Talking about the Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival, also known as the "Shangyuan Festival" or "Spring Lantern Festival," is the first important festival after the Spring Festival. Since ancient times, people have attached great importance to the Lantern Festival. Eating tangyuan, savoring tangyuan, the aroma fills the air during the festival; Guessing lantern riddles, performing dragon dances, a joyous and happy mood; Stilt-walking, land boat racing, colorful life with smiling faces.
The Lantern Festival carries the 2,000-year-old food civilization of the Chinese nation, bringing the meaning of reunion and happiness to people once a year. Tangyuan and lanterns symbolize reunion, happiness, and perfection. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, people celebrate by lighting thousands of colorful lanterns on this night of a bright moon. Going out to admire the moon, lighting lanterns and setting off fireworks, guessing lantern riddles, and eating tangyuan together with family, the joy of reunion and celebrating the festival together is heartwarming. As time passed, more activities were added to the Lantern Festival. In many places, traditional folk performances such as dragon dances, lion dances, stilt-walking, land boat racing, yangge dancing, and playing the Taiping drum have been added to the celebrations.
Celebrating the festival definitely involves eating. Different traditional festivals have different foods, and the star of the Lantern Festival is tangyuan. "Yuanxiao" is the term used by people in the north, while in the south, it is called "tangyuan" or "tangtuan." The processing methods are different: yuanxiao are "rolled," while tangyuan are "wrapped."
The filling of yuanxiao is in small cubes, usually made by mixing green and red silk threads, peanuts, sesame oil, jam, white sugar, and other ingredients, then mashing, pressing into a cake, and cutting into pieces. After dipping the filling in water, it is placed in a bamboo sieve with rice flour and shaken. The faster you shake, the faster it rolls; the more it rolls, the bigger and rounder it becomes, just like rolling mini snowballs, and the yuanxiao slowly take shape.
To make tangyuan, glutinous rice flour is kneaded into a dough. A small piece of wet dough is pinched into a round shape, then the filling is placed on the glutinous rice sheet, and the edges are pinched together while shaping it into a ball in the palm of your hand. This way, a smooth tangyuan is ready. The small tangyuan carry the 2,000-year-old food civilization and best wishes of the Chinese nation. However, when eating tangyuan, you should not neglect your health. So, how can you eat tangyuan healthily?
The Lantern Festival, also known as the "Shangyuan Festival," is the first festival after the Spring Festival
How to Eat Tangyuan Healthily
To eat tangyuan healthily, pay attention to the following points:
1. Tangyuan can only be a "supporting role." The "skin" of tangyuan is made of glutinous rice, and the starch in glutinous rice is amylopectin, which is not easily digested and absorbed in the stomach. Therefore, it is not advisable to eat a large amount of tangyuan as a staple food. The principle is to eat in moderation.
2. Beware of the "pitfalls" in the filling of tangyuan. The fillings of tangyuan are constantly being innovated. In addition to main ingredients like sesame paste, red bean paste, osmanthus, and red beans, a lot of animal fat is used, which contains a lot of energy. A 100-gram black sesame tangyuan contains 311 kilocalories and 13.8 grams of fat, while other nutrients are relatively low. Eating too much will increase energy intake. For a healthy weight, do not lose sight of the bigger picture for a small gain.
3. Don't forget to control your sugar intake when eating tangyuan. To meet the needs of people with high blood sugar, many merchants have introduced "sugar-free" tangyuan. In sugar-free tangyuan, xylitol is used instead of sucrose, but the carbohydrate and fat content has not decreased. Compared to traditional tangyuan, the effect of xylitol on raising blood sugar may be less obvious. Therefore, people with high blood sugar should not eat tangyuan, or only eat a small amount.
4. Prevent accidents. Glutinous rice is quite sticky, and children can easily choke on tangyuan, which can block the esophagus and airway, leading to accidents. When children eat tangyuan, parents must supervise them carefully. It is best to cut the tangyuan into small pieces before giving them to the child, and let them finish one piece before having the next.
The Lantern Festival: Walk for Better Health
"Walking away the hundred illnesses" is a custom in northern China since the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was sometimes held on the 15th day of the first lunar month, but more often on the 16th. On this day, women would dress in their festive best and walk out of their homes in groups. "Walking away the hundred illnesses," also known as "dispersing the hundred illnesses," "roasting the hundred illnesses," or "walking on bridges," is an activity to ward off disasters and promote health. For people who had been cooped up all winter, this activity was very beneficial. In the past, women were mostly responsible for housework and raising children, which was physically tiring and made them weaker and more prone to illness. This activity was often participated in by women, the elderly, children, or those who were frail and sickly.
Today, not only has the amount of physical activity for women decreased, but for everyone as well. Therefore, it is recommended that on the day of the Lantern Festival, everyone can walk out of their homes to exercise, just like the women of ancient times. This activity can not only help people communicate and deepen friendships, but also strengthen the body and eliminate diseases. It is a very beneficial fitness activity.
Brown Sugar Tangyuan
Ingredients
250g glutinous rice dough, 100g brown sugar.
Instructions
1. Divide the glutinous rice dough into small pieces. Press the center of each small piece to make a depression.
2. Place brown sugar in the depression, fold it over, press tightly, and roll into a round shape to form a raw tangyuan wrapper. Repeat for all pieces.
3. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add the tangyuan. When they float, add more cold water and bring back to a boil. When they float again, they are cooked.
Nutritional Analysis
Brown sugar retains almost all the nutrients of sugarcane juice, containing various vitamins and trace elements. At the same time, brown sugar is also rich in iron and calcium.
Sesame Tangyuan
Ingredients
250g glutinous rice flour, 80g sesame seeds.
Instructions
1. Mix glutinous rice flour with water to form a dough. Divide into small pieces. Press the center of each small piece to make a depression, place sesame seeds in it, fold it over, press tightly, and roll into a round shape to form a raw tangyuan wrapper. Repeat for all pieces.
2. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add the tangyuan. When they float, add more cold water and bring back to a boil. When they float again, they are cooked.
Nutritional Analysis
Tangyuan is rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates, and various vitamins and minerals.
Cucumber and Mung Bean Porridge
Ingredients
40g cucumber, 40g mung beans, 120g rice.
Instructions
1. Wash the cucumber and mung beans. Slice the cucumber.
2. Wash the rice. Add water to a pot, add the rice, and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. When the porridge is half-cooked, add the cucumber and mung beans, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the porridge is cooked.
Nutritional Analysis
The content of carbohydrates, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, riboflavin, and other nutrients in mung beans is higher than in most other grains. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that mung beans are sweet and cold in nature, and have effects such as relieving summer heat and promoting urination, making them an excellent summer heat-relieving food.
This article is excerpted from "Ma Guansheng Talks About Nutrition" by Ma Guansheng, authorized by Phoenix Hanzhang Books. Reproduction is strictly prohibited.