Why eat eight treasures rice on New Year's Day
Eight treasures rice portion is sufficient, sweet taste, it is difficult for people to eat alone, the most suitable for the whole family to enjoy, symbolizing the reunion, so the most New Year's Eve. Eight treasures rice is not only eaten by Shanghai people on New Year's Eve, but also spread all over the country.
On the origin of the eight treasures of rice has its own saying, one said that the king of Zhou Zhou Zhou after the celebration of food, the so-called "eight treasures" refers to the king of Zhou to assist the eight wise men. Legend has it that at the celebration banquet of King Wu's conquest of the Zhou Dynasty, the eight scholars, namely Boda, Boshi, Zhongtu, Zhonghu, Shukai, Shuxia, Jisu, and Jizhi, were highly decorated and highly praised by the King Wu and the people. In the king of wu zhou zhou's celebration of the feast, the world rejoices, the generals leaping, cooks in response to the scene and make eight treasures to celebrate the rice. Eight treasures to symbolize the merit of the eight soldiers, the use of hawthorn is a symbol of the cremation of King Zhou.
However, a more reliable explanation is that the eight treasures of rice originated in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, through the Jiangnan masters to the capital to do the royal chef before spreading to the north. Nowadays, Ningbo, Shengzhou and Jiaxing also keep the custom of eating eight treasures rice on New Year's Day.
The Eight Treasures Rice symbolizes good luck and peace
In the early days, the production process of the Eight Treasures Rice is quite complicated, the materials used, the simple people have also given more deep meaning, the folk also said that the Eight Treasures Rice and the eight treasures in ancient times have a deep origin. The so-called eight treasures, respectively, is the jade fish, and Hopewell, drum plate, chime, Dragon Gate, Ganoderma lucidum, pine, crane, eight auspicious things, there is a prayer for good luck and peace of mind.
Some folklore experts believe that the lotus seeds in the Eight Treasures Rice are transformed from the Hehe - the two fairy children with fluffy heads and smiling faces, one of them holding a lotus flower and the other holding a hexagonal box, symbolizing marital harmony. Coming down in order, osmanthus symbolizes reunion, kumquat symbolizes good fortune, red dates symbolize early birth, honey cherries and honey winter melon symbolize sweetness, and barley rice is transformed from cranes to symbolize longevity, elegance, and purity. Melon seed kernel resembles a variation of drum plate, symbolizing a regular life and peace without calamities. The red plum silk is the same color as the dragon gate system, containing the meaning of encouragement to forge ahead and blessings for success. The green plums also symbolize longevity. At the same time, the "eight treasures rice" is like a "treasure bowl", wishing that in the new year, the whole family can have a lot of money.
Nutritional Value of Eight Treasures Rice
Glutinous rice is sweet and warm in nature, and it has a good effect on tonifying the middle and benefiting the body, because it is difficult to digest, so it is not suitable for the elderly, children and patients to eat too much. Lotus seed is flat and sweet, contains high protein, has a strong cardiac effect, is conducive to eliminating fatigue. Red dates contain high protein, sugar, jujube acid, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B2, C, P, in addition to replenishing blood, peace of mind, but also helps to enhance the effectiveness of appetite. Raisins contain some components that can lower cholesterol, and their fiber and tartaric acid can also enable food to pass through the rectum quickly, reducing the time that carcinogens stay in the intestines and improving rectal health.
Homemade eight treasures of rice for New Year's Eve
Ingredients: 250 grams of glutinous rice, jujubes, orange cake, winter melon sugar, go to the heart of the white lotus, raisins, goji berries, dried cinnamon, red silk, green silk; 25 grams of cooked lard, 100 grams of sugar, rock candy, rose sugar, 10 grams each.
Practice: red dates, orange cake, melon sugar cut into 0.5 cm square d, remove the heart of the white lotus soaked in boiling water, raisins, wolfberries, dried cinnamon slightly soaked. Glutinous rice soak 2 hours into the pressure cooker, about 20 minutes to steam. Lard into the pot to heat, steamed glutinous rice poured into the pot, add eight treasures of material and sugar, rock sugar, rose sugar mix, and then mix the glutinous rice poured into the bowl compaction, into the pot and then steamed for 30 minutes until cooked, out of the pot will be inverted buckle plate can be.