for their own virtue. Finally, it is eaten by the whole family. The leftover Laha congee, kept for a few days after eating there is still left, is considered a good omen, taking its "year after year" meaning.

Three, Laha congee practice:

Practice one

Materials: 150 grams of round glutinous rice, 25 grams of mung beans, 25 grams of red beans, 25 grams of cashews, 25 grams of peanuts, 25 grams of cinnamon, 25 grams of jujubes, Chenpi 1 small slice;

Seasoning: 75 grams of rock sugar,

Practice:

1. Soften and wash,

2. Fill the porridge pot with water, add all the ingredients and boil, then turn to medium heat and cook for about thirty minutes,

3. Add rock sugar to flavor and serve.

Features: sweet and refreshing, nutritious.

Chef's point: this porridge cold food, hot food can be.

Practice two

Raw materials 50 grams of rice, 50 grams of yellow millet, sticky yellow rice 50 grams of glutinous rice 50 grams of Panicum (sticky sorghum rice) 50 grams of red beans 100 grams of lotus seeds 100 grams of 100 grams of cinnamon, 100 grams of peanut rice 100 grams of chestnuts 100 grams of small red jujubes 100 grams of sugar, the right amount.

Method of production

1, first of all, the lotus seeds to coat the heart into a bowl with water to submerge, and then into the steamer, with a high fire steam about 1 hour, steamed out of standby.

2, will be removed from the skin, core, as long as the meat; will be peeled off the chestnut shell and coat.

3, the pot into the appropriate amount of water, and then Panicum, red beans, peanut rice, small red dates cleaned and poured into the pot to cook, to be cooked half-cooked, and then rice, yellow millet, sticky

yellow rice, glutinous rice cleaned and poured into the pot to cook, to be the pot to open, and then cook with a slight fire. The porridge will be boiled and simmered to seven or eight mature, the steamed lotus seeds poured into the porridge and stirred well, open the pot and then cook for a while to move down the fire, sheng into a clean and sterilized

pot, sprinkled with sugar. Nowadays, there are ingredients for Laha congee in supermarkets, but you can also choose the ingredients for Laha congee according to your own dietary habits and health condition, and the Laha congee will be unique.

Practice 3

Ingredients Red dates, walnuts, black rice, rice, corn, raisins, red beans, millet (according to their own population ratio can be).

Methods

1, red beans, corn soaked 3-4 hours in advance.

2, other materials mixed and washed.

3, all the materials mixed into the pot, add enough water, boil small fire into porridge can be.

With purple sand pot or other porridge tools, cook three hours after the best! Lapa congee is simple and nutritious, like sweet, put some rock sugar to simmer together, can also be eaten on the dish.

Practice 4:

There are soy products, diced meat or sausage in the production.

Materials: 2 tablespoons each of millet, corn, soybeans, mung beans, red beans; ingredients: about 100 grams of minced pork, lotus seeds, chestnuts, a few grains, a little salt.

Methods:

Soak all kinds of beans in cold water for 30 minutes and strain them; remove the heart of lotus seeds and the skin of chestnuts; bring water to a boil and cook the beans for about 15 minutes, then add the other ingredients, and then bring the water to a boil and cook for about 45 minutes over a slow fire.

Practice 5

Main Ingredients:

Black rice (appropriate amount)

Glutinous rice (appropriate amount)

Red beans (appropriate amount)

Mung beans (appropriate amount)

Peanuts (appropriate amount)

Raisins (appropriate amount)

Barley (appropriate amount)

Seasoning:

Cinnamon (appropriate amount)

Lotus seed (appropriate amount)