Do you know how to make these traditional delicacies delicious?
1. Tanggua Nian
"Twenty-three, Tanggua Nian, the Kitchen God will go to heaven." Therefore, "Tanggua Nian" is the most traditional way to celebrate the New Year. The most popular holiday special food. The sticky melon must be cooked with malt sugar until it reaches a certain degree of maturity, and then stretched continuously to form a small snack. It is sweet and crunchy, making the Kitchen God sweet in the heart and sending many beautiful words to the fairy world. The materials used to make Tanggua Stick are relatively simple, that is, malt sugar. When it bubbles up after being simmered over low heat, you need to observe it closely. Continue to simmer for a while, and when the maltose becomes golden and bubbles gradually bubble up, it's time to stop cooking. After a little handling, like stretching ramen noodles, the color of the Malt Candy continues to turn white and its strength further increases. When it is almost too long to stretch out, it is immediately cut into a square candy stick, which is called "Guandong candy"; if it is shaped into an oblate spherical shape, it is called "sugar melon".
2. Making dumplings
In many cities in northern China, the tradition of "making dumplings during the New Year" has been spread. "Giving out dumplings to welcome people's faces", it is natural for the Kitchen God to eat dumplings as gifts. This may also be the origin of eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year. In the past, dumplings filled with pork and cabbage were usually served in winter. At that time, eating dumplings with a handful of leeks was a luxury that ordinary people had never even thought about. There are no restrictions on the filling of dumplings for the New Year. Please combine your personal interests and hobbies and choose the dumpling fillings that your loved ones like.
3. Steamed rice cakes
In both northern and southern my country, there is a tradition of "steaming rice cakes to celebrate the off-year", but the difference between the mung bean cakes in the north and the south is quite big. Southern mung bean cakes are usually simply steamed with glutinous rice flour; while northern mung bean cakes generally do not use sticky rice flour, but instead use sticky yellow millet rice, add cooked red dates, and steam it into golden yellow jujube and mung bean cakes. Due to the Chinese characters for "cake" and "gao", steamed rice cake not only means "higher every year", but also it is said that the sticky mung bean cake is also expected to stick to the Kitchen God's mouth, and he will not talk nonsense in the fairy world.
4. Making rice dumplings for the New Year
Many cities in the south have the tradition of making rice dumplings for the New Year, and this special delicacy of the Dragon Boat Festival has also been moved to the New Year. The glutinous brown seeds are fragrant and sweet, and the sticky kitchen god sticks to your mouth and is sweet in your heart. Making New Year rice dumplings is the same as making dumplings. You can choose sweet rice dumplings or salty rice dumplings according to your personal interests. Some people like to eat the original glutinous rice rice dumplings. Dessert rice dumplings include red dates, red dates, small red beans, red bean paste, etc. Common salt rice dumplings include duck egg yolk, pickled pork belly, sauced pork ribs, etc. Please combine your personal interests and hobbies to find your favorite New Year rice dumpling type.
5. Sesame candy
In many northern cities, there is also a tradition of eating sesame candy during the Spring Festival. This snack has different names and different ingredients throughout the country. The combination and methods are basically the same. Making sesame candy and sugar melon have the same expression effect, and the sugar syrup is boiled first. Simmer the white sugar until it is in a "soft drawing" state, which is slightly less hot than drawing, and cook until the color is attractive and the hot bubbles appear. According to your personal interests, choose various foods such as sesame seeds, peanut flakes, rice flakes, corn flakes, and millet crisps that have been fried until crispy and fragrant, pour them into the boiled sugar syrup, and continue to stir well. Pour it into a fixed mold while keeping it warm, roll it out tightly, let it cool to room temperature, then remove it from the mold and slice it.