When making Yuanxiao, you should first make the stuffing, dip it in water, and then throw it into a basket full of glutinous rice flour and shake it. Zhongxin. com Wu Tao photo

　　Beijing, March 1 (Reporter Qiu Yu) The Lantern Festival is the first important festival after the Spring Festival. People enjoy lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns, and of course, they eat Yuanxiao or Tangyuan.

　　Some people like to make homemade Yuanxiao or glutinous rice balls, eat them fresh, and have more choices in the taste of stuffing. So, how is Yuanxiao made? What’s the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan?

　　How is Yuanxiao made?

　　On February 27th, Master Yu Bojun of Daoxiang Village in Beijing showed the process of shaking Yuanxiao in a sales department.

　　When making Yuanxiao, you should first make the stuffing, dip it in water, and then throw it into a basket full of glutinous rice flour and shake it. Then dip it in water, continue to roll the glutinous rice flour, and repeat it many times to make it gradually round and bigger.

Yu Bojun dipped the stuffing in water and prepared to throw it into a basket filled with glutinous rice flour. Zhongxin. com Li Jinlei photo

　　"In the process of shaking, let the Yuanxiao fully collide, so that the glutinous rice flour can stick more firmly. The whole process takes about 15 minutes when making by hand, and the weight of each Yuanxiao is about 25 grams." Yu Bojun said.

　　According to him, the glutinous rice flour used to shake Yuanxiao is made of stone grinding technology, which can retain the nutrients and natural fragrance of glutinous rice to the maximum extent. The glutinous rice dumplings shaken out have high viscosity and are soft and strong to eat.

　　Homemade dumplings and sweet dumplings are favored.

　　Yu Bojun’s live show attracted many Beijing residents to watch.

　　"Now shake Yuanxiao see less and less. This kind of Lantern Festival is fresh. I want to buy some and try it to see if it has an old flavor. " A woman in her fifties and sixties said.

Yu Bojun’s live show attracted many Beijing residents to watch. Zhongxin. com Li Jinlei photo

　　This Lantern Festival, everyone’s enthusiasm for making Yuanxiao and Tangyuan is not low. According to the data provided by JD.COM to the reporter of Zhongxin. com, the sales amount of glutinous rice flour increased by more than 80% in the early period of Lantern Festival.

　　The data shows that young and middle-aged people and female users prefer homemade Yuanxiao and glutinous rice balls, and the consumption of glutinous rice flour accounts for a high proportion. Specifically, the consumption amount of female consumers accounts for 69%, and the consumption amount of the 26-45 age group accounts for 77%.

　　New tastes are more popular with young people.

　　The tastes of Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are getting richer and richer. The reporter visited a number of supermarkets in Xicheng District of Beijing and found that in addition to traditional fillings such as red bean paste and black sesame, new flavors such as roses, blueberries and chocolate are not uncommon.

　　"Most of the people who buy new flavors of Yuanxiao or Tangyuan are young people. From the perspective of sales, traditional tastes still dominate." A supermarket staff member said.

Stuffing used in making Yuanxiao. Zhongxin. com Wu Tao photo

　　Yu Bojun said that sweet-scented osmanthus, hawthorn and buttered cocoa are more popular among young people, and yellow rice and calcium milk, yellow rice and red dates, longan and yellow rice, brown sugar and walnut fillings are the new flavors this year.

　　According to the data of JD.COM, post-90s prefer fruit stuffing, mixed flavor and fresh meat stuffing, post-80s prefer mixed flavor, fruit stuffing and peanut stuffing, post-70s like bean paste, black sesame stuffing and peanut stuffing, while post-60s like bean paste, fresh meat stuffing and black sesame stuffing.

　　Extension — —

　　What’s the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan?

　　China is known as "Yuanxiao in the north and Tangyuan in the south". What’s the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan?

　　Guo Yaping, deputy director of the food factory of Beijing Daoxiangcun Food Co., Ltd., told the reporter of Zhongxin.com that the production technology of Yuanxiao and Tangyuan is different. Yuanxiao is "shaken" and Tangyuan is "wrapped".

Data map: After boiled, the surface of glutinous rice balls is smoother than Yuanxiao, and the soup water is relatively clear. Zhongxin. com Qiu Yu

　　They also have different appearances. After the Lantern Festival is cooked, there will be a "velvet head" on the surface, that is, there will be floating powder on the surface. When the rice flour is cooked in the pot, the soup will be milky white. Yuanxiao expands rapidly after cooking, and its size is bigger than glutinous rice balls. The dumpling skin is made of dry glutinous rice flour and water into dough, and then wrapped with stuffing, which has better cohesion, smoother surface and clear boiled soup.

　　In addition, from the taste point of view, Yuanxiao is more biting and has a prominent glutinous rice noodle flavor; Tangyuan is tender, smooth and soft, and the smell of glutinous rice is not obvious. (End)