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What is Yuan Xiao?

- It is a sweet (or salty) rice balls that are traditionally eaten on Lantern Festival

- It's history dates back to almost 2000 years

- Yuan Xiao Jie (Yuan Xiao Festival) ends the Spring Festival

- Yuan Xiao is a very popular chinese traditional food but there is nothing known about where it originated from; there are several theories

History

Recipe

Sweet Yuan Xiao Ingredient:

- 4 1/2 cups of glutinous rice flour

- 14 tablespoons of butter

- 200g of black sesame powder

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1 tsp of white wine

Lantern Festival

- celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the LUNISOLAR year (Feb or Mar in gregorian calendar), and it marks the end of the New Year

- Yuan Xiao Festival originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BCE ~ 25 BC)

- On this day, the children go to the temples with their paper lanterns that has riddles on them

*Lanterns sometimes symbolize letting go of the past and accepting the future (has meaning of good fortune)

- Many activities are done on this day including lion / dragon dance, playing riddles / games, fire cracking and of course eating the yuan xiao

Fillings

- main ingredient in a salty filling

- minced meat

- vegetable or a mixture

- can be either sweet or salty

- main ingredient in a sweet filling

- sugar

- walnut

- sesame

- osmanthus flowers

- rose petals

- sweetened tangerine peel

- bean paste or jujube paste

Methods

- the methods in southern and northern China differs

- southern: shape the dough then insert the filling by making a hole

- northern: filling is compressed into a small, hardened core, which is dipped into water and rolled in a bowl containing dry glutinous rice flour (this is repeated several times until there is a fat layer of flour)

  • there were many names that referred to yuan xiao such as tangyuan or tangtuan
  • yuan xiao means "first evening" because it's the first full moon after Chinese New Year
  • the round shape of the ball traditionally symbolize the reunion of the family
  • traditionally white color
  • yuan xiao has officially became a year-round enjoyed snack

1. mix butter with sesame powder, sugar, and wine

2. heat the mixture to soften the filling

3. add little water at a time to the rice flour until is dough-like

4. form dough into a ball (little smaller than a golf ball)

5. make a hole with a finger into the center and put in the filling

6. close the ball completely as to none of the fillilng is flowing out

7. cook in boiling water while continuously stirring gently in one direction

8. once fully cooked, serve with the water it was cooked in to keep the rice ball moisture

***TIP. you can add some ginger and sugar to the water to make a sweet syrup to go with your rice ball

Symbolic Meaning

  • family unity
  • fortune
  • happiness
  • completeness

Symbolizes Family Togetherness

Theory #2: The Martyred Warrior

The Festival was created to commemorate Lan Moon's (a warrior who led a rebellion against a tyrannical king) death.

Theory #1: Making Offerings to Gods

#1: Yuan Xiao Festival branched out from a tradition of yearly offerings to Taiyi; god who controls the fate of humanity.

#2: Festival was dedicated to the "good fortune" god, Taoist, who's birthday was indeed that day

Why are they eaten?

  • They are usually eaten on Yuan Xiao Jie (Lantern Festival), but they can also be eaten during wedding, Winter Solstice Festival, and in other special events
  • it is eaten because it is a popular tradition and is one of the most favored snack/ meal nationally

References

Fun Facts

  • http://traditions.cultural-china.com/lantern_riddles/answer_p1.html
  • http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/14Traditions7909.html
  • http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2012/02/the-story-behind-lantern-festival/
  • http://www.incultureparent.com/2011/01/chinese-new-year-recipe-yuanxiao-sweet-rice-balls/
  • http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/r/yuanxiao.htm
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki Tangyuan_(food)#Historical_development

Picture Credit

The history of the festival goes back to Emperor Mingdi; who ruled during the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Buddhism was the major religion in China. After having a disturbing dream, Mingdi sent his scholars to India to retrieve sacred Buddhist texts. When his scholars returned, Mingdi built temples to place the scriptures, and spread his words "Buddhism had the power to dispel darkness." Emperor Mingdi had his subjects light lanterns in celebration.

  • https://chines.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/yuanxiao.jpeg
  • http://www.queenledlight.com/file/upload/201302/23/16-55-33-54-1.jpg
  • http://www.howtobeanewfather.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/tangyuan.jpg
  • http://www.theworldofchinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/yuanxiaopic2.jpg
  • http://img.theepochtimes.com/n3/eet-content/uploads/2015/03/03/Lantern2_FanWang_ET-Dumplings_crop-605x450.jpg
  • http://www.wpclipart.com/household/outdoor/lantern/Paper_lanterns.svg
  • http://www.cliparthut.com/clip-arts/650/chinese-new-year-dragon-clip-art-650808.png
  • http://www.cliparthut.com/clip-arts/497/chinese-new-year-lanterns-497685.jpg
  • http://www.clker.com/cliparts/Z/a/5/a/H/r/paper-lanterns-hi.png
  • http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/xcg/oxj/xcgoxjjdi.png
  • http://images.clipartpanda.com/ceiling-fan-clipart-fan-clipart-chinese_fan_yellow.png
  • http://www.renders-graphics.com/image/upload/normal/or_element_decoration_design_1.png
  • http://gallery.yopriceville.com/var/albums/Free-Clipart-Pictures/Flowers-PNG/Large_Pink_Flower_PNG_Clipart.png?m=1374530400
  • http://cebupacific-vn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/yuan-xiao.jpg
  • http://cdn.instructables.com/FQZ/TFA4/HH11IHC3/FQZTFA4HH11IHC3.MEDIUM.jpg
  • https://fbcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xta1/v/t1.0-0/p240x240/11062351_749618048495013_1901804180084258823_n.jpgoh=0dc9c213827e2eb7580c89a712c6dd77&oe=569E90A0&__gda__=1453504981_557a75ca664e9354359ad2511387dfbb
  • http://cdn.staticneo.com/w/dynastywarriors/thumb/b/b4/Lu-Meng-DW6-Model1.png/400px-Lu-Meng-DW6-Model1.png
  • http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nueMKR_iXeM/VJbpY35GEbI/AAAAAAAABj4/q_dmC-mKRUE/s1600/2014-12-21-15-51-55_deco_wm.jpg
  • http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8554/9015661609_a6137f0976.jpg
  • http://littlemissbento.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Totoro-Tang-Yuan-Recipe-Winter-Solstice.jpg
  • http://static.neatorama.com/images/2008-02/white-man-chinese-restaurant.jpg
  • https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2882/11515288306_a3090c1fee.jpg
  • http://www.missbangalore.in/Images/MissEyes.png
  • people decorate their houses with mandarin trees for good luck
  • red, white, and gold symbolizes good luck
  • children often receive red envelopes that contains money
  • (the amount of the money must be an even number but cannot be divided by 4 because 4 is believed to be associated with death)
  • firecrackers set on this festival are believed to scare away the bad spirits
  • there are especially many rabbit lanterns because it represents the rabbit in a famous myth about lady Chang E who flew to moon

Theory #3: Buddhist Symbolism

hey~

Answer Key

1. donkey

2. goldfish

3. sponge

4. fire

5. hot (because you can catch a cold)

6. library

7. shoes

8. mirror

Lantern Riddles

Yuan Xiao: China & Canada

- yuan xiao is not a well known Chinese food in Canada

- however, as more Chinese people share their culture, more Chinese foods including yuan xiao are slowly becoming popular within other cultures

1. what key is most difficult to turn?

2. what you call a rich fish?

3. what's full of holes but still holds water?

4. red through and through, it has no mouth but it eats many things. *it fears water but not the wind

5. which is faster, hot or cold?

6. what building has the most stories?

7. small boats, 5 guests in each, sail on land but never on later. busy during the daytime, anchored at night.

8. when you cry, she cries, when you laugh she laughs, when you ask her who she is, she says, "you know."

Where can you find this food in Canada, and how does it influence Canadian food?

YUAN XIAO

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