What is the difference between 元宵 and 汤圆

Lanterns and dumplings are two different things. It can be said that it is caused by different sources in the north and south.

As the saying goes, the fifteenth anniversary of the first month. According to the traditional Chinese folk customs, on this day, besides reading lanterns and guessing lantern riddles, people would also have to reunite together to eat Lantern Festival, which means that the New Year's reunion will be sweet.

When it comes to the Lantern Festival, many people think that Yuanyuan is Yuanxiao. However, relevant experts pointed out that although Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan have little difference in raw materials and appearance, they are actually two kinds of things.

"Package" dumplings "roll" Lantern

Because Yuanxiao and dumplings are made of glutinous rice flour and are often filled with sesame and sugar, they are confusing. However, they are still very different in terms of production process.

It is relatively simple to make glutinous rice balls. Generally, glutinous rice flour is first blended into water, and then the stuffing is “packaged” and served. The Lantern Festival has to be much more tedious in its production: First, the well-cooked stuffing must be cut into small pieces. After passing through the water, it is then thrown into the glutinous rice flour roll and sprinkled with water until the filling material is touched. Only when the rice is rolled into a ball, will it be done.

There are differences in taste

Because of the different manufacturing processes, Yuanxiao has a slightly thicker taste than dumplings. In addition, Yuanxiao's fillings are relatively single, and dumpling fillings are even more abundant. The traditional Lantern Festival consists mainly of sweet stuffing. The fillings are mostly white sugar sesame seeds, assorted osmanthus flowers, etc. The glutinous rice dumpling fillings are filled with sweet and veggies, and diced meat, ham and other fillings are added to the traditional sweet stuffing.

Do not eat or fry more soup to eat less staple food

The main ingredients of Lanterns or dumplings are glutinous rice, which is high in carbohydrate and highly sticky. In addition, fillings, whether sweet or salty, are high in calories and high in fat. People with gastrointestinal diseases, kidney disease, chronic pancreatitis, poor digestive ability and older persons, and those who are overweight should eat less or not eat. In addition to boiled dumplings or dumplings, many people like to eat fried food. Although this will be particularly crispy and delicious, the ratio of fats and calories will be higher.

Experts suggest that when you are eating Yuanxiao or glutinous rice balls, you should drink soup with Yuanxiao or glutinous rice balls. Because glutinous rice flour contains more water-soluble vitamins, it can ensure normal gastrointestinal motility and digestive gland secretion. Most of these vitamins are dissolved in the soup, which is beneficial to the normal digestion and absorption of the body.

The lanterns made in Beijing were made on the basis of fillings. I have seen the machine do the operation of Lantern. First, mix the fillings and mix them into large round slices. Let them cool and cut them into cubes smaller than the table tennis balls. Then put the stuffing block into a machine like a big sieve, pour the glutinous rice (southern rice called glutinous rice) flour, and the machine will “sieve” it. As the fillings become spherical in the impact of each other, glutinous rice also touches the filling surface to form a lantern. The Yuanjiang River made of rice flour is very thin, the surface is dry, and the glutinous rice flour absorbs moisture when the pot is cooked.

The glutinous rice dumplings in the South (Beijing people use the Sichuan style as their dumplings) are completely different, and they are a bit like dumplings. First, add glutinous rice flour to water and make it into a group (the same as when making dumplings) and let it “wake up” for a few hours. Then mix the ingredients used to make the filling in a large bowl (not to be cut into small pieces like a lantern). Decoction filling has more water content than Lantern, which is one of the differences between the two. The process of dumplings is also like dumplings, but there is no need for a rolling pin. The wet glutinous rice flour is very sticky and has to be hand-rolled onto a wet surface and squeezed into a round shape. Use chopsticks (or thin bamboo flaky tools) to pick up a piece of stuffing and put it on glutinous rice, then turn it around with your hands to make a dumpling. The gnocchi that is done well has a smooth shiny surface, and some still have a sharp, peachy appearance. The gnocchi skin has enough water to make it sticky and difficult to preserve. It's best to eat now. Now with the quick-frozen process, gnocchi dumplings appear in the store.

There are a variety of "genres" in the soup group in the south. Now it is best known as Ningbo's "Black Sea Crispy" dumplings. The so-called "Black Sea Crispy" is a mixture of lard and black sesame powder, and lard is not a pure oil. It uses "slab oil" from the original block in the pig's stomach. Tear off the omentum on the outside of the “sautum” and squeeze it with a hand, rub it in, and mix in the black sesame powder little by little. This thing is an absolute dross from a modern health point of view. It can be tasted very good: it is soft and hot, it's worth a try.

The softer and smoother the glutinous rice dumplings are, so it is very particular about glutinous rice raw materials. To choose a strong sticky variety. There is also a saying in the processing technology that "grinding powder" should be used. That is to say, after the glutinous rice grains are bubbling with water, they are even milled together with water (like grinding soybean milk), and it is best to grind it with a stone. The ground powder is hung with a gauze bag and drained. It can be refrigerated for three or four days (it will become sour after a long time). It can be seen that a good glutinous rice dumpling is difficult to produce industrially. This is another feature that distinguishes it from the Lantern Festival.