▲Glutinous rice, lean meat, egg yolk and zongzi leaves together create the rich aroma of zongzi. Image source/network
The Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, and it's the most popular time of the year for dumplings. Just like moon cake and Mid-Autumn Festival , dumplings and Spring Festival , zongzi and Dragon Boat Festival have also become one of the classic combinations of festive food.
Supermarket shelves are filled with dumplings of various styles and flavors, beautifully packaged and expensive. At the farmer's market, the rice dumplings that Grandma makes and sells are available every day, and the price is affordable. One bite may bring back the taste of childhood.
▲There are a lot of rice dumplings in the supermarket. Source/Internet
How did Zongzi become attached to the Dragon Boat Festival and Qu Yuan? The origin of
rice dumplings can be traced back to and of the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, it was called " angle millet ", and it looked similar to now. Among the many traditional foods in China, the shape of zongzi is absolutely unique and not "moderate", which is related to its earliest function.
▲Zongzi was first called "horned millet" and was a tribute used in sacrifices. Image source/Internet
The rituals and music of the Zhou Dynasty were developed, and various sacrificial activities were prosperous. In particular, the cattle that cultivated the land were the highest sacrifices, and people believed that the pointy horns were an important medium for communication with the gods, and were regarded as "spirits". But after all, farming cattle are rare and precious, so in the Spring and Autumn Period, people wrapped millet with wild leaves, and invented "horn millet" that looks like "croissant" to replace farming cattle as a sacrificial tribute. This is the predecessor of Zongzi.
The name "horn millet" not only describes its shape, but also informs that its original raw material was millet. Millet is one of the five grains, also known as millet . After shelling, it is called big yellow rice and soft yellow rice.There are several varieties of millet, including red, white, yellow and black. White millet is less sticky than glutinous rice, and red millet is the most sticky.
▲ Millet is the earliest raw material used to make rice dumplings. Source/Network
my country is the first country in the world to plant millet, with a history of planting more than 7,000 years. In pre-Qin period , millet has long been the "first brother" of the staple food industry in the Yellow River Basin of our country, and it appears as many as 21 times in the "Book of Songs". "Book of Songs" records that "with millet , to enjoy the sacrifice", it can be seen that the use of millet to make sacrificial tribute was very popular at that time.
The wild leaf wrapped in millet, also known as "wild leaf", is a perennial aquatic plant, once widely distributed in shallow waters along lakes all over my country; it is also distributed in Russia, South Korea and Japan and other Far East regions. Wild mushrooms are easily invaded by a black powder fungus in late summer and early autumn, forming fresh and delicious succulent stems called "Zhibai". It was artificially pulled out. Coupled with the reduction of wetlands and other reasons, the planting of wild mushrooms in my country is becoming less and less, and it is difficult to find traces in many places.
▲Wild, it will grow a tender and delicious fleshy stem "Zhibai". Image source/Internet
In ancient times, people made horned millet mainly during the Dragon Boat Festival and the summer solstice, because millet was harvested during this time, and wild leaves were most prosperous at this time. According to the ancient astronomical calendar and the concept of yin and yang and the five elements, the Dragon Boat Festival and the summer solstice are not auspicious when the yin and yang interlace. Millet, also known as "Fire Valley", is born in soil and belongs to yang; wild leaves are born in water and belong to yin. Therefore, "Jiao Mi", which wraps millet with wild leaves, has the meaning of wrapping yin in yang, regulating and neutralizing, and repelling disease and avoiding evil.
As a result, people transformed the horned millet, which was originally used for sacrifice, into a more common rice dumpling, and made it a unique food during the Dragon Boat Festival and the summer solstice. Since then, as the status of the Dragon Boat Festival has become higher and higher, and the time is close to the Summer Solstice, many customs of the Summer Solstice have become exclusive to the Dragon Boat Festival.
▲Dragon Boat Festival, people will hold thrilling dragon boat races. Image source/network
Zongzi and Qu Yuan became attached by chance. It is said that Qu Yuan voted for and Miluojiang on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, but the two had nothing to do with each other. During the Southern Dynasties, a writer named Wu Jun wrote a story on a whim: During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the late Qu Yuan suddenly appeared in Changsha, telling people that he was very grateful to people for offering sacrifices to him, but the sacrifices used The bamboo tube rice was stolen by the dragon . He hoped that people would wrap glutinous rice with neem leaves and wrap them with multicolored silk threads, so that the dragons would not dare to steal it.
▲According to legend, Qu Yuan drowned in the river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and later people attached many customs of the Dragon Boat Festival to him. Image source/Internet
Although this story is fantastic, it is widely circulated and has become the basis for many people to understand the origin of zongzi.
Do modern northern people still make rice dumplings?
Although the predecessor of Zongzi, "Jiao Mi" first appeared in the north, but with the gradual decline of millet and wild leaves, the spread of Zongzi in the north was not smooth. On the contrary, as the golden partner of the Dragon Boat Festival, rice dumplings are very popular in the south of the Yangtze River and gradually become a daily staple food.
▲Zongzi is rarely eaten in the north, but it has become one of the staple foods for breakfast in the south.Image source/Internet
This may be related to the evolution of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. Whether it is dragon boating or eating zongzi, it is closely related to water. Dragon boating requires a river with abundant water and a strong boating culture, which are not available in the vast northern regions. The ingredients inside the zongzi are gradually shaped into glutinous rice, and the leaves on the outer bread need to be larger, so generally only aquatic plants can satisfy it. Whether it is glutinous rice or aquatic plants, they mainly grow in the south, so northerners are very limited in the selection of materials for making zongzi.
When I was a child, I lived in the Central Plains. I had no idea about the Dragon Boat Festival, and my memory of eating zongzi was almost blank. After I came to Guangdong , I found that dumplings can be eaten as breakfast. So I once wondered if the northerners really made dumplings? What material do you use for the bag?
▲Northern zongzi often use red dates and walnuts as ingredients. Image source/network
As a traditional food with a long history, of course modern northerners still make zongzi, the most famous one is Beijing zongzi . Perhaps because it is the capital, the food culture here also takes into account the north and the south. The zong leaves used in the old Beijing zongzi are reed leaves . Reed is the most common aquatic plant in northern my country. It grows in ponds, river banks, riversides and other water-rich areas, often forming reed ponds. The reed leaves are thinner and longer than the bamboo leaves commonly used in southern dumplings. Generally, two or three pieces are stacked to make dumplings, which is slightly more difficult. Dumplings wrapped with fresh reed leaves are generally oblique quadrangular or triangular in shape, small in size and fragrant and soft to eat.
▲Rhubarb beige has gradually become popular in recent years. Picture source/network
Nowadays, most of the northern zongzi on the market are made of glutinous rice, with red dates, red bean paste, etc.There is a kind of yellow rice dumpling, which is made of jujube produced in Miyun and wrapped in Jiangmi and yellow rice. It is called "two rice dumplings". It is said that it is better to digest than glutinous rice. In many places in rural areas, people also keep the habit of eating big yellow rice dumplings . Yellow rice is the earliest material used in zongzi, "millet rice". In recent years, this kind of yellow rice dumpling has also become popular in the market, and a retro style has also been blowing in the dumpling industry.
In the southeast of Shaanxi and the area of Funiu Mountain in western Henan, there is a popular " quertle leaf dumpling ". This kind of dumpling is made of oak tree leaves wrapped. The oak tree generally grows on the sunny slopes of the mountains. The leaves grow before the Dragon Boat Festival. After they are picked, they are dried and the slightly hard leaves will become soft. After the rice is wrapped and cooked, it becomes a "quertle leaf dumpling", which is called " quercetin bao " by the locals, and has the unique and refreshing fragrance of quercetin.
▲The quercetin rice dumplings made of quercetin leaves are also called quercetin buns. Image source/network
The south is salty and the north is sweet, which one do you like?
There has always been a saying in my country's zongzi industry that "the south is salty and the north is sweet". The fillings of northern dumplings are generally only red dates, red bean paste, red beans, pine nuts , and walnuts. The taste is very light and tends to be sweet.
▲The long-shaped pillow dumplings are popular in Guangxi and other places. Photo source/network
Entering the world of southern dumplings will open your eyes: Guangxi's "pillow dumplings", filled with mung bean and bacon , are huge and fat, and the mouth is oily after eating. The representative of Jiangsu and Zhejiang salty zongzi Jiaxing zongzi , is mainly triangular, with high-quality white glutinous rice, red bean, lean lean meat, etc. as the main ingredients, there are more than a dozen flavors such as fresh meat, egg yolk, bean paste, and eight treasures.The fresh meat dumplings are filled with soy-sauce-cured pork . Each dumpling contains only one piece of fatty meat and one piece of lean meat. The taste is fat but not greasy, fragrant and delicious.
▲Jiaxing meat dumplings are famous at home and abroad for their unique taste and excellent quality. Source/Internet
Guangdong's salty rice dumplings are richer in ingredients, such as ham, bacon , egg yolk, roast chicken , barbecued pork , roast duck, chestnut , mushroom , shrimp, etc. Rejected, it is delicious and unusual under the modulation of soy sauce, which makes people unforgettable. Southwest The Dai people and other ethnic minorities will make a kind of "vanilla zongzi". The fresh green thatch is burned into grass ash, mixed into the glutinous rice, then marinated with spices and pork, wrapped in bamboo leaves, and cooked with black herbs Zongzi.
▲Zongzi in Guangdong is rich in materials and is one of the choices for people's morning tea. Source/Internet
People who know it for the first time will be a little surprised: Aren’t northerners more salty and southerners sweeter?
It is not difficult to understand if you think about it carefully. Southerners take zongzi as their staple food and eat them all year round. Therefore, they add various meat fillings and seasonings to ensure nutrition and taste. And there are many kinds of desserts and snacks in the south. The northerners eat zongzi, which is a special food for the Dragon Boat Festival. Most people may eat zongzi only on certain festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi is not a staple food for northerners, but a kind of dessert . The staple food is already very salty and heavy, and the dessert will take the sweet route.
With the development of the times and the flow of population, the tastes of rice dumplings in the north and south are also merging. More and more northerners are getting used to eating meat dumplings full of oil, and sweet dumplings in the south are becoming more and more abundant.In Guangdong, Fujian and other places, sweet rice dumplings are filled with lotus paste , mung bean paste , red bean paste , chestnut paste, jujube paste , etc., making the southern dessert industry more and more powerful. The fruit dumplings with unique flavors are popular in Guangxi and Yunnan. Dice , pineapple, , etc. are placed in a bamboo tube and cooked together with glutinous rice. The taste is sweet and it is also called "pineapple rice".
▲Pineapple rice evolved from pineapple dumplings. Picture source/network
Compared with the north, southerners have many more leaves to choose from when making zongzi. The most common is the bamboo leaves. This kind of bamboo leaves are relatively wide and easy to wrap, suitable for beginners to wrap zongzi. People in the Yangtze River Delta area will use the leaves picked from Huangshan Mountain in Anhui every year, which contains a special fragrance, commonly known as "Huizhou Fuluo".
Shantou people usually use bamboo leaves to make rice dumplings, but they should be boiled softly before use. Hainan Zongzi is generally made of banana leaf package, into a square cone, after the hot zongzi is peeled off, there is the fragrance of bananas and glutinous rice, and then the strong fragrance of meat and eggs. Appetizing. The Sichuan Basin is rich in tall bamboo, and the local people keep the habit of making zongzi with bamboo shoot shells, which are called bamboo shoot zongzi. In addition, the leaves that people can choose include hemp bamboo leaves, osmanthus bamboo leaves, moon peach leaves, lotus leaves , and ancient leaves, etc., each with its own flavor.
▲The ancient leaf zongzi is not wrapped, but made up. Source/Internet
What kind of zongzi do you like to eat?
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