Dong Zhi eat Tangyuan

For Chinese Festival during DongZhi,this food which name as Tangyuan is traditionally eaten.Tangyuan is a  Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice flour.Glutinous rice flour is mixed with small amount of water to form balls and then cooked in boiling water and served with sugar weet soup.Tangyuan can be either big or small,can be fill or unfilled with fillings.It is traditionally eaten during Yuan Xiao (Chap Goh Meh),Lantern Festival(Tanglung festival) and Dongzhi ( Winter Solstice).You can add the ginger in the soup or using brown sugar sweet to cook the soup.You can follow your taste and add some gingko nuts too.Nowadays,this food is eaten all year round.Mass-produced Tangyuan can find in the frozen food of supermarket in Malaysia.

The History Of Tangyuan

 A number of different names were used to refer to tangyuan.During the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty,the name was called as Yuanxiao,and derived from the Yuanxiao Festival.This name means ''First evening'',being the first full moon or new moon after Chinese New Year.This name is used in northern China.

However,in southern China,they are called Tangyuan as Tangtuan.Lagend has it that during Yuan Shikai's rule from 1912-1916.They disliked the name of YuanXiao cause it sounded identical to ''remove Yuan'' and they changed the name to Tangyuan instead.This name literally means "round balls in soup".In the two Chinese dialects,Hakka and Cantonese, "tangyuan" is pronounced as tongrhen and tong jyun.Tangyuan similarly means ''round dumplings in soup''.

The Meaning of eating Tangyuan


For many families in China,Tangyuan is actually eaten together with the whole family.The round shape of the balls and the bowls where they are served,which means the family togetherness.So,it's a good time that you eat Tangyuan with your family.


The Meaning of Dong Zhi Festival (Winter solstice)


The Dongzhi or Winter solstice Festival (冬至;''The Extreme of Winter'')is one of the most important festival for Chinese and other East Asians too during Dongzhi solar term or around December of 22.This origins of the festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos.After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and an increase in positive energy flowing in.The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "returning").Also,this festival is the time for family to get together.One of the activity that Chinese do when get together is making Tangyuan.They are cooked in sweet soup.They have many colours can be used in Tangyuan.

In northern China, people eat dumplings in Dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing in the Han Dynasty.On one cold winter day, he saw the poor suffering from chilblains on their ears. Feeling sympathetic, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, distributed them among the poor to keep them warm to keep their ears from getting chilblains.Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named the dish "qùhán jiāoěr tāng" (祛寒嬌耳湯) or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on, it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi to keep the ears from getting chilblains.


How to make Tangyuan


Ingredients:

• glutinous rice flour
• suitable amount of water
• food colouring(optional)
• white sugar / brown sugar
• ginger(optional)

Firstly,pour the glutinous rice flour in to a bowl and add water slowly until the texture dough.

After that,pinch off pieces of dough and roll it into small balls shape.

prepare a sweet soap by boiling water and add white sugar / brown sugar into it,gingers can be add into soup.Then drop the small balls into boiling water and cook until they float about 5-10 minutes.

A bowl of sweet Tangyuan has be done.=)