Why is jiaozi cooked and Yuanxiao fried?

Yuanxiao can be cooked or fried. Yuanxiao is one of the traditional snacks of Han nationality in China, which belongs to the festival food custom. The practice of Yuanxiao is mainly stuffing, which is mixed first, then spread into large round pieces, dried and cut into squares smaller than table tennis. Then put the stuffing into a machine like a big sieve, pour the rice flour on it and "sieve" it. As the fillings collide with each other, the rice sticks to the surface of the fillings and becomes spherical, which becomes Yuanxiao.

Folk custom of eating Yuanxiao on Lantern Festival. Yuanxiao is called "Tangyuan", "Zi Yuan", "Floating Zi Yuan" and "Shui Yuan" in the south. It is made of glutinous rice (made of sweet potato in some areas), solid or stuffed. The fillings are red bean paste, sugar, hawthorn and so on. Can be boiled, fried, steamed and fried. At first, people called this kind of food "floating Zi Yuan", and later they called it "dumpling" or "dumpling". These names are similar to the word "reunion", which means reunion, symbolizing family reunion, harmony and happiness. People also miss their departed relatives and place their hopes on future life. Eating Yuanxiao, like a full moon, symbolizes family reunion and entrusts people with good wishes for their future life.