1. Spring Plate

Spring Plate is also called "Five Spicy Plate", which is made of five kinds of spicy lettuce. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Five pungent vegetables are a mixture of onions, garlic, leeks, polygonum, and mustard that are pungent and tender and eaten on New Year's Day and the beginning of spring to welcome the new year." This custom spread to the Tang, Song, and Gold, Yuan. For example, Yelu Chucai of the Yuan Dynasty wrote a poem called "Making a Poor Spring Plate in the Station on the Beginning of Spring", which mentioned using lotus root, peas, green onions, wormwood, leeks and vermicelli to make a spring plate.

In the Ningjin area, onions, garlic, peppers, ginger and mustard are cut into pieces and cooked, which is called the five-spice dish. It can be eaten with wine or as a gift to each other. Some also give green leeks and yellow mandarin oranges.

2. Spring pancakes

The "Four Seasons Treasure Mirror" of the Tang Dynasty records: "At the beginning of spring, people eat reeds, spring pancakes, and lettuce, called 'vegetable plates.'" It can be seen that people in the Tang Dynasty have begun to try spring dishes. , It’s time to eat spring cakes. The so-called spring cake, also called lotus leaf cake, is actually a kind of hot noodle pancake - use two small pieces of water, grease the middle with oil, roll it into a pancake, and peel it into two pieces after it is cooked. Spring pancakes are used to wrap vegetables, including cooked and stir-fried vegetables.

The method of making spring pancakes was recorded in the Qing Dynasty's "Tiao Ding Ji": "Roll out the dough and wrap it with ham, chicken, etc., or seasonal cabbage sum, and fry it for guests. It is also salty. Crush the meat loin, garlic, black dates, walnut kernels, foreign sugar, and white sugar, roll the spring cake into sections. "This is the way to eat it in the Qing Dynasty. Today's spring cakes are still made using the ancient baking or steaming methods. The size depends on personal preference. When eating, some people like to spread sweet sauce and roll croissant with green onions. Some places also pay attention to using sauce belly. Shredded chicken and other cooked meats are eaten in spring cakes.

3. Spring rolls

In addition to spring cakes, spring rolls are also a festive delicacy often eaten by people on the Beginning of Spring. Spring rolls evolved from the ancient custom of eating spring dishes on the first day of spring. There was a kind of "rolled pancake" in the Song Dynasty, which was a transitional type between spring pancakes and spring rolls. In the Yuan Dynasty's "Complete Collection of Household Necessities", there is a record of rolling spring pancakes wrapped in fillings and deep-fried before being eaten. By the Qing Dynasty, the name spring rolls had appeared.

Spring rolls are made by wrapping the filling in a thin round dough roll, growing it into a strip, and then frying it in oil until golden brown and floating. The filling can be meat or vegetarian, salty or sweet.

4. Radish

According to Cui Shi's "Four People's Monthly Orders" of the Han Dynasty, our country has long had the diet of "lettuce as a solar eclipse at the beginning of spring... to welcome the new year" After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the so-called "biting spring" mainly refers to eating radish on the first day of spring. For example, Liu Ruoyu's "Ziuzhongzhi·Eating Good Shang Jilue" in the Ming Dynasty stated: "By the time of the next day's first spring, no matter whether you are high or low, everyone will eat radish." "Chewing radish" is called "biting spring". Fucha Dunchong of the Qing Dynasty also recorded in "Yanjing Suishui Ji": "Spring is the beginning of spring. Rich families eat more spring cakes on this day, and women buy more radishes and eat them, saying 'biting spring', which means they can relieve spring sleepiness. ”

Why should you eat radish? A common saying is that it can relieve spring sleepiness. After the beginning of spring, the temperature gradually rises, and people's yang energy rises step by step. The Chinese people who pay attention to food supplements choose foods with pungent and sweet properties to allow the body to adapt to the weather. Su Dongpo once wrote a poem: "The roots of the radish still contain morning dew, and the east garden is covered with frost and snow in autumn. The radish will bear children and grandchildren." Li Shizhen praised the radish even more, thinking that "both its roots and leaves can grow, but When cooked, it can be used as sauce, soybean, vinegar, sugar, wax, or rice. It is the most beneficial among vegetables. "Radish also has medicinal properties such as expectorant, ventilation, and cough relieving." This may be the original intention of the ancients who advocated eating radishes at the beginning of spring.

Nowadays, the custom of eating spring pancakes and spring dishes is rare. People usually eat dumplings and noodles, which is called "spring dumplings and spring noodles." There are many customs on the Beginning of Spring. In northern Shandong and western Shandong, on the first day of spring, mothers will sew small toys such as "spring roosters" and "spring dolls" out of colorful rags and give them to their children as holiday gifts. In places such as Tengzhou and Huimin, all children who have not been vaccinated against cowpox will have a bunch of soybeans in their mouths in the spring. How many grains will be held in their mouths according to their age, which means that the chicken eats beans, which can eat smallpox, measles and other diseases.

What to eat at the beginning of spring

1. Honey. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that honey is sweet in taste and enters the spleen and stomach meridians, which can replenish qi, moisturize the intestines and relieve constipation. The climate in spring is changeable, and it is easy for people to catch colds when the weather suddenly turns cold or warm. Because honey contains a variety of minerals, vitamins, and has the function of clearing the lungs and detoxifying, it can enhance human immunity and is the most ideal tonic in spring. Therefore, in spring, if you can drink 1 to 2 spoons of honey every day, take it with a cup of warm water or add milk, it will have a nourishing effect on the body.

2. Leeks.

The climate in spring is cold and warm, so it is necessary to maintain Yang Qi. Leeks are the most suitable for human body's yang energy and are known as natural "Viagra". Leeks contain nutrients such as volatile oil, protein, fat, and multiple vitamins, and have the effects of strengthening the stomach, refreshing the mind, and strengthening the kidneys. Spring leeks are the best among leeks and have a particularly delicious taste. Its roots are as white as jade, its leaves are as green as emerald, and its fragrance is fragrant. There are many ways to eat spring leeks. They can be used with meat, eggs, shrimp, cuttlefish, etc., and they can also be used as fillings for steamed buns and dumplings. When frying mung bean sprouts or dried tofu, add some spring leeks to make them extra fragrant and delicious.

3. Spring bamboo shoots.

Spring bamboo shoots, known as the "first vegetarian food", are a delicacy and have been loved by people since ancient times. Literati and gourmets marveled at it, and there was a saying that "everyone who tastes new things is like bamboo shoots in spring". Spring bamboo shoots are thick, delicious, nutritious, and can be meat or vegetarian. The cooking methods are different, and the flavors are also different. Stir-fried, stewed, boiled and simmered are all delicious dishes.

Local famous dishes such as spring bamboo shoots all occupy a place, such as Shanghai's "Wolfberry Spring Bamboo Shoots", Nanjing's "Spring Bamboo Shoots with White Chicken", and Zhejiang's "Southern Meat Spring Bamboo Shoots".

How to pay attention to your diet at the beginning of spring

Suitable: spinach, shepherd's purse, lettuce, leeks, garlic sprouts, onions

The weather at the beginning of spring is often warm and then cold, which is in line with the human body's ongoing The Yang Qi of hair growth is in conflict, which can easily lead to internal stagnation of liver fire. In addition, according to the Five Movements and Six Qi in the "Nei Jing" this year, the water movement is insufficient and the weather is relatively dry. It is easy to suffer from internal heat, constipation, dry mouth, colds and fevers. The diet should be based on divergent foods, such as: leeks, garlic sprouts, onions, radishes, mustard greens, shepherd's purse, bean sprouts, garlic, leeks, cabbage sprouts, and coriander, which are intended to dispel yin and cold and disseminate the qi of the five internal organs. Sun Simiao said in "Food" "Taboos" contains "On the first lunar month, eat five pungent foods to avoid malaria." There is no need to deliberately limit fish, meat, etc. during the Spring Festival. To prevent getting angry, just be sure not to overeat.

Eat less: kelp, jellyfish, crab, hawthorn, gordon fruit

In the first month of the year, kidney qi is affected and lung qi is weak. It is advisable to reduce salty and sour (astringent) foods such as kelp, jellyfish, and crabs. , ebony (plum), hawthorn, gorgon fruit, etc. Hot, spicy and irritating foods and greasy foods such as hot pot and barbecue will aggravate the accumulation of heat in the intestines, so eat less or not at all. Keep your stomach qi at ease and avoid freezing.

Avoid eating: all kinds of liver, raw onions, polygonum seeds, frogs, snakes, soft-shell turtles, turtles

"The Synopsis of the Golden Chamber" says: "Don't eat liver in spring." When it is strong, the dead energy enters the liver and damages the soul. "Qianjin Prescription" (beginning of spring, rain) do not eat raw green onions and polygonum seeds, as this will cause wind to form on one's face. Do not eat hibernating animals such as frogs, snakes, turtles, soft-shell turtles, etc. "Yunji Qizhu" says: "When the temperature is in spring, it is advisable to eat wheat to cool it down, but not when it is warm." It is forbidden to eat hot foods (such as mutton, chili, pepper, white wine, etc.).

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