What does Ningbo Tomb-Sweeping Day eat?

Youth league, sesame cake, black rice cake.

Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, wormwood flourished. Every time I go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, many families in Ningbo will cook a series of delicious dishes with wormwood and black rice leaves: green balls, sesame seeds and black rice cakes. It is said that since the Tang Dynasty, every family in the south of the Yangtze River has the custom of making reunion cakes every time they go to Tomb-Sweeping Day. Ningbo people are no exception. Green balls are easy to make. After cleaning the picked Folium Artemisiae Argyi, add edible alkaline water or baking soda, and blanch in hot water to remove bitterness. Drain and set aside. Add rice flour, steam it, pour it into a stone mortar, and beat it for thousands of times while it is hot, until Ai Qing and rice flour are completely integrated into one, and a large green glutinous rice ball is made, which gives off a unique aroma and belongs to the unique taste of Qingming.

Divide the big glutinous rice balls into one or two green glutinous rice balls, press them thin with the palm of your hand, embed them with fillings such as soybean powder, sesame powder and shredded bamboo shoots with sauerkraut, wrap them into balls, and roll them with a thin layer of pine pollen, and the flat green glutinous rice balls will be ready. You can also take out the wooden prints engraved with flowers and dragons and phoenixes and press them, and the simple jiaozi will become a delicate snack with a sense of ceremony.

There is an old saying in Ningbo: "Qingming Long Summer Mission" and "One for one, horse history for glutinous rice". Besides reunion dinner, another food related to "youth" is called sesame paste, which is also the favorite of Ningbo people. Hot jiaozi is rolled up with thick pine pollen, rolled flat with a rolling pin, and cut into palm-sized diamonds, which become sesame cakes.

White sugar or brown sugar will be added when Dongqian Lake is launched and Ninghai Hu Chenzhong makes Aiqing Matuo, which makes the taste more fragrant and slightly sweet. This method is slightly sweet, soft and has a long shelf life. Like dumplings and Masi, black rice cake is also one of the snacks for ancestor worship in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Ningbo. "Seven Manuscripts" in the Ming Dynasty recorded: "Picking Erythrina leaves and dyeing m blue as a sacrifice made Ziyang angry." This dietary custom has been passed down to this day. During the Qingming Festival, the newly sprouted black rice leaves (scientific name Nanzhuzhu) are very tender and juicy. A large number of tender leaves, crushed, squeezed out juice, soaked in glutinous rice for 24 hours, and the juice completely penetrated into rice grains. Pour into the rice cooker, press the cooking button, add sugar after cooking, and put it into a square box for compaction. Cool, cut into small pieces, sprinkle with dried osmanthus, and add fragrance and color. The finished black rice cake is shiny and has its own fragrance. Because of its simple method, it has also become one of the necessary cakes for many families in Ningbo.