The Lantern Festival is the most traditional festival for Chinese people. Eating Yuanxiao is indispensable. However, many people say that they eat Tangyuan. Should they eat Yuanxiao or Tangyuan? Many people mistakenly believe that Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are the same, but they are called differently. In fact, Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are two different things. It can be said that it is caused by the different origins of the north and the south. First, it is generally called Yuanxiao in the north, and Tangyuan in the south. Second, the Yuanxiao is big and the Tangyuan is small. Third, glutinous rice dumplings in the south are made by adding glutinous rice flour and water into a dough and then stuffing is added. Yuanxiao in the north is directly wrapped with glutinous rice flour layer by layer: first dip the fillings cut into small cubes. Put the water in a special machine, add dry glutinous rice flour and roll it, then dip it in water, put it back and roll it... This is how it is rolled over and over again. Fourth, due to differences in production, there are also differences in preservation. The storage time of glutinous rice balls in the south is longer than that of Yuanxiao, and they can also be frozen; while Yuanxiao is best made and eaten freshly, because dry glutinous rice flour is very It absorbs water easily, so it is easy to deliquesce and deteriorate, so it should not be stored for a long time! Yuanxiao made in the north is based on stuffing. First mix the fillings, mix well, then spread into large round slices, let cool and then cut into cubes smaller than ping pong balls. Then put the stuffing pieces into a large sieve-like basket or machine, pour in the glutinous rice flour and start sifting. As the fillings collide with each other and turn into balls, glutinous rice also sticks to the surface of the fillings to form Yuanxiao. The finished glutinous rice flour layer is very thin and dry on the surface. When it is cooked in the pot, the glutinous rice flour absorbs water and becomes mushy. Yuanxiao soup is very special. The cooked Yuanxiao is half of its original size, but the soup is thick, thick, sweet and fragrant, while the soup used to cook glutinous rice balls is clear. The method of making glutinous rice balls in the south is completely different from that of Yuanxiao. It is a bit like making dumplings. First, add water to the glutinous rice flour and form it into a ball (just like dough when making dumplings), then leave it for a few hours to wake up. Then mix the various ingredients for the stuffing and put them in a large bowl for later use (you don’t need to cut them into small pieces like making Yuanxiao). The filling of glutinous rice balls contains more water than that of yuanxiao, which is one of the differences between the two. The process of making glutinous rice balls is also like dumplings, but without a rolling pin. Wet glutinous rice flour is extremely sticky, so you have to grab a small ball of wet noodles with your hands and squeeze it into a disc shape. Use chopsticks (or a thin bamboo-like tool) to pick a ball of filling and place it on the glutinous rice slices, then use your hands to turn and close the dough to form a dumpling. The surface of the well-made glutinous rice balls is smooth and shiny, and some have a sharp point, like a peach shape. The skin of the gnocchi already contains enough water and is very sticky, making it difficult to store. It is best to make it and eat it now. Now with the quick freezing process, gnocchi has appeared in stores. There are many styles of glutinous rice dumplings in the south, and the most famous one now is Ningbo’s black Yangsu glutinous rice dumplings. The so-called black suet is a mixture of lard and black sesame powder, and the lard is not boiled pure oil, but the original piece of suet taken from the pig's belly. After tearing off the omentum outside the suet, squeeze and knead it by hand, and then add black sesame powder little by little. This stuff is absolute crap from a modern health perspective, but it tastes great: smooth, glutinous, soft and hot, worth a try. The storage methods of the two are also different. Most glutinous rice balls need to go through a quick-freezing process. The product temperature is below minus 18 degrees Celsius and needs to be stored frozen. The shelf life is generally more than three months. The taste of the glutinous rice balls does not change much after freezing. The dry glutinous rice flour on the outer layer of Yuanxiao easily absorbs water, and the taste will change after being refrigerated. , so Yuanxiao is mostly made and sold now, and the shelf life is usually three or two days. The softer and smoother the glutinous rice balls are, the better, so we are very particular about the raw materials of glutinous rice. Choose varieties with strong stickiness. There is also a saying in the processing technology that the powder should be ground with water. That is to say, after soaking the glutinous rice grains in water, grind the water and rice together (like grinding soy milk), and it is best to grind it with a stone grinder. The ground powder is hung up in a gauze bag to drain, and can be refrigerated for three or four days (it will become sour over time). It can be seen that good glutinous rice balls are difficult to produce industrially, which is another feature that is different from Yuanxiao.

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