The beginning of the customs of Lujiang

Overview of the customs of urban and rural life in Lujiang

"Hundreds of miles and different habits, thousands of miles and different customs." ("Han Shu - Wang Ji Ji") Every place will form a unique countryside custom due to its unique geography and history.

Lujiang County is located between Jianghuai, with a total area of 2,348 square kilometers. Its urban and rural residents diet, clothing, housing, travel and other living customs formed, between the characteristics of the Jianghuai. However, due to the relatively large territory, to the center of the city of Lu, within the north and south of the countryside of the living customs there are still some differences.

One, dietary practices

"Food is the sky". Dietary practices in people's daily life occupies an extremely important position, it is the longest continuation of all folklore events.

(a) staple food

Lujiang urban and rural residents to rice as the staple food, and eat barley, wheat, corn, yams, pumpkins, beans and other grains. Outside of rice, but also noodles, buns, buns and other pasta as a staple food. Beans are deep-processed as food, such as soybean milk, soybean flour, thousand sheets, etc., nutrition, taste has become the new standard of diet.

The diet, the county territory passes in the morning, in the evening, three meals a day system, a dry meal every day, two meals in the morning and evening rice (commonly known as "porridge"). But the traditional folk meal system is not set in stone. Especially in the countryside, more food in busy times, less food in idle times, eat dry in busy times, eat thin in idle times, the thrifty fashion has been inherited. During the busy farming season, it is customary to eat "summer tea" and "playing the tip" in the countryside, i.e., those who work on the farm add another meal in the afternoon. Wealthy families, frying eggs in oil or broth below the rice flour poop; living conditions are poor, can only be a little bit of dry rice or "potpourri" set aside for Chinese food, afternoon labor to feed the hunger only. In the old days, poor farmers, winter farming, in order to save food and firewood, two meals a day is also more common.

Lujiang folk, in addition to rice (porridge), noodles are also one of the staple food. Noodles are mainly divided into "hanging noodles" and "rice noodles" two kinds. "Hanging noodles" are made of wheat flour with the addition of salt, alkali and water pulled by hand. "Hanging noodles" selection of materials, production of fine, complex process: to go through the milling, sieving powder, and noodles, wake up the noodles, disk strip, around the strip, the second wake up the noodles, pull the strip, three wake up the noodles, on the pole, the second long, down the pole and so on the 12 processes, pulled into a fine as hair, clear as white jade, white light tough handmade noodles, soft in the mouth, long aftertaste.

"Rice noodles" is made from rice milling, the process is relatively simple: mix rice and glutinous rice according to a certain ratio and soak for a few days, grinding into pulp, the rice pulp evenly spread in the steam plate, steamed with steam, will be steamed, torn off the cooling of the crust, knife cut into silk, dry (drying) can be. Because of the "rice noodles" is already steamed, cooked again to eat easy to digest, so the folk for the maternal "moon" staple food, it is also known as "moon noodles". "Rice noodles" short, easy to carry, and long shelf life. For the urban and rural areas must be one of the staple food.

With the development of society and the diversification of lifestyles, the traditional dietary practices are constantly changing and adjusting in the inheritance.

(B) dishes

Lujiang urban and rural daily dishes are mainly homemade pickles. Savory varieties of radish, cabbage, snow red and so on. The family with a lot of people pickled in a jar, these turnips, cabbage dry and wash, layer by layer flat in the jar, each put a layer of salt and then put a layer, and then by the man barefoot wearing straw shoes in the jar, step on the more "board turn" (tight) the more delicious. If the family is well off, the second half of the year will be pickled salted fish, salted meat, salted duck and other meat dishes.

In the territory of the East, South, West, North Township, respectively, there are some local specialties, such as the East Township of Shengqiao, family production of "wind chicken", "wind fish" (i.e., chicken or fish, slaughtered and gutted, re-filled with the relevant spices, hanging air-dried. When eaten as a whole steamed, unusual flavor, fresh and not greasy); South Township Mud River Township, "Zhu three marinated goose" for the "Anhui Province, the old" famous dishes; North Township of the White Mountain, with the big dry silverfish renowned Jianghuai earth; West Township Tangchi's hundred flowers (also known as) "Pearl Vegetable", "General Vegetable" ) into the Central Television; Southeast Township of Huangtun, Southwest Township of Kotan and other mountainous areas, as well as dried bamboo shoots, dried toon heads, dried amaranth, etc., are entertaining guests and gifts to friends and relatives of local specialties.

The main vegetables eaten with daily meals are bok choy, radish, leek, eggplant, bean curd, winter melon, pumpkin and soy products. It is especially common to roast tofu with bok choy. Folk saying, "tea and rice to know often happy, vegetables and tofu to protect the peace".

(C) festival dining

Lujiang territory, the year seasonal dining culture is rich in content, and has strong local characteristics. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, "Yuanxiao" is eaten, which is commonly called "Tangyuan" in the southern township, signifying the reunion of the whole family; on the Qingming Festival, deep-fried noodle cakes are eaten, which are crispy and delicious, and were called "cold utensils" in the ancient times, and the deep-fried noodle cakes are also eaten. In ancient times, it was called "Cold Food", which originated from the custom of "Cold Food Festival" to prohibit fire and cold food.

Summer day to eat "bud rice" poi, that is, rice soaked in water sprouting, dried and ground into powder and then made into poi. Dragon Boat Festival breakfast is the most sumptuous, there are dumplings, mung bean cake, eggs, flour made of "soup fruit". In the southern township of Lujiang, Dragon Boat Festival breakfast to eat the year's harvest of new wheat made of noodles, commonly known as eating "noodle soup", and at noon drink Xionghuang wine.

"Into the plum" (also known as "into the mold", that is, the rainy season), every family has to eat "plum chicken", not yet open to the cockerel chirping for the best, its high nutritional value! It is regarded as a tonic. If you are not in a good financial position, you will have to fry a few eggs instead, called "plum eggs".

Mid-Autumn Festival, lunch "chestnut roasted chicken (duck)" is a main dish; Mid-Autumn Festival dinner is both sumptuous and grand, so there is a "early Duanyang, late Mid-Autumn Festival," said.

Winter solstice, the general have to eat a meal of noodles, called "eat the winter solstice noodles, a day long line". That is, from the winter solstice, gradually "night short day long".

To the "Lunar New Year" (that is, the twelfth month of the lunar calendar), the most characteristic is to eat "Laha congee". According to legend, the first eight days of Lunar New Year to eat "Lahai congee" is derived from the story of the Buddha ate congee to become a Taoist. In the old days, all monasteries used to collect rice, chestnuts, jujubes, nuts and other materials to make congee before the eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which was given to the believers by the monks holding the mantle of the monk, who would make congee along the streets. Eating the congee of the temple will be blessed by the Buddha and increase happiness and longevity. Later spread to the people, and gradually optimized, with glutinous rice, jujube, red (green) beans, lotus seeds, Guiyuan meat, peanut kernels, red and green silk, sugar and other 8 kinds of food boiled, so there is "eight treasures congee," the name. Lujiang territory, "Laha congee" is not only eaten by their own families, friends and neighbors invite each other to eat or gift, have to wish each other good health.

New Year's Eve to eat "New Year's dinner", is the most grand, the most sumptuous family feast of the year. The traditional dishes commonly served at New Year's Eve in the homes of ordinary people include wakame, round rice balls, Yuanbao fish, dried plums, and roasted pork with bean curd and fruits. These dishes are popular for various reasons. Heqi dishes: a symbol of harmony; deep-fried dumplings: a symbol of family reunion and beauty, but also called dumplings for Yuanbao, a symbol of wealth; Yuanbao fish: a symbol of surplus; roasted pork with dried plum and vegetables: a symbol of rich and poor people; tofu fruit (pronounced "fuguo") roasted meat, a symbol of good luck.

(D) feast

Lujiang hospitality, in folk, relatives visit, the first bowl of boiled eggs in sugar water, called "burning tea", to show welcome. At the same time to arrange to buy fish and meat on the street, home kill chicken (duck), hospitality. Conditions are worse, but also to fry (steamed) a few eggs, fried peanuts, beans and other agricultural products for guests. It is said that "a thousand differences, come to the people are not bad".

Between the urban and rural masses, at the time of the wedding and funeral celebrations, friends and relatives have to thank each other, with gifts or gifts to celebrate or condolences, the recipient of the gift in a timely manner for the banquet to thank. During the Spring Festival, between friends and relatives, each other feasts, called "forgetting the wine". In the old days, more banquets were held in the family, its "wedding banquet", "wash three Chao", "birthday banquet" and other formal banquets, are invited to the chef to the home knife and spoon.

The feast dishes are abundant, the main table is generally to be equipped with "four cold dishes" (cold dishes), "four burned" (roasted meat, roasted fish, roasted chicken, etc.), "four fried" (fried shredded pork, Fried pork liver, etc.), "three rounds" (meat rounds, fish rounds, glutinous rice rounds), one to two "big dishes" (hoof or turtle), one to two soups (sweet lotus seed and cinnamon soup, salty old chicken soup, old goose soup) and other 16 to 22 dishes, and no less simple than 12 dishes. The simplest dish should not be less than 12 dishes.

Banquet dishes have certain preoccupations, in the name of the dishes, the first fried dishes on the opening called "and gas dishes", meaning "and gas and gas"; the last plate of four large round called "four happy rounds The last plate of four large dumplings is called "Four Happiness Dumplings", which means "family happiness and reunion". On the "four happy round son" that is "round seat", the guests ate well that can leave the table.

The territory of Yefu Mountain is a Buddhist resort in the north of the river, the region has a lot of people who eat fasting and Buddha, to guests to organize a "vegetarian seat", that is, full of table dishes are vegetarian. From the style of dishes, there are chicken, fish, meat, etc., but these chickens, fish, meat are made of soy products as raw materials. Such as chicken legs is to be wrapped tightly with a thick thin linen, inserted in the thin bamboo sticks, for its chicken leg bone; ham is to stained sheets folded into, and then cut into slices, there are fine and fat, and crispy skin, like Jinhua ham. Then stewed with mushrooms and stir-fried with sugar, the color and flavor are excellent. There are also lasagna, salt and pepper orchid beans, fried mochi, sweet and sour pickle stalks, hot and sour soup, etc., are made with sesame oil, vegetable oil. Fried, braised, roasted, stewed, or fried, stir-fried, mixed, steamed, the same method with meat dishes. "Vegetarian seat" has a unique flavor, but generally only entertain the Buddhist community of believers and guests.