Everyone knows that the sweetness and salty taste of zongzi are controversial, but I didn't expect that glutinous rice balls are also divided into salty and sweet taste. Generally speaking, the dumplings we eat are sweet. I wonder how salty it tastes.

Do you have salty jiaozi?

Tangyuan is salty. Tangyuan, also known as "Tangtuan" and "Floating Zi Yuan", is one of the representatives of Han traditional snacks. The main raw material of glutinous rice balls is glutinous rice. After the glutinous rice flour is kneaded into a circle, it is filled with various fillings, such as sweet stuffing, no stuffing and salty stuffing. Salted glutinous rice dumplings are usually filled with vegetables, tofu or pork, and they are rich and delicious with glutinous rice. "

Is the glutinous rice balls salty?

Tangyuan should be sweet.

According to legend, Tangyuan originated in the Song Dynasty. At that time, a novel food appeared in Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province), that is, black sesame seeds and pork suet were used as stuffing, a little sugar was added, and glutinous rice flour was rubbed into a circle outside. After cooking, it tastes sweet and soft, with endless aftertaste. At the same time, glutinous rice balls symbolize family reunion, and eating glutinous rice balls also means family happiness and happy reunion in the New Year, so it is a must-have food for the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month.

Who invented glutinous rice balls?

First of all, during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was a maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao, who was good at wrapping jiaozi. Yuanxiao in the palace misses her parents and sisters very much and often cries alone in the boudoir. This homesickness deeply touched Dong Fangshuo. So Dong Fangshuo made up the story that the Jade Emperor wanted to "burn Chang 'an" and asked the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to approve every household to make dumplings and light lamps on the 15th day of the first month. At the same time, ladies-in-waiting were allowed to leave the palace. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the maid-in-waiting Yuanxiao carried a lantern with the word "Yuanxiao" written on it, and jiaozi, who had her own bag, went out of the palace smoothly. Finally, she was reunited with her family and enjoyed her dream family happiness. Since then, jiaozi has been called Yuanxiao!

Secondly, after Emperor Taizong Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, foreign enemies invaded continuously, and Li Shimin sent Guo Ziyi to send troops to resist. When Guo Ziyi returned triumphantly, it was already the Spring Festival. In order to reward heroes, Li Shimin decided to make up a New Year for Guo Ziyi on the 15th and 16th of the first month, and asked the chef to prepare fresh food for Guo Ziyi. The order is simple, but it is difficult to carry out. At first, the chefs didn't know what to do. Finally, a clever cook came up with a way to grind rice into flour and then wrap it with stuffing to make delicious food. Li Shimin and Guo Ziyi in the Tang Dynasty were full of praise after tasting this delicious food, so they asked the chef, "What's the name of this dish?" The cook had a brainwave and said, "white dough"! Then, Wei Zhi said, "These white doughs are round, symbolizing the unity of the world and the reunion of the people. Let's call them tangyuan! " Li Shimin was overjoyed and ordered him to eat glutinous rice balls on this day every year. Because glutinous rice balls and glutinous rice balls are homophonic, the name glutinous rice balls was finally passed down among the people!

The history of tangyuan

Tangyuan is one of the representative snacks of Han nationality in China with a long history. According to legend, Tangyuan originated in the Song Dynasty. At that time, Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) began to eat a novel food, that is, black sesame, lard and sugar as raw materials. Firstly, black sesame seeds are ground into powder, then lard and sugar are put into the mixture one after another and kneaded into balls to make stuffing, and glutinous rice flour is used to knead them into circles outside. After cooking, they taste sweet and delicious. Because this kind of dumplings cooked in a pot will float and sink, it was originally called "floating Zi Yuan", and later it was renamed Yuanxiao in some areas. Most southern families are used to getting together to eat the traditional customs of jiaozi on the morning of the Spring Festival. It is said that Yuanxiao symbolizes family reunion, and eating Yuanxiao means family happiness and all the best in the new year.

The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan is that the stuffing is mixed first, then spread into large round pieces, cooled and cut into squares with dice. Then dip the stuffing in water and roll it into Yuanxiao in flour like a snowball. Yuanxiao River has a thin layer of vermicelli, dry noodles and no trace. It absorbs water only after being cooked in a pot, which is popular in the north. Jiaozi in the south is mostly glutinous rice flour. First, add water, then make dough (the same as the dough in jiaozi), and leave it for several hours to "wake up". Then mix all the stuffing materials together and put them in a large bowl for later use (you don't have to cut them into small pieces like Yuanxiao). The water content of dumpling stuffing is more than that of Yuanxiao, which is one of the differences between them. The process of wrapping jiaozi is also like that of jiaozi, but there is no rolling pin. Wet glutinous rice flour is sticky, so we have to pull a small ball of wet noodles by hand and squeeze it into a circle. A thin bamboo slice tool selects a lump of stuffing and puts it on the glutinous rice slice, then turns it with both hands and closes it to make glutinous rice balls. Elaborate jiaozi has a smooth and shiny surface, and some jiaozi still has a tip, like a peach. The skin of glutinous rice balls already contains enough water, which is very sticky and difficult to preserve. Better cook it now.

The earliest record of eating Yuanxiao in the Lantern Festival can be found in the Song Dynasty. At that time, Yuanxiao was called "floating dumplings", "glutinous rice balls", "lactose dumplings" and "sugar dumplings". According to historical records such as the sequel to Pingyuan, Four-year-old Guang Ji and Ode to Daming, Yuanxiao, as a timely food to celebrate the Lantern Festival, began in the Song Dynasty. Because "Zi Yuan" must be eaten during the Lantern Festival, people name it Yuanxiao.