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The origin and development of rice cakes?
Chinese pinyin for rice cakes: nián-gāo

Rise cake New Year Cake

[Rice cake] A cake steamed with glutinous rice or rice flour is a seasonal food for the Lunar New Year.

During the Spring Festival, many areas in China pay attention to eating rice cakes. Rice cakes have yellow and white colors, which symbolize gold and silver respectively. The rice cake is also called "rice cake", which is homophonic with "getting taller every year", meaning that people's work and life are getting better every year. Therefore, there is a poem by predecessors, which called the rice cake: "The meaning of the rice cake is slightly deeper, and it is as white as silver and gold. I hope that when I get old, I will be profitable, and I sincerely hope that my wealth will come. "

[Edit this paragraph] The history of rice cakes

As a kind of food, rice cakes have a long history in China. 1974, archaeologists found well-preserved rice seeds at Hemudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang province (Hemudu matriarchal social site in Yuyao) more than 7,000 years ago, indicating that our ancestors began to grow rice as early as 7,000 years ago. People in Han Dynasty called rice cakes "rice cakes", "fish bait" and "glutinous rice cakes". In the book Dialect of Han Dynasty, the title of "Gao" was popular in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The ancients also had a development process from rice cakes to rice cakes. In the 6th century A.D., the cookbook Historical Records contained the method of making "white cocoon candy" for rice cakes, which said: "If the rice is cooked thoroughly and hotter than that in Chu Jiu, it must be cooked extremely well so as not to have rice grains ..." That is, after the glutinous rice is steamed, it is boiled into rice and then cut into peach kernels. As early as the Liao Dynasty, it was said that on the first day of the first month in Beijing, every family had the custom of eating rice cakes. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, rice cakes have developed into perennial snacks in the market, with different flavors in the north and south. The rice cake is delicious, sweet and mellow, and has a strong historical flavor.

[Edit this paragraph] The origin of rice cakes

There is an old legend about the origin of Spring Festival rice cakes. In ancient times, there was a monster named Nian who lived in the deep mountains and forests all the year round. When he is hungry, he catches other animals to satisfy his hunger. But in the severe winter, most animals will hide and rest. When you are hungry, you go down the mountain to hurt the people, rob people for food, and make the people miserable. Later, there was a clever tribe called "Gaozu". Every winter, when the monster was expected to go down the mountain for food, he cooked a lot of food with food in advance, twisted it into strips and put it outside the door, while people hid at home. When "Nian" came, people couldn't find anyone to eat. When they were hungry, they filled their stomachs with food strips made by people and went back to the mountains after eating. When people saw the monster go, they all went out to congratulate each other, glad that they had escaped the "Year Pass" and were safe and ready to plough again in spring. In this way, year after year, this method of avoiding animal harm has been handed down. Because the grain bars are made of high, in order to feed the year, the year and the height are linked together, which is called the rice cake (homophonic).

[Edit this paragraph] Legend of Rice Cake

It is said that the rice cakes are from Suzhou. There is a legend about its origin: According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Wu Zixu helped He Lv seize the throne of the State of Wu, and made it prosperous all the year round. But later, He Lv was full of ambition and ordered Wu Zixu to build "He Lv City" to show his merits.

After the completion of the city wall, the king of Wu held a feast to celebrate. During the dinner, the ministers indulged in drinking and having fun, thinking that with a strong city, they could rest easy. See these, China's prime minister Wu Zixu is very worried. He called his entourage and said, "The civil and military officials in the Qing Dynasty now think that high walls can protect the peace of the State of Wu. Although the city wall can resist enemy soldiers, the people inside will be equally restrained if they want to go out. If the enemy does not fight around, isn't Wu trapped in a cocoon? If you get carried away, you will be in trouble. If anything happens to me, Wu is trapped and food and grass are scarce, you can go to Xiangmen City to dig three feet to get food. " The entourage thought that Wu Zixu was drunk, but he didn't take it seriously.

Soon, He Lv, the king of Wu, died, and Fu Cha succeeded to the throne, listening to slanderers. Wu Zixu urged the King of Wu to refuse the peace of Gou Jian, the King of Yue, but he was rejected and was sentenced to death. After Wu Zixu committed suicide, Gou Jian, the King of Yue, sent troops to attack the State of Wu, surrounded Gusu City, the capital of the State of Wu, and Wu Jun was trapped in the city, with women and children crying in the streets. At this time, the waiter remembered Wu Zixu's previous instructions, and quickly called the neighbors to dig food outside Xiangmen. When he dug three feet deep under the city wall, he found that the city brick was made of glutinous rice flour. People were so excited that they knelt down to the wall and thanked Wu Zixu. These glutinous rice noodles saved the people in the city. So under the auspices of the Wu Zixu family, it was distributed to the hungry people in the city, and everyone spent the famine temporarily. Suzhou people admire Wu Zixu's patriotism and love for the people. Since then, every winter, they will prepare rice cakes to show their memory of Wu Zixu and share them with friends and family during the Spring Festival. Therefore, the shape of Suzhou rice cake is similar to that of city bricks, which is not greasy after cooking, does not crack after drying, and does not go bad for a long time.

[Edit this paragraph] Making of rice cakes

The method of grinding glutinous rice into cakes is also very early. The Book of Qi Yaomin written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty can prove this point. The production method is to screen glutinous rice flour with silk, add water and honey to knead it into hard dough, attach dates and chestnuts to the dough, wrap it with bamboo leaves and steam it. This glutinous rice cake has the characteristics of the Central Plains.

Rice cakes are mostly made of glutinous rice flour, which is a specialty of Jiangnan. In the north, sticky grain like glutinous rice was the first to popularize sticky millet (commonly known as millet) in ancient times. This shelled millet powder is yellow, sticky and sweet after being steamed with water. It is a delicious food for people in the Yellow River valley to celebrate the harvest. The article "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of Jingshi" published during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty recorded that Beijingers at that time would "eat millet cakes and have New Year cakes on the first day of the first month". It is not difficult to see that "rice cake" is a homonym of "sticky cake" in the north.

The experienced rice cake master said that the most important thing to make a good rice cake is to pay attention to water and oil. In addition, whether glutinous rice flour is pure or not is also very important. Most glutinous rice flour bought in the general market is mixed with other rice flour, which is not soft enough to eat. Therefore, rice cakes should be made directly from glutinous rice, so as to ensure the purity and original taste of rice cakes. Making rice cakes is very simple. Rice cakes can be made into many flavors, but they are all based on the most basic original rice cakes and other materials that people like.

Rice cakes are not only a kind of holiday food, but also bring new hope to people every year, which means that everything goes well every year. As a poem in the late Qing Dynasty said, "People's hearts are high, and food is harmonious, so that the year is better than the year to pray for the year."

[Edit this paragraph] Around the rice cakes

China has a vast territory, different customs and habits, and a wide variety of rice cakes. Typical ones are the white cake in the north, the yellow rice cake of farmers in Saibei, the water mill rice cake in the south of the Yangtze River, and the glutinous rice cake in the southwest. Red turtle cakes in Taiwan Province Province. Rice cakes have different flavors from north to south. There are steamed rice cakes and fried rice cakes in the north, both of which are sweet; In addition to steaming and frying, southern rice cakes are also sliced and cooked in soup, which is both sweet and salty.

The rice cake in Beijing is the representative of the rice cake in the north. It is yellow and white, symbolizing gold and silver, which means "high every year". Therefore, there is a poem by predecessors, which called the rice cake: "The meaning of the rice cake is slightly deeper, and it is as white as silver and gold. I hope that when I get old, I will be profitable, and I sincerely hope that my wealth will come. " In fact, tracing the history of rice cakes was recorded as early as the Zhou Dynasty in China. "National Zagreb? The "powder rice" of "eating at the edge of shame and making rice with powder" is the cake food steamed with rice noodles. The rice cakes in Beijing snacks are steamed with yellow rice or glutinous rice flour and various accessories. There are many kinds of rice cakes, such as jujube rice cakes, bean rice cakes and rice cakes. Boutique rice cakes include ginkgo, assorted, crystal, ruyi and so on. Cooking methods are mostly steamed, but also fried and dipped in sugar, which are sweet and sticky.

Beijing's rice cakes are generally supplied by Muslim snack bars, except for the Spring Festival, but the quantity and variety are less than during the Spring Festival. Rice cakes are snacks for Muslims and sacrifices for Manchu people to jump on. Manchu's name is Heiafeng, Shi Fei. There was a poem in Zhao Shen in the Qing Dynasty: "This cake is called fat, solid and black, and it is greasy as fat. Xiang Jie must know that God is paid, and Jane is with Jin Ju and Furong. " The note said: "The offerings of Manchu jumping are flying stones and black peaks, as well as sticky rice cakes. The color is yellow as jade, the taste is greasy as fat, the oil powder is miserable, and the honey is quite fragrant, so as to give back to the neighborhood. Jin Ju and Furong are both cakes. " It can be seen that rice cakes were Manchu snacks at least in the Qing Dynasty.

The rice cakes in the south are different. Fuzhou rice cake is called white cake. Guangdong rice cakes are generally made of glutinous rice flour, sticky powder, crude oil, melon seeds and bamboo leaves. Its color is golden red, soft and sweet, and delicious. Hainan rice cake has smooth surface, yellow and soft color and sweet taste. According to local customs, every household makes rice cakes as holiday gifts in the twelfth lunar month to celebrate the New Year. Its main raw materials are glutinous rice, sugar, sesame, red dates and water. There are many ways to eat Hainan rice cakes, such as baking or soft eating, burning cake soup and slicing and frying. New Year's custom in Jiangsu and Zhejiang must have rice cakes. There are many kinds of rice cakes, such as sweet-scented osmanthus sugar rice cakes, lard rice cakes, water mill rice cakes and eight-treasure rice cakes. Jiangsu rice cakes are typical Suzhou rice cakes, made of glutinous rice, mainly sweet-scented osmanthus sugar rice cakes and lard rice cakes; Zhejiang rice cakes are very common in Ningbo, mainly made of late japonica rice. Taiwan Province compatriots also eat rice cakes every year. When making rice cakes, they first mix glutinous rice and Penglai rice, wash them, soak them for three hours, grind them into rice slurry, press them dry, add sugar and banana oil, and knead them evenly. Spread a layer of cellophane on the bottom of the steamer, put the kneaded rice flour on it, and put a bamboo tube at each corner for ventilation. Steam for about two or three hours, insert chopsticks into the rice flour to see if there is any raw flour, add water to the pot at any time until it is cooked, then cut the rice cake into pieces and eat it slowly.

[Edit this paragraph] The practice of rice cakes

I. Babao Rice Cake

Raw materials: glutinous rice 1000g, sugar 20g, hemp seed 20g, green plum 20g, raisin 20g, peach 20g, wax gourd 20g and lotus 20g.

Exercise:

1. First, wash1000g of glutinous rice, soak it in clear water for 24 hours, then steam it in a drawer, take it out, mash it with a wooden stick, and spread it out for later use.

2. Stir 20 grams of sugar, hemp seed, green plum, raisin, preserved peach, wax gourd strip and white lotus into stuffing.

3. Brush a layer of lard in the square dish, spread a sticky rice paste with a thickness of 1 cm, put a proper amount of stuffing on each layer, and spread three layers.

4. After steaming in the pot, cut it into small pieces with a knife and serve.

Second, the sandwich rice cake

Ingredients: glutinous rice1000g, adzuki bean 50g, shredded green 50g, shredded red 50g, and proper amount of sugar.

Exercise:

1. Wash1000g of glutinous rice, soak it for 24 hours, steam it in a drawer, take it out and mash it with a wooden stick, then spread it out and cut it into two parts.

2. Cook 50 grams of adzuki beans, add 50 grams of sugar and 50 grams of green red silk as stuffing.

3. Sprinkle the stuffing on the surface of one piece, then put another piece on the stuffing and compact it, and then cut it into pieces with a knife.

Third, fried white cakes.

Material: glutinous rice1000g, 500ml oil.

Exercise:

1. Wash and soak1000g of glutinous rice, drain the water, steam it in a drawer until it is cooked, take it out and mash it with a wooden stick, and grind it into powder.

2. First cut the rice cake into small pieces of about 50 grams with a knife, then put 500 ml of oil in the pot to boil, then add the rice cake and float it to take it out.

Fourth, stir-fry rice cakes.

Ingredients: glutinous rice1000g, 250g of japonica rice, 50g of lard, 50g of sugar, 50g of osmanthus sauce and a little peanut oil.

Exercise:

1. Wash and soak 0/000g of glutinous rice/kloc-0 and 250g of japonica rice, then add water and grind them into slurry, and put them in a cloth bag to dry the water.

2. Put the slurry into a basin, add 50g lard, 50g sugar and 50g osmanthus sauce and mix well.

3. Brush peanut oil on the square plate, put the stirred dough into the plate and spread it flat. Steam on the drawer for about 30 minutes.

4. After cooling, cut it into dices, then put it in a peanut oil pot and fry it thoroughly with medium heat.

Five, soup rice cake

Ingredients: rice cake, red beans, tremella.

Exercise:

1. Wash the tremella hair; Wash the red beans and soak them in hot water for half an hour.

2. Add a bowl of water and stew for half an hour.

3. After half an hour, add tremella to start cooking and stew for another half an hour.

4. After the rice cake is steamed, slice it or round it and add it to the soup.

Six, bean paste rice cake soup

1. Boil the water in the pot, cut the Ningbo Shuimo rice cake into pieces and cook it in water, then heat it with low heat and wait for the second process. If you want to eat more, you can cut the rice cake thicker.

2. Dilute the bean paste with water like flour in a bowl, slowly pour it into the pot where the rice cake is cooked, stir it evenly with a spoon, and add some sugar according to everyone's taste, and it will be ok.

Seven, green vegetables and shredded pork fried rice cake

Raw materials: shredded pork, green vegetables (usually rape) and rice cakes.

Exercise:

1, grab shredded pork with tender meat powder, add cooking wine and oil and mix well; Cut the vegetables into suitable lengths.

2. Put oil in the pan, stir-fry shredded pork and shredded vegetables, add some salt, stir-fry and remove for later use.

3. Put the oil again, add the rice cake, stir fry quickly, and constantly add some water to prevent the rice cake from sticking to the pot. Stir-fry until the rice cake is soft, add the fried shredded pork and vegetables, add some salt and chicken essence, and add some water until the soup is basically dry.

Eight, crispy fried rice cakes and purple vegetable rolls

Ingredients: appropriate amount of rice cake, several pieces of laver, and appropriate amount of stir-fried pulp.

Practice: first cut the rice cake into squares with random sizes, then wrap it with laver, dip it in the fried pulp, and fry it with 170 degrees until it is crisp, and then serve.

Tip: control the oil temperature, not too high or too low.

Nine, rice cake syrup

Ingredients: two-color rice cake150g, ginger slices 40g, water 450g and rock sugar 75g.

Practice: first cut the two-color rice cake into squares with any size; Boil water and ginger slices; Add rice cakes and cook for about five minutes.

Tip: the sweetness can be reduced according to your own preferences. It won't take long to make rice cakes.

Ten, crisp fried Gillette horseshoe cake.

Ingredients: horseshoe cake, bread crumbs, 1 eggs, raw flour.

Practice: First cut the water chestnut cake into pieces, cover it with cornflour, add the egg paste, then paste the bread crumbs, cook the oil to about 170 degrees, and fry until golden brown. Then serve.

Tip: You can eat it with tomato juice, so you won't feel greasy.

Eleven, Guangdong and Hong Kong flavor rice cakes

Ingredients: all kinds of rice cakes, cooking oil.

Exercise:

1, frying-cut all kinds of rice cakes into pieces, regardless of size. Add a little oil and fry the rice cake until golden brown.

2. Steaming-cut all kinds of rice cakes into pieces and steam them thoroughly.

Tip: The above practices keep the original flavor of the rice cake, and the taste is delicate and smooth.

Twelve, crab small rice cakes

Ingredients: crab, rice cake, onion, ginger, low sodium salt, sugar, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, cooking wine and water starch.

Exercise:

1. Cut the crab in half, fry it in the oil pan and take it out.

2. Stir-fry the rice cake in the remaining oil;

3. Put the fried crabs into the pot and stir fry together;

4. Add cooking wine, ginger, soy sauce, etc. After seasoning, simmer for a while;

5. Then, add sugar and a little monosodium glutamate;

6. Finally, you can cook.

Thirteen, sausage rice cakes

Ingredients: sausage \ rice cake slice \ green pepper \ carrot

Ingredients: onion

Exercise:

1. Slice various raw materials

2. put a little oil in the pot and add onion to stir fry.

Add sausage

4. Add the rice cake, you can add a little water and fry the rice cake until soft.

5. Add green peppers and carrots and stir-fry until cooked.

Fourteen Yellow rice rice cake beyond the Great Wall

Ingredients: millet flour (yellow wheat) \ corn flour \ red kidney beans \ red dates.

Exercise:

1. Corn flour (yellow wheat) and corn flour are mixed according to the ratio of 3: 1.

2. Hot water is poured on the noodles, which should be scattered and not caked.

3. Spread the drawer with cabbage leaves (or drawer cloth) and add water to the pot to boil.

4. Sprinkle a layer of red kidney beans, a layer of loose wet flour and a layer of red dates on the vegetable leaves (or cage cloth) ... The thickness of the flour shall be subject to the coverage of the sprinkled date palms and kidney beans.

5. Poke the surface with chopsticks during paving to ventilate the surface, otherwise it will be easily caught.

Steam after 6.45-60min.

Just a word of caution.

The rice cake is not only sweet and delicious, but also nutritious, and has the functions of fitness and disease elimination. According to tests, the calories of rice cakes are higher, several times that of rice. However, the rice cake contains less water, is not easy to digest, and is easy to produce phlegm after eating. Therefore, people suffering from indigestion, gastrointestinal diseases and asthma should not eat more. Eating less is not greasy, which not only supplements nutrition, but also benefits the body.

Nutritional analysis

The rice cake contains protein, fat, carbohydrate, nicotinic acid, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and other nutrients and healthy elements.

Preservation of rice cakes

Soaking rice cakes with clear water is a good preservation method, but it should be noted that rice cakes soaked with clear water need to be cleaned every day and changed with water every day to be preserved for a longer time; If your rice cake has been soaked in water, washed and changed, and turned sour, you can't eat it any more. In addition, after washing each rice cake, wrap it in a fresh-keeping bag and put it in the freezer. This method can keep rice cakes for a longer time.

[Edit this paragraph] Old Beijing traditional time-honored brand-rice cake money

Qian's ancestral home is in niujie, Guang 'anmen, which refers to niujie, the place where ancestors breed, which will arouse many childhood memories. There is a Millennium Mosque in niujie. The building is magnificent, with many cypresses, and 80% of the residents around it believe in Islam. Except some wealthy businessmen who deal in jewelry and jade articles live in quadrangles, most of them are small vendors who sell goods or services and live in low-rise bungalows. There is a saying in niujie that "two knives are returned, one knife is beef, and the other knife is rice cake".

Qian Lao's grandfather Qian Qicheng (born in 1850) and six brothers mainly buy pasta, that is, sell snacks such as steamed buns. Now they are all fried and baked, sweet and salty, supplemented by selling rice cakes. By the time my father Qian was born (18 15), he was also six brothers, four of whom were in this line of work. My father was a carpenter and mainly sold rice cakes. At that time, there was a cry from the streets of niujie, "Hungry for cake! It's really hot! " All the neighbors nearby heard the sound.

At the age of twelve, Qian Laoben sold cut cakes with his second brother, and then independently engaged in rice cakes, snowballing and other businesses in Qianmen Street and Tianqiao. In 1980s, retired Qian Lao opened the first "rice cake money" shop in niujie, becoming the first self-employed person selling rice cakes in niujie. Now there is nothing Niu Jie doesn't know about the money family. "The rice cake is sticky and the bean stuffing is sweet" was the evaluation given by the masses at that time, which was a bit old-fashioned, gave Qian Lao great encouragement and confidence, and the business was booming. It is said that many old-timers selling rice cakes specifically say that they are not good enough, so that the energetic Qian Lao has opened up many new varieties and formed a series of Beijing snacks, which can supply different varieties according to different solar terms, such as pea yellow, kidney bean rolls, yam rolls, yellow wheat fried cakes, tea dishes, candied fruit, chestnut cakes, etc., which are in short supply. Under the care and leadership of Xuanwu Federation of Industry and Commerce, we also successfully participated in Daxing Watermelon Festival and Tongxian Snack Festival. On the snack street in Tongxian County, Vice Premier Tian Jiyun personally wrote the inscription "Family of Rice Cake", which made Qian Lao realize how difficult it is to get such recognition and honor for the craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation for more than 0/00 years. Later, he actively participated in the dim sum banquet hosted by the ambassador at Xinqiao Hotel at 65438-0989. 1998 Dim Sum Banquet of the World Finance Ministers' Meeting and 1999 Dim Sum Banquet of the 50th Anniversary of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse held in China World Hotel.

In March, 2003, Nian Gaoqian joined the team to build the "Old Beijing Traditional Snacks Association". Under the leadership of the founder, seven time-honored brands, such as Blowing Belly Wind, Dairy Flavor, Maji Yueshengzhai in Hubu Street, Junzhai, Sheep Head Horse and Bean Curd Brain White, jointly sponsored and organized the first tasting banquet of old Beijing traditional snacks, a group meeting with the Foreign Ministry of Laoshe Teahouse during the Spring Festival, the 600th anniversary of the establishment of Mutianyu Great Wall, and the National Museum's appreciation for donations from American World War II veterans.

In 2006, Xuanwu District Association for Sustainable Development of Old Beijing Traditional Snacks was established. As the first group of members, "rice cake money" joined the association, and together with more than a dozen other time-honored brands, it created snack cards of old Beijing in the scenic "Jiumen Snacks" in Shichahai. Rice cake money, a famous snack in old Beijing!

A little rice cake money, so much effort. Cherish it, every item is hard-won!

Rice cakes with sugar will taste better!