What is spring pancake? The origin of spring pancake

Spring pancakes are thin pancakes made of flour, usually eaten with vegetables. There is a custom of eating spring pancakes in the north at the beginning of spring, and the spring pancakes in the northeast and Beijing are the most delicious. The combination of meat and vegetables, with some seasonal vegetables, is both nutritious and delicious. Friends who have eaten it must be attracted by the thin and chewy taste, and want to eat it again next time? Do you think so?

Contents of this article

1. What is spring pancake?

2. The Origin of Spring Pancakes

3. What vegetables are best to wrap in spring rolls?

What is spring pancake?

It is recorded that the shepherd's purse spring pancakes in the Song Dynasty court were "green threads and red silk, golden roosters and jade swallows, extremely exquisite, and each plate was worth ten thousand coins." Spring pancakes are as thin as cicada wings. Here it is recorded that thin flour is spread on a flat pan to make a very thin and transparent pancake, which is used to wrap shepherd's purse stuffing and then fried into spring rolls (also called spring pans). Spring pancakes and spring rolls are the symbols of spring in the minds of the ancients.

Spring pancakes are made of white flour rolled into round pancakes and baked. The Qing Dynasty's "Diao Ding Ji" records that the method of making spring pancakes is "rolled dough and wrapped with ham, chicken and other things, or vegetable heart and fried for guests in all seasons. Salted pork waist, garlic, black dates, walnut kernels, and foreign sugar (white sugar) are crushed together, rolled into spring pancakes and cut into sections." This is the way to eat it in the Qing Dynasty. But now it has evolved into spring pancakes with sweet noodle sauce, rolled with foreign scallions and eaten. When eating spring pancakes, it is important to wrap them with vegetables and eat them from beginning to end, which is called "having a beginning and an end", which means auspiciousness. When eating spring pancakes, the whole family sits together, puts the baked spring pancakes in the steamer, and takes them as they eat, so that they can eat them warm.

The Origin of Spring Pancakes

Han Chinese food customs at the beginning of spring. In the north, people have the custom of eating spring pancakes. Spring pancakes are most delicious in the northeast and Beijing. It is said that spring pancakes, as a traditional snack in Chaozhou, evolved from ancient folk snacks in Chaozhou. This is yet to be verified. Spring pancakes are thin pancakes made of flour, usually eaten with vegetables. At first, spring pancakes and vegetables were placed on a plate, which became a "spring plate".

The Song Dynasty's "Sui Shi Guang Ji" quoted the Tang Dynasty's "Four Seasons Treasure Mirror" and recorded: "On the beginning of spring, people eat radish, spring pancakes, and lettuce, which is called spring plate." From the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of eating spring pancakes became more and more popular, and there are records of the emperor rewarding spring plates and spring pancakes to all officials on the beginning of spring. The Ming Dynasty's "Yandu Youlan Zhi" recorded: "On the beginning of spring, (the emperor) gave spring pancakes to all officials at the Meridian Gate." By the Qing Dynasty, the vegetable fillings eaten with spring pancakes were more abundant. Nowadays, people prepare side dishes or various stir-fried dishes and put them into the pancakes at will when eating spring pancakes. Eating spring pancakes on the beginning of spring means welcoming spring and praying for a good harvest.

The earliest spring pancakes were served with other dishes on a plate, called "Spring Plate". Records of Spring Plate can be found in Zhou Chu's "Fengtu Zhi": "On the day of the Spring Festival, common people celebrate birthdays and serve a plate of five pungent vegetables. The five pungent vegetables are used to stimulate the five internal organs." The five pungent vegetables here refer to the Spring Plate. "Four Seasons Treasure Mirror" says "On the Spring Festival, radish, spring pancakes, and lettuce are eaten, which is called Spring Plate." In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Spring Plates were already served on the Spring Festival. Du Fu also wrote a poem "Spring Plate with Lettuce on Spring Day"!

What vegetables are best to wrap in spring rolls?

Spring pancakes are usually made with a combination of meat and vegetables, and are served with some seasonal vegetables, which are both nutritious and delicious. There are also special side dishes for spring pancakes - Hecai. Hecai means seasonal vegetables (such as chives, bean sprouts, dried tofu, etc.) cut into shreds, or mixed or fried. These are the side dishes for traditional spring pancakes.