Why eat dumplings during the Spring Festival?

1. Ancient customs

Dumplings are foods eaten after New Year sacrifices. During the Chinese New Year, people pay attention to keeping the New Year's Bun, and eating it when they say goodbye, that is, eating it at Zi time. This is the turn of two years, the time to welcome the new year and say goodbye to the old. It has special significance and takes the meaning of "Jiao Zi", "Zi" It is "Zi Shi", which is homophonic with "dumpling". It means festive reunion and good luck, and it indicates good luck in the new year.

2. Dumplings are shaped like ingots

People eat dumplings during the Spring Festival to "bring in wealth".

3. Wrapping auspiciousness and joy

Dumplings have fillings, which facilitate people to wrap various auspicious and joyful things in the fillings to express people's good expectations for the new year. Hope.

4. Delicious

Dumplings themselves are delicious. There is a saying among the people that "it is not as comfortable as lying down, and it is not as delicious as dumplings".

The origin of eating dumplings during the Spring Festival

Dumplings originated from the ancient "slots". As early as the Three Kingdoms period, this food was mentioned in the book "Guang Ya" by Zhang Yi of Cao Wei. According to research, dumplings developed from the "Moon-shaped Wontons" from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty and the "Dried Pork Double Dips" from the Southern Song Dynasty. They have a history of more than 1,400 years.

There is also a theory that the origin of "dumplings" is related to a "medical sage". According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, the "medical sage" in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, served as the prefect of Changsha in the early years of Jian'an (196). Later, the plague Due to the epidemic, Zhang Zhongjing resigned and returned to his hometown, determined to treat the people's diseases. On his way back to his hometown, he saw that the poor people were not fully clothed and many had their ears damaged by the cold. So he used mutton, chili peppers and chopped cold-dispelling medicinal materials to make "dumpling bait" shaped like ears, cooked them in a pot, and distributed them to Poor people who come to heal their illnesses. After eating, people suddenly feel warm all over and their ears are hot. This cured people's frostbite, and later people began to follow suit, and "dumpling bait" gradually became known as "dumplings"

Tips on eating dumplings during the Spring Festival

First of all, do not eat pickled cabbage fillings during the New Year Er's dumplings mean that if you eat dumplings stuffed with pickled cabbage, you will be miserable in the coming year. On New Year's Eve, dumplings stuffed with cabbage and radish are eaten at night. It is said that eating such dumplings will make people look fair and talk kindly. When making dumplings, you must have a few more pleats and do not make the edges smooth. This means that you cannot live a "bald" life.

The shape of dumplings made on New Year’s Eve is also particular, and most areas are accustomed to keeping the traditional crescent shape. When making this shape, fold the dough in half and knead it along the semicircular edge with the thumb and index finger of your right hand. Knead it carefully and evenly, which is called "Kneading Fu". Some farmhouses pinch the two corners of a crescent-shaped dumpling together to form a "yuanbao" shape and place it on the curtain, symbolizing wealth everywhere and the house full of gold and silver. Some farmers also knead the dumplings with wheat ear-shaped patterns, like plump and huge ears of wheat, symbolizing a bumper harvest in the new year. But more importantly, the dumplings are wrapped in several shapes, which indicates that the house will be full of wealth, the warehouse will be full of grain, and the life will be prosperous in the coming year.

Many people also put a white thread in the dumplings, which means whoever eats the white thread will live longer. They also wrap a copper coin in the dumplings to wish whoever eats it will have good health in the new year. Lack of money to spend. When stacking the dumplings, be sure to place them in a straight line and avoid placing them in a circle. This means that you cannot let the new life go into a dead end. When cooking dumplings, it is also said that apricot tree strips need to be burned in the pit, which means that life will become more and more "prosperous" in the future.

In the process of cooking dumplings, the head of the family will ask: "Are you up, Xiaozhi?" The housewife who is cooking the dumplings will answer: "Get up! Get up!" This is to remove the dumplings from the pot. Floating at the bottom means life is getting better. Then, the head of the family will ask: "Did you make the dumplings?" The housewife will smile and answer: "Yes, you made a lot." At this time, if the dumplings are overcooked and broken, it cannot be said to be broken. , it must be said that I have made money, and I look forward to making a lot of money and making a fortune in the coming year. After the whole family has finished eating the dumplings, some parents will let their children jump a few times on high places in the house to wish their children a happy life.

What kind of dumplings are suitable for the Spring Festival?

Leek filling (also known as vegetarian three delicacies, which means peace)

The key points are firstly the proportion of fillings, and secondly It's seasoning. 70% leeks, 15% fried eggs, 15% water-fried vermicelli; seasoning: the oil is preferably blended oil (peanut oil, pepper oil, lard oil each accounts for one-third), salt is 1%, a small amount Sichuan pepper powder can be used without adding MSG.

Prepare it now and wrap it now. Don't season it for too long before wrapping it. This will be nutritious and taste good.

Hemei stuffing (Hehemeimei, Pingpinganan)

Stuffing: Cut the carrots into shreds first, blanch them, squeeze out the water with a clean cloth, chop them into pieces with a knife, the proportion The ratio is 60%; the water-fried vermicelli is chopped with a knife, the ratio is 20%; the frozen tofu is squeezed out and chopped with a knife, the ratio is 20%). Seasonings: First, minced green onion and ginger, second, blended oil (peanut oil, ground sesame oil, lard oil account for one-third each), third, refined salt and pepper powder (pour with hot oil, and then mix evenly with the filling).

Pork stuffing (meaning wealth and wealth)

It is best to use 50% pork belly and 50% clean meat for pork stuffing. Slice it first and then chop it with a knife (do not mince it) Too crumbly) Beat with water and soy sauce. The meat filling is 70%, and the vegetables (carrots, green radish, and vermicelli are all acceptable) are 30%. Just mix green onions (if you don't want to wrap the filling right away after preparing the stuffing), minced ginger, five-spice powder, salt, cooking wine, chicken powder, monosodium glutamate, sugar, soy sauce, peppercorn oil, sesame oil, etc.

Mutton stuffing (good luck)

Unwrap the minced mutton with pepper water and beat vigorously. Mutton likes ginger, and the proportion of minced ginger can be slightly larger. The meat accounts for 70%. %. Vegetables (20% carrots, 10% vermicelli) account for 30%. A small amount of soy sauce, mainly seasoned with salt, pepper powder and sesame oil.

Beef Stuffing (Fruit crops, prosperous livestock)

Unwrap the minced beef with Sichuan peppercorn water and beat it vigorously. Meat and vegetables are still priced at 30-70. Use green radish and a small amount of vermicelli for the dish. The seasoning is basically the same as for lamb.

Three fresh stuffing (fish, shrimp, sea cucumber, meaning leading in career)

Soak the grass carp meat in scallion and ginger salt water, squeeze out the water, chop into puree, and use scallions. Stir the ginger water vigorously, cut the shrimp into cubes with a knife, and cut the sea cucumber into small dices. Season with salt, cooking wine, lard and sesame oil. For vegetables, you can add some brittle ingredients such as water chestnuts or tender bamboo shoots.