Sticky rice, lamb, vegetable rice... The little cold has arrived, what do you eat at home?

January 5 is the small cold in the 24 solar terms, and there is a folk proverb: "When the small cold is at two, three, nine, the sky is cold and the north wind roars", which describes the weather is very cold during the small cold
solar term.
For China, this is around the "March Nine", and the small cold marks the beginning of the coldest day
of the year.
From the perspective of diet and health, we should pay attention to eating more warm foods to nourish the body and prevent the invasion of cold
climates on the human body.
Therefore, after entering the small cold solar term, it is more necessary to keep warm
.
Not only dress warmly, but also eat warmly
.
When it comes to eating, different regions have their own food customs during the cold season
.
So, what food should you eat during the small cold term?

Three waits" phenomenon

"It's two or three or nine when it's cold, and it's freezing cold to the point of shaking
.
" At 17:14 Beijing time on January 5, the 24th solar term will usher in the small cold, which is the penultimate solar term in the 24th solar term of the lunar calendar, marking the official start
of the winter season.

For the origin of the name of the small cold solar term, the "Seventy-two Collections of the Moon Order" explains it as follows: "In the December festival, the cold at the beginning of the month is still small, so the clouds, and the half of the moon is big
.
"Small cold, like big cold, small summer, big summer and hot summer, are solar terms that indicate the change of temperature and
coldness.
As the saying goes: "cold in three nine, hot in three volts", Xiaohan intersects with the three nines in the winter "number nine", so entering the small cold also means entering the coldest time of the
year.

According to China's long-term meteorological records, the small cold solar term in the northern region is colder than the big cold solar term, and there is a saying
that "small cold wins big cold, common is not rare".
In addition, folk sayings such as "small cold and big cold, dripping water into ice" and "small cold and big cold, frozen into ice masses" also vividly depict the cold scene of the small cold season
.

In ancient times, "Xiaohan" was divided into three periods: "one waiting for Yanbei Township, two waiting for the magpie to start the nest, and three waiting for the pheasant to start the robin
.
" "The ancients believed that the geese in the migratory birds migrated along with the yin and yang, and at this time the yang qi had moved, so the geese began to migrate north; At this time, magpies can be seen everywhere in the north, and they feel the yang and begin to nest; The "plover" of "pheasant" means to chirp, and the pheasant will feel the growth of yang qi and chirp
when it approaches four or nine.
Of the twenty-four solar terms, only white dew and small cold are completely marked by birds as phenology
.
The ancients believed that "birds are the first to gain qi", and birds have an incomparable talent
for perceiving the flow of yin and yang.

Traditional food

Each solar term has specific customs, and many of these customs are reflected in traditional foods
.
So, what traditional foods should Xiaohan eat?

Sticky rice Sticky rice means warmth and is warm from the beginning to the end of the year
.
Cantonese people want to eat sticky rice on this day of Xiaohan, which is mainly because Xiaohan is in the middle of winter, to eat some warm food to resist the cold, and glutinous rice is warm, tonify qi, nourish the spleen and stomach, and have a good tonic effect on the spleen and stomach deficiency, and the appropriate amount of glutinous rice in winter can play a role in keeping warm and
warm.
In order to avoid glutinous rice too sticky, generally use 60% glutinous rice with 40% fragrant rice mixed steamed, the bacon and sausages are chopped, fried, peanuts and rice fried, add some crushed green onions white, mixed in the rice to eat
.

Laba Porridge An important folk custom in the Xiaohan solar term is to eat "Laba Porridge"
.
According to ancient records, Laba porridge is cooked with yellow rice, white rice, jiang rice, millet, peeled jujube paste, etc.
, and externally dyed red peach kernels, almonds, melon seeds, peanuts, etc.
are all sweet and warm products, can regulate the spleen and stomach, replenish qi, replenish qi and nourish blood, drive away cold and strengthen the body, and quench thirst
.
Gansu traditional boiled Laba porridge uses five grains and vegetables, and after cooking, it is not only given to the family, but also distributed to the neighbors; Wuwei area has paid attention to "Sula Ba", eating rice thick rice, lentil rice or thick rice, cooked with fried dumplings, twist flowers to eat together, folk customs call it "lentil porridge puff dumpling"
.
Ningxia Laba rice is generally cooked with various beans and rice and potatoes, plus "wheat ears" cut into diamond-shaped willow leaves with wheat noodles or buckwheat noodles, or "bird heads" made into small round eggs, and then add green onion oil
before coming out of the pot.
Shandong "Laba porridge" is divided into two types, one is made of barley, laurel balls, lotus seeds, lilies, chestnuts, red dates, japonica rice, etc.
, put into the bowl and add some "porridge fruit", mainly carved into various shapes of fruit, is for decoration
.
The other is made with rice, sliced
meat, cabbage, tofu, etc.

Drink chicken soup Xiaohan solar term In the three and nine seasons, the folk have a saying
that "every nine chickens, good body in the coming year".
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that chicken is warm, contains a lot of vitamins and protein, has low fat content, and is easily digested and absorbed
by the human body.
Eating chicken in winter can not only provide rich nutrients for the body, but also effectively resist the cold, without breeding internal fire, which is a good winter tonic
.
There are many ways to eat chicken, but stewing meat and drinking soup is the most nourishing way
to eat.

Eating Rice Rice is very common in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and is very nutritious
.
In ancient times, poor people used oil, salt and green vegetables to cook rice, while good conditions used sausages, salted meat, duck diced and glutinous rice, and chopped a little ginger to cook
together.
Now it is cooked with dwarf yellow greens and sliced bacon, sausage or duck, and then chopped with some ginger and glutinous rice, which is very fragrant and delicious
.
Among them, dwarf yellow and plate duck are famous specialties of Nanjing, which are very characteristic of Nanjing
.

Eat mutton Mutton is a common dish on the winter table, it is hot, it is suitable for supplementation in the small cold season, eat a lamb soup, warm the stomach and warm the body
.
If you cook lamb with angelica, yams, carrots, and season with green onions and ginger, it is recommended to eat it once a
week.
Angelica ginger mutton soup with "angelica ginger" as the main raw material has the effect of warming blood and dispelling cold and strengthening the body, which is very suitable for white-collar workers with chronic fatigue and serious sub-health status; People with severe waist and knee soreness, cold and cold are suitable for supplementing "sheep kidney red ginseng porridge", which has the effect of
beneficial qi and aphrodisiac.

Yellow sprouts The dietary customs of Xiaohan are different in each place, and the "Jinmen Miscellaneous" records that there was a custom
of Xiaohan eating yellow sprouts in the old days in the Tianjin area.
According to legend, after the winter solstice, the cabbage is cut off the stems and leaves, leaving only the heart of the cabbage, about two inches from the ground, covered with manure, not breathable, and eaten after half a month, crisp and tender, making up for the lack
of winter vegetables.
With the improvement of people's living standards, there is no need to worry about not being able to eat vegetables, but eating yellow sprouts when it is cold is still popular
.

"Little cold and big cold, kill pigs for the New Year
.
" As soon as the small cold season arrived, people began to be busy writing Spring Festival couplings, cutting window flowers, buying New Year paintings, colored lanterns, firecrackers, etc.
, one after another, preparing for the Spring Festival, and the strong taste of the New Year is coming to their
faces.

(Zhu Meiqiao comprehensive arrangement)

China Food News(Version 06, 05.
01.
2023)

(Responsible editor: Zhu Meiqiao)