Laba porridge, do you prefer salty or sweet?

The end of the year is called "La", which marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year.

On this day, people from all over the country start to cook Laba porridge to enjoy the warmth and sweetness of this special season. But do you know that this seemingly ordinary Laba porridge has many details inside?

Why do we drink porridge on Laba Festival?

Laba Festival originated from the ancient Chinese Lari sacrificial ceremony. Since Buddhism was introduced into China, it has been influenced by Buddhist culture. Some Laba customs can be said to be the result of the mutual influence between Chinese folk customs and foreign religious culture.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu Zimu's "Dreams of the Southern Song Dynasty" recorded: "The eighth day of this month is called Laba in temples. Large temples all serve porridge with five flavors, which is called Laba porridge." The history of drinking Laba porridge in my country has been more than one thousand years old.

As the saying goes, "The seventh and eighth days of the twelfth lunar month are so cold that your chin will freeze off." At this time, the temperature is almost the lowest in the year. Cooking a pot of hot Laba porridge can not only drive away the cold but also nourish the body in the freezing winter.

Jiangsu's Laba porridge has "sweet and salty"

In Jiangsu, the main custom of Laba is "drinking Laba porridge", but in various places south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River, the Laba porridge that Jiangsu people drink is also different.

According to the "Jiangsu Local Cultural History·Wuxi Volume", the Laba porridge in Wuxi is divided into two types: "temple porridge" and "home porridge". Temple porridge is "vegetarian Laba". Chong'an Temple, Nanchan Temple and other large temples will provide porridge every Laba. It is made of vegetables, fried tofu, radish, soybeans, broad beans, taro, bean curd, yam, peanuts and other ingredients, not just eight ingredients. The "meat Laba" of ordinary people usually adds spare ribs, ham, shredded chicken and the like.

The "Jiangsu Local Cultural History·Nantong Volume" introduces that in the past, wealthy Nantong people used glutinous rice with lotus seeds, red dates, ginkgo, nuts, peanuts, etc. to cook porridge, while ordinary people used glutinous rice, polished rice, soybeans, peanuts, taro, water chestnuts, carrots, green vegetables, etc. to cook "Laba porridge";

According to the "Jiangsu Local Cultural History Huai'an Volume", on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, every family in Huai'an cooks "Laba Congee", using white rice, millet, water chestnut rice, chestnut, red cowpea, peach kernel, almond, melon seeds, peanut, red raisin, etc., or using whole grains and vegetables to cook into porridge.

In Xuzhou , Laba porridge is divided into sweet and salty. Salty porridge is made by adding tofu skin, dried tofu shreds, pickled mustard greens, winter vegetables, bamboo shoots, and pork shreds to japonica rice. Sweet porridge is made by adding roses, candied dates, peach kernels, and preserved fruits to japonica rice. After the porridge is cooked, some of it should be served to relatives and neighbors first. Parents let their children eat more porridge sent by relatives and friends, believing that it can "laba". In the Xuzhou dialect, "laba", which is homophonic to "Laba", means to raise, pull, support, and help, which helps children avoid disasters and grow up healthily.

How to cook Laba porridge?

01. Be careful when choosing ingredients

When purchasing ingredients for cooking Laba porridge, consumers should choose regular channels such as supermarkets and farmers' markets, and buy ingredients that are not moldy, spoiled, or have a bad smell. If purchasing packaged ingredients that are ready to cook, they should pay attention to whether the product is within the shelf life and whether the packaging is intact.

02. The ratio of whole grains to refined rice is 1:3-1:2

This can maintain a relatively stable blood sugar level after a meal. Beans and some whole grains are not sticky, and they taste better when combined properly.

03. Soak first and then cook to prevent it from becoming mushy

Different types of beans require different soaking times. Generally speaking, larger beans should be soaked for 8 hours, and most whole grains should be soaked for 2-4 hours.

04. Don’t add too much sugar

It is not recommended to add too much brown sugar or white sugar to Laba porridge. Too much sugar is bad for health, especially for diabetic patients.

05. Don’t add alkali when cooking porridge

Many people have the habit of adding alkali when cooking porridge, thinking that it can make the porridge thicker and easier to break down. However, almost all vitamins are destroyed by alkali, so it is not advisable to add alkali when cooking porridge.

Different groups of people have different ways to drink Laba porridge

There are many varieties of Laba porridge, and all kinds of coarse grains, beans, nuts, dried fruits, etc. can be added into the porridge, which easily realizes the diversification of staple food and makes up for the shortcomings. When making Laba porridge, it is also important to do addition and subtraction according to your own situation.

Diabetic patients should reduce the types and quantity of sweet dried fruits when eating Laba porridge, and increase the types of beans and nuts, such as peanuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. These foods are high in dietary fiber and contain unsaturated fatty acids, which are very beneficial to diabetic patients. It is best not to add dates, raisins, and longans that are high in sugar.

People with indigestion When making Laba porridge, you need to cook it thicker, preferably with porridge oil. Porridge oil is a thick liquid that floats on the surface of the porridge after repeated boiling, also known as rice oil. In addition, you can try adding a little diced yam to the Laba porridge. In order to avoid bloating after eating, people with indigestion need to reduce the amount of beans when cooking Laba porridge.

· For patients with high blood lipids or fatty liver, try to put less peanuts with high fat content when making Laba porridge, and put more buckwheat, oatmeal, wolfberry, soybean, walnut kernel, etc. which can regulate blood lipids. Buckwheat can regulate blood lipids, dilate coronary arteries and increase blood flow; oatmeal can lower cholesterol; wolfberry also has an auxiliary regulating effect on blood lipids and is a good food therapy for the elderly; soybean contains crude fiber, carotene and other ingredients, which can lower cholesterol, prevent cardiovascular disease, inhibit tumors and other effects; walnut kernel can prevent and treat atherosclerosis and lower cholesterol.

Come and have a bowl of steaming hot Laba porridge~