On the winter solstice, this day began to "enter the ninth" and officially entered the cold. We must eat something good to replenish our bodies. Moreover, the winter solstice is the key node of the transformation between the qi of heaven and earth and the qi of yin and yang. Tonifying on this day will have three times the usual effect. As the saying goes, "the winter solstice is as big as a year". On this day of the winter solstice, eating is the most important thing no matter where you are. The winter solstice food customs in different places have their own characteristics. Let me introduce some main food customs to you.

North | jiaozi

Northerners love jiaozi too much. After all, they have to eat jiaozi all the year round, no matter what the solar terms are, and there is no jiaozi. Moreover, the winter solstice misbehaves jiaozi Bowl, and nobody cares about freezing off the ears. It can be seen that eating jiaozi on the winter solstice has a high status in their hearts, especially in the northeast, and they love jiaozi deeply! ?

I really want to talk about the tradition of eating jiaozi on the winter solstice. According to legend, it is also related to Zhang Zhongjing, a Chinese medical scientist. jiaozi was invented by him, formerly known as "Jiao Er". He used "Quhan Jiao Er Tang" to treat many poor people whose ears were damaged by hunger and cold at that time. Later, every winter solstice, everyone imitated and ate, and there was the custom of eating jiaozi. Dumpling stuffing is not very particular. Northeastern people like sauerkraut stuffing, Shandong people like Spanish mackerel stuffing, Beijingers like fennel stuffing, and others like the home-cooked leek eggs and pork with mushrooms. Can it taste bad in jiaozi?

On the day of the Winter Solstice, the whole family went into battle, doing their duties, making stuffing, kneading dough, rolling skin and wrapping jiaozi. When the hot jiaozi comes to the table, the festive atmosphere is really there!

South | Tangyuan

When northerners eat jiaozi with vinegar, the tip of southerners' tongue is feeling the sweet crit of glutinous rice balls.

In Chaoshan, the local people call glutinous rice balls "winter festival pills", but they have no stuffing. It is better to rub the winter festival pills in uneven shapes, which is called "father and son gongsun pills", symbolizing the fullness of the family at the end of the year. Winter festival pills are usually cooked before dawn, and the brown sugar soup is cooked. After the balls are cooked, they are sacrificed to the ancestors first, and then the whole family, old and young, are called up to eat soup pills, commonly known as "the soup pills don't eat the sky."

Tangyuan arrived in Taizhou and changed its name: Lei Yuan. Stir-fry soybeans and grind them into bean yellow powder, add brown sugar and sesame seeds and mix well; Glutinous rice flour and water are kneaded into a dough, picked into a ping-pong ball, kneaded into a ball, gently crushed into boiling water and cooked, and then rolled in soybean flour. This action is called "rolling" in Taizhou dialect. Similar to the method of rolling round, there are Fuzhou people's glutinous rice balls, but the difference is that they are a mixture of white sugar, cooked black sesame powder, chopped peanuts and cooked soybean powder, all of which are solid and lovely. The most amazing thing should be the winter solstice dumplings of Yangzhou people. One is as big as half a fist, and the stuffing is mostly fresh shepherd's purse. Two people with small appetites can eat enough.

In addition to glutinous rice balls, Jiaxing people who live in water towns in the south of the Yangtze River will also eat red beans and glutinous rice, which is said to ward off epidemic ghosts and prevent diseases.

Local food customs:

1, Ningxia Yinchuan | brain

On the winter solstice, Yinchuan people also want to drink mutton soup, but they gave it a special name-"brain", which is actually mutton powder soup jiaozi. It's scary to hear the name, but after smelling the fragrance, you can't help but move your index finger.

On the winter solstice, the common people call it Ghost Festival. After jiaozi prepares the noodle soup, he will serve a bowl first, and also serve a bowl to his neighbors. The custom of eating brains on the winter solstice is said to have started in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, ate mutton cooked by Fan Kuai on the winter solstice, which made him feel particularly delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating mutton brains on the winter solstice has been formed among the people. On the winter solstice, people eat mutton and various nourishing foods one after another, in order to have a good omen for the coming year.

2. Shandong Tengzhou | Mutton Soup

On the winter solstice, northerners not only eat jiaozi in every household, but also drink mutton soup in Tengzhou, Shandong. The winter solstice is called "off-year" by them. In order to meet this day, everyone will buy mutton in advance.

Every winter solstice, people will eat mutton and drink mutton soup. As the saying goes, "three nine make up one, winter", and warming mutton is regarded as a good choice for tonic in winter. For ordinary people, eating mutton is one of the main ways to make up for the cold in winter. Chinese medicine and medicine pay attention to "four seasons and five supplements", among which "nourishing" in winter is a timely tonic method. Eating mutton on the winter solstice is to keep out the cold and nourish.

3. Dog meat in Northeast China

The custom of eating dog meat on the winter solstice is said to have started from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, ate dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai on the winter solstice, which made him feel particularly delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat on the winter solstice has been formed among the people. Nowadays, people eat dog meat, mutton and various nourishing foods on the winter solstice in order to have a good omen for the coming year. In particular, tofu stew with dog meat is one of the eight stews in Northeast China. Up to now, the versions of stewed tofu with dog meat in the winter solstice are not uniform, but the meat bones and tofu are still replaced with dog meat, because the important position of stewed tofu with dog meat in other versions is beyond words.

4. Beijing | Wonton

In Beijing, there is a proverb called "Winter Solstice Wonton Summer Solstice Noodles". In the past, there was a saying in Beijing that wonton was eaten on the winter solstice. Wonton, a kind of food symbolizing reunion, was the first choice on the winter solstice table. ? As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, people in Lin 'an ate wonton on the winter solstice. At first, it was to worship their ancestors, and then it gradually became popular. There was a saying among the people that "wonton on the winter solstice is noodles on the summer solstice". Eating wonton on the winter solstice hoped to break the "chaos" and become smart. The nutritional value of wonton is still relatively high. Its biggest advantage is that protein has a complete variety, with stuffing and skin, which can complement protein. When eating wonton in the winter solstice, ginger, salt, monosodium glutamate and other seasonings should be added to make it. Wonton stuffing will be delicious and not greasy.

5, Guangdong | boiled chicken, wine boiled mutton, radish hairpin

"Celebrate the New Year in winter" and "Be fat and lean in winter" are big proverbs that Cantonese people have heard since childhood. In addition to eating dumplings, many areas in Guangdong have their own unique winter solstice customs.

For example, Guangzhou people want to eat white-cut chicken and roast goose, and the family can have a meal together happily; Foshan people want to steam muffins, which has a good meaning of high rise and great hair; Zhongshan people will eat "water olive", olive-shaped dumplings filled with lotus seed paste or mung bean paste; Meizhou people prefer "boiled mutton with wine".

6. Minnan | Ginger Duck, Pill, Ghost Cake?

There is a saying in Xiamen: "It is better to make up for winter than to make up for it in a year". For Minnan people, the winter solstice is not only a big day for family reunion and ancestor worship, but also a top priority, and ginger duck is the first choice. ?

Although all three places in Fujian (Xiamen, Zhangquan) eat ginger duck, only Xiamen people must eat ginger duck on the winter solstice. Stir-fry ginger and muscovy duck with sesame oil, add sorghum wine and cooking wine and stew. Ginger dehumidifies and warms the body, and the duck meat is nourishing but not greasy. It is cooked until it is dry and fragrant, and a piece of ginger is eaten. After eating, the whole body is steaming!

Although we are far away from the farming era that relies on solar terms to judge time, the sense of ceremony left on the dining table is still like cutting a knife on an invisible door edge, marking traces related to land and time. The winter solstice has arrived, and the sun is about to light up day by day. A hearty winter solstice meal warmly opens the first day of the winter.