Why do we eat glutinous rice balls on New Year’s Day?

In our country’s traditional custom, why did eating glutinous rice balls on New Year’s Day become popular? It was roughly formed in the Song Dynasty. According to records, during the Lantern Festival in the Tang Dynasty, "cocoons" and "round corners" were eaten during the Lantern Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, "lactose dumplings" appeared, which should be the prototype of glutinous rice balls. Last time I had pumpkin and black sesame glutinous rice balls at my best friend’s house. They were thin-skinned and full of fillings, fragrant and sweet, and had a great texture. Using pumpkin to make glutinous rice balls has lower calories and richer taste than white glutinous rice balls. I tried making some today and they are quite good for children to eat for breakfast. Let me share with you the ingredients required for pumpkin and black sesame glutinous rice balls: 360 grams of old pumpkin, 320 grams of glutinous rice flour, 150 grams of black sesame seeds, 100 grams of white sugar, and 100 grams of lard.

1. Peel the old pumpkin and cut it into small pieces. Heat it in a microwave over high heat for a few minutes. Use a toothpick to easily penetrate the pumpkin and it will be cooked. If you don’t have a microwave, you can steam the pumpkin in water.

2. Sieve the black sesame seeds through a strainer to remove the sediment, put them in a pot and stir-fry until they are slightly hot and there is some crackling sound. Turn off the heat, take it out and let it cool for a while.

3. Put black sesame seeds and white sugar into the dry grinding cup of a wall breaker or food processor, beat into fine black sesame powder, add lard, mix well and put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. . If you don't like lard, you can use corn oil, the flavor will be lighter.

4. Take a clean large bowl, pour 300 grams of glutinous rice flour, add the previously steamed pumpkin puree, mash it with a spoon and add it.

5. Wear disposable gloves and knead the pumpkin dough smoothly. If the pumpkin glutinous rice dough is relatively wet, you can add a little glutinous rice flour and knead until it does not stick to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

6. Divide the frozen black sesame filling into 30 pieces of 12 grams each. You can also divide them into 8 grams. To save trouble, I divided them into larger pieces.

7. Divide the pumpkin dough into 45 pieces of 15 grams each, of which 15 are not filled with fillings and are prepared for the elderly at home who do not eat sweets.

8. Take a piece of pumpkin dough and press it into a thin slice, put a black sesame filling ball on it, put your palms together, knead it with both hands, and the glutinous rice balls are ready. After the glutinous rice balls are made, if you will not eat them immediately, you can put them in the refrigerator to freeze.

9. Boil a pot of water, put the glutinous rice balls into the pot, and cook until the glutinous rice balls float to the surface of the water. The homemade glutinous rice balls are delicious, try them now.