Custom: On the day of Laba, it is customary to eat Laba porridge. Laba porridge is also called "Seven Treasures and Five Flavors Porridge". The history of eating Laba porridge in our country has been more than a thousand years. It first started in the Song Dynasty. On every Laba day, no matter the court, government, monasteries or ordinary people's homes, they must make Laba porridge. In the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laba porridge became even more popular.
People get busy on the night of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, washing rice, soaking fruits, peeling, removing cores, sorting and then starting to cook at midnight, then simmering over low heat until the third day. In the early morning of the next day, the Laba porridge was finally ready. People who are more particular will first carve the fruits into human shapes, animals, and patterns, and then boil them in a pot. The more distinctive thing is to put "fruit lion" in Laba porridge. Fruit lion is a lion-shaped object made of several kinds of fruits. The crispy dates with the date cores removed and dried are used as the lion's body, half a walnut kernel is used as the lion's head, the peach kernel is used as the lion's feet, and the sweet almond is used as the lion's tail. Then stick them together with sugar and put them in the porridge bowl, just like a little lion. If the bowl is larger, you can put two lions or four small lions on it. What's even more exquisite is to use date paste, bean paste, yam, hawthorn cake and other foods of various colors to make statues of the Eight Immortals, the Longevity Star and the Arhat. This kind of decorated Laba porridge can only be seen on the altar tables of large temples in the past. After the Laba porridge is cooked, you must first worship the gods and ancestors. If you want to give it to relatives and friends later, you must send it out before noon. Finally, the whole family eats it. Leftover Laba porridge, if you keep it for a few days and still have it left over, it is a good sign, which means "more than enough every year". If you give porridge to poor people, it will be a good thing for yourself. Laba porridge also has witchcraft effects among the people. If there are flowers and fruit trees planted in the yard, you should also apply some Laba porridge on the branches. I believe it will bear more fruits in the coming year. People in Tianjin cook Laba porridge similar to those in Beijing. Those who are more particular may add lotus seeds, lilies, pearl rice, Italian rice, barley kernels, sticky rice, sticky yellow rice, cloud beans, mung beans, longan meat, longan meat, ginkgo, and red dates. And sweet-scented osmanthus in sugar water, etc., all have good color, aroma and taste. In recent years, black rice has also been added. This kind of Laba porridge can be used as a dietary therapy. It has the functions of strengthening the spleen, appetizing, replenishing qi, calming the nerves, clearing the heart, and nourishing the blood.
Shanxi: Laba porridge, also known as eight-treasure porridge, is mainly made of millet, with cowpeas, adzuki beans, mung beans, jujubes, and sticky yellow rice, rice, glutinous rice, etc. cooked in it. In the southeastern Shanxi region, on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, adzuki beans, red beans, cowpeas, sweet potatoes, peanuts, glutinous rice, persimmons, and water are used to cook porridge, also called sweet rice, which is also one of the food customs.
Northern Shaanxi: On Laba Day, in addition to using a variety of rice and beans, various dried fruits, tofu and meat must be added to make porridge. It is usually cooked in the morning and can be either sweet or salty, depending on one's taste. If it is eaten at lunch, some noodles should be cooked in the porridge and the whole family can have a meal together. After eating, the porridge should be smeared on the door, the stove and the trees outside the door to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters and welcome a bumper agricultural harvest in the coming year. According to folklore, it is forbidden to eat vegetables on Laba day, as there will be many weeds in the crops. People in southern Shaanxi eat mixed porridge during Laba, which is divided into "five flavors" and "eight flavors". The former is cooked with rice, glutinous rice, peanuts, ginkgo nuts and beans. The latter uses the above five raw materials plus diced meat, tofu, radish, and condiments. On Laba Day, in addition to eating Laba porridge, people also use the porridge to worship ancestors and granaries.
Gansu: Traditionally, grains and vegetables are used to cook Laba porridge. After cooking, it is not only eaten by the family, but also distributed to neighbors and used to feed livestock. In Lanzhou and Baiyin City areas, Laba porridge is cooked very carefully, using rice, beans, red dates, ginkgo, lotus seeds, raisins, dried apricots, dried melons, walnut kernels, green and red shreds, white sugar, diced meat, etc. After cooking, it is first used to worship the door god, kitchen god, earth god, and wealth god, and pray for good weather and abundant harvests in the coming year; then it is distributed to relatives and neighbors, and finally the whole family enjoys it. The Wuwei area of ??Gansu Province pays attention to "vegetarian Laba", eating thick rice, lentil rice or thick rice. After cooking, it is eaten with fried rice dumplings and twists. The folk custom calls it "lentil porridge soaked rice".
Henan: Laba rice is cooked with eight raw materials including millet, mung beans, cowpeas, wheat kernels, peanuts, red dates, and corn. After it is cooked, add some brown sugar and walnut kernels. The porridge is thick and fragrant, and it has a metaphorical meaning. There will be a bumper harvest in the coming year.
Zhejiang: Laba porridge generally uses walnut kernels, pine nuts, gorgon seeds, lotus seeds, red dates, longan meat, lychee meat, etc. It is sweet and delicious, and it is eaten to pray for a long life. It is said that this method of cooking porridge was spread from Nanjing, and there are many legends in it.
Emerald Jasper Laba Garlic: Soaking Laba Garlic is a custom in the north, especially in North China. As the name suggests, garlic is brewed on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. In fact, the ingredients are very simple, just vinegar and garlic cloves. The method is also extremely simple. Put the peeled garlic cloves into a container that can be sealed, such as a jar or bottle, then pour vinegar into it, seal it and put it in a cold place. Slowly, the garlic soaked in vinegar will turn green, and eventually it will become completely green, like emerald jasper.
Cooking "Five Beans": In some places, people cook rice porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. It is not called "Laba Rice Porridge" but is called "five beans". Some cook it on the day of Laba, and some cook it on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. , you also need to use noodles to knead some "bird heads" and cook them with rice and beans (five kinds of beans). It is said that if people eat "sparrow heads" in Laba, the sparrows will have headaches and will not harm their crops in the coming year. The cooked "five beans" are not only eaten by oneself, but also given to relatives and neighbors. Warm it and eat it with meals every day until the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, which symbolizes more than enough for many years.
Laba noodles: In some places in northern my country that do not produce or produce little rice, people do not eat Laba porridge, but eat Laba noodles. The next day, make sautee with various fruits and vegetables, roll out the noodles, and on the morning of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family will eat Laba noodles.
The main raw material of "Laba porridge" is cereals, and the commonly used ones are japonica rice, glutinous rice and barley. Japonica rice contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other ingredients. It has the functions of replenishing qi, nourishing the spleen and stomach, harmonizing the five internal organs, removing troubles and quenching thirst, and replenishing essence. Glutinous rice has the effect of warming the spleen and replenishing qi, and is suitable for people with low spleen and stomach function. It has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on deficiencies, cold, thirst, and difficulty in urination. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that barley has the functions of strengthening the spleen, nourishing the lungs, clearing away heat and expelling dampness. Regular consumption is also effective in treating chronic enteritis, indigestion and other diseases. Barley, which is rich in dietary fiber, has the effect of preventing hyperlipidemia, hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular disease.
Beans are the ingredients of "Laba porridge", and the commonly used ones are soybeans and adzuki beans. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that this product has the functions of strengthening the spleen, drying dampness, diuresis and reducing swelling, and has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on diarrhea and edema caused by spleen deficiency.
Peanuts and walnuts are indispensable raw materials for the therapeutic effect of nuts in "Laba porridge". Peanuts are known as the "longevity fruit" and have many functions such as moistening the lungs, harmonizing the stomach, relieving coughs, diuresis, and lowering breast milk. Walnut kernels have the functions of nourishing the kidneys and qi, improving intelligence and strengthening the brain, strengthening muscles and bones. They can also increase appetite and grow hair. The vitamin E contained in walnut kernels is an anti-aging drug recognized by the medical community.