During the Qingming Festival when spring is bright and all things are revived, old Beijingers not only like to go out for an outing, clean and worship, but also like to celebrate a festival, because during this festival, they can eat a lot Delicious, this festival is the "Cold Food Festival". The Cold Food Festival, also known as the "No Smoking Festival", "Cold Festival" and "Hundred-Five Festival", occurs 105 days after the winter solstice, which is only one or two days before Qingming. Later, the two solar terms of Qingming and Hanshi were unified and called Qingming Festival.
When it comes to Cold Food Festival, we have to mention the most popular Thirteen Cold Food Festivals in old Beijing. Among the Cold Food Festival customs in various places across the country, the old "Thirteen Cold Food Festivals" Beijing’s customs are the most representative. So, what are the thirteen secrets of cold food?
1. Ginger steak
Ginger steak is also called ginger steak, ginger steak, and honey steak. It is not only a traditional snack in Beijing, but also a variety of Beijing tea. It is named after its fresh ginger flavor when eaten. Its biggest characteristics are crispy, sweet and fragrant. "Nan Laishun" ginger shredded pork chop was rated as "Beijing Famous Snack" and "Chinese Famous Snack" in 1997.
2. Jiao ring
Jiao ring is a fried food unique to old Beijing. It is about the size of a bowl and looks like a Western donut. The biggest features of Jiaohuan are deep yellow color, crispy aroma, unique flavor and long shelf life. They are usually eaten with Beijing snack bean juice.
3. Pea yellow
Pea yellow is a traditional snack in Beijing. According to Beijing custom, pea yellow is eaten on the third day of the third month of the third lunar month. Beijing's pea yellow is divided into two types: court and folk. The most common characteristics are: light yellow color, delicate, pure, and melts in the mouth.
4. Screw turner
It is a kind of pasta with a very thin outer shell that becomes crispy when touched. The biggest feature of screw turners is that they are sweet and crispy. In the old days, snack bars often used screws that could not be sold out that day and dried them over low heat before selling them. The dried screws were called "dried".
5. Twist dumplings
Twist dumplings are a delicacy among Beijing snacks. They are deeply loved by old Beijingers because of their crispy texture, sweetness and delicious taste. favorite. In ancient times, the steamed rice dumplings were not called this name, but called "ring cakes" and "cold utensils". It is said that they existed as far back as the Warring States Period, and have become a must-eat food during the Cold Food Festival since the Qin and Han Dynasties.
6. Hard-noodle pastry
It is a kind of sugar-mixed noodle that is about the size of a sesame seed cake. It is chewy in the mouth, slightly sweet and fragrant. Break off the residue with your hands. Hard noodle pastry is a kind of noodle served at night in old Beijing in the past and sold by vendors on the streets. It became rare after liberation. In the 1980s and 1990s, almost no one knew how to make it, and this kind of snack basically went out of fashion.
7. Butter Fried Cake
Among the many snacks in Beijing, Butter Fried Cake is a relatively nutritious snack. It is characterized by being round in shape, charred on the outside and tender on the inside, rich in flavor and easy to digest.
8. Sesame sauce pancakes
This is a snack with more northern characteristics. It can be seen almost in the streets and alleys of Beijing today. Its largest It is characterized by a crispy texture, distinct layers, soft and delicious after entering the mouth.
9. Saqima
It is a food of the Manchu minority. It means "dog breasts dipped in sugar" in Manchu. The main method is to fry the noodles and mix them with sugar into small pieces. Saqima is popular for its beige color and soft texture.
10. Aiwowo
Like sesame sauce pancakes, Aiwowo can be eaten all year round regardless of season.
Its biggest feature is its snow-white color, ball-like shape, and sticky texture.
11. Donkey Rolling
It is one of the oldest varieties among the many snacks in Beijing. It is made of soybean noodles, glutinous rice flour and red bean paste rolls. The finished product is yellow, white and red in three distinct colors and is really beautiful.
12. Sugar ears
Also known as honey twist, it is a common famous snack in Beijing. It is named after it is shaped like a human ear. Sugar ears are suitable for consumption in spring, autumn and winter. Its biggest feature is that it has a bright brown color and is sweet and delicious.
13. Sugar-fired BBQ
Originally a Hebei snack, it was later introduced to Beijing. After evolution and improvement, it became a Beijing snack and is one of the breakfasts often eaten by Beijingers.
Nowadays, many of the foods in the Thirteen Unique Foods are common on the streets, but "hard-noodle pastry" has disappeared and is on the verge of extinction. In recent years, some folklore experts have suggested that the thirteen traditional cold food items should be "packaged" for World Heritage status as soon as possible to avoid interrupting the inheritance.
Tomb-Sweeping Day is coming soon, also called Cold Food Festival, because on this day, people do not open fire for three days to pay homage to their ancestors, and only eat some cold food. Therefore, in the past, families in old Beijing would prepare various snacks on the day before the Cold Food Festival as part of the Cold Food Festival, which gradually evolved into the Thirteen Unique Cold Food in Old Beijing. Nowadays, some of the snacks that were extinct in the Thirteen Cold Foods are no longer common. Horseshoe Shaobing
It is named because it looks like a horseshoe. It also has a long history. It is said that it was already quite famous during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It has two thin layers of cake on the front and back. It is hollow in the middle and is rarely eaten nowadays. Snail Zhuaner
The outside is wrapped in thin filaments, crispy and delicious. The flour and sesame sauce are combined together, it is very delicious. Spreading Twist Twist
A famous snack among Beijing’s halal snacks, it is said that it has been around since the Warring States Period and has a long history. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, it has become one of the must-eat snacks during the Cold Food Festival. Ginger Sauce Steak Fork
It is also one of the traditional snacks in Beijing. Most of them on the market are salty. Donkey Rolling
This old Beijing snack suitable for all ages is also called bean flour cake. As for why it is called Donkey Rolling, it should be a more vivid metaphor. After making it, you need to Roll it in soybean noodles, and it will look like a donkey rolling on the ground and raising dust. That's why it got its name. I have to admire the art of naming in old Beijing, haha. Donkey rolling is still common and very popular now. The soft and waxy skin is wrapped with bean filling, which is sweet and delicious. Tanghuoshao
As a traditional snack of the Manchu people, it is also quite popular and has a history of more than 300 years. Aiwowo
Also called glutinous rice dumplings, they are snow-white and embellished with red. They look particularly soft and cute. There are sweet fillings inside, so they are really delicious. Very good. Tangzhuanguo
The combination of yam and jujube will make people who don’t like to eat yam fall in love with this way of eating. Coupled with peach kernels, melon kernels and the like, it is also nutritious. The effect of it. Sugar Ears
This kind of sweet honey twist is also super delicious. It is named because it resembles the shape of an ear after being formed. It is bright in color, dense and soft. In the past It is the most famous one in Nam Lai Soon. Pea yellow
There are two types of pea yellow: folk and palace. It is said that it is the favorite of Empress Dowager Cixi. It has a soft and delicate texture and is quite delicious.
Jiao Huan
Jiao Huan, bean juice and pickled shreds can be said to be a standard favorite among old Beijingers. of satisfaction. Hard-noodle pastry
Fire-roasted pancakes the size of sesame seeds, chewy but not hard, slightly sweet and fragrant, but it is more complicated to make, and it is still very difficult now. It tastes terrible. Sesame sauce biscuits
Sesame sauce biscuits are also a popular traditional snack. Nowadays, one is usually eaten when eating hotpot and lamb scorpion. The taste is also crispy and delicious.
Beijing, the capital city with a history of more than 3,000 years as a city and more than 860 years as a capital, has a profound cultural heritage of food, and the Thirteen Specialties of Cold Food is one of them. However, there are many versions of the Thirteen Uniques. The well-documented ones include ginger braised fork, burnt ring, sugar roll dumpling, hard noodle dumpling, ai wowo, pea yellow, screw turn, steamed rice dumpling twist, and water chestnut pancake. , donkey rolling, honey twists (sugar ears), sugar fire, butter fried cakes, sesame sauce pancakes - you see, there are 14 of them. Some people say that noodles and tea also count, but some people say that noodles and tea are just cold food. One of the "four major teas" in old Beijing that is eaten with cold food, including oil tea, almond tea and tea soup, cannot be counted among them.
Cold food is cold food, and its origin is generally traced back to the legend of a fire ban to commemorate Jie Zitui's death in a mountain fire. However, according to the research of folklore experts, the thirteen secrets of cold food are actually Formed in the Qing Dynasty, there are thirteen types of Beijing snacks. There is a daily explanation that seems to be more realistic: Spring is here, and the stove that has been used all winter needs to be cleaned and repaired, so I prepare some snacks and cold food to survive the days of burning the stove.
Among the Thirteen Jue, there are many common varieties such as donkey rolling. The reason why it is called "Jue" is actually a homophony of "Jie", and "Thirteen" means "Perfect" plus three stars of "Fu, Lu, Longevity", that's why it has such an auspicious and noble name. Of course, there are a lot of things to pay attention to in the seemingly simple Thirteen Cold Foods. For example, although there are as many as 13 varieties, according to the old etiquette, you must eat ginger shredded pork chops first - there is a health-preserving principle in it: the warmth of spring is still there. If it is cold, and it is a cold food, eat ginger first to get its effect of dispelling wind and cold, warming the stomach and supporting yang.
I remember Sun Jinsong, director of the Xicheng District Cultural Committee, said: The Thirteen Unique Cold Foods seemed to have been unearthed systematically by Hua Tian’s Huguo Temple Snacks in recent years. As people's enthusiasm for traditional culture grows, more and more people are willing to participate in intangible cultural heritage protection activities. Every time volunteers for intangible cultural heritage protection are recruited, the number of applicants exceeds the limit several times. The Xicheng Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center often holds activities, arranging inheritors of the Thirteen Cold Food Skills to hold 24 hours of on-site lectures for volunteers to introduce this food culture and teach some production techniques. Therefore, it is not difficult to learn these thirteen delicacies.
As the same saying goes, you are welcome to take advantage of the situation. Cheng Sheng
Speaking of cold food, we have to mention the Cold Food Festival. The specific date is 105 days after the winter solstice, about one or two days before Qingming.
As for the origin of the Cold Food Festival, it is said that it is to commemorate the death of Jie Zitui. On this day, it is forbidden to light fires and eat cold food to show his memory.
In fact, there are some cold food customs in various places, but the cold food custom of old Beijing, known as the "Thirteen Unique Cold Foods", may be more representative.
So, let’s take a look with Jian Shijun to see what delicacies are included in the “Thirteen Unique Cold Foods” of old Beijing.
1. Ginger Braised Fork
This is actually a variety of tea dishes. When the Manchus host a banquet, they are accustomed to serving tea and tea snacks first, and then cold meat and vegetables. Hot dishes, sweets, soups, etc.
2. Hard noodle pastry
To describe it, it is a kind of mixed sugar noodle that is about the size of a sesame seed cake. It tastes slightly sweet and has a chewy texture. You can break it with your hands. It will fall off.
3. Focus Circle
I believe this food should be familiar to everyone. Shaped like a bracelet, it is caramelized and crispy, and is best paired with bean juice. However, you should eat less greasy food like this.
4. Tangzhuan
A more distinctive halal festival food, the main ingredients are yam and jujube, both of which have nourishing effects, and are also a medicinal diet .
5. Pea yellow
According to Beijing custom, pea yellow is eaten on the third day of the third lunar month. Therefore, pea yellow is on the market every spring and is available until the end of spring.
5. Aiwowo
Available all year round, it was originally called "Royal Aiwowo" and was introduced to the people in the Ming Dynasty.
6. Horseshoe Shaobing
Two layers of thin skin, hollow inside, shaped like a horseshoe, you can add some things to eat, it is very delicious.
7. Luosizhuaner
It is named after its similar shape. It is rolled with water dough sandwiched with sugar and then baked. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and sweet in taste.
8. Twist dumplings
In ancient times, they were called "ring cake" and "hanju", and they are as crispy as snow in the mouth.
9. Donkey Rolling
Bean flour cake is also called donkey rolling. It uses soybean flour as its main raw material. Roll it in the soybean flour, just like a donkey rolling and raising dust. Hence the name.
10. Honey Twist
Also known as sugar ears, they are so named because they resemble human ears after being formed.
11. Tanghuoshao
Old Beijingers all know that there are three treasures in Tongzhou, one of which is Dashunzhai’s Tanghuoshao. It is said that in the 60s of the last century Visiting foreign dignitaries in the 1900s even brought it back to their home countries.
12. Sesame sesame pancakes
This is very common, no need to explain anymore, just look at the picture.
13. Butter fried cake
Butter fried cake is round in shape, charred on the outside and tender on the inside, rich in fragrance, nutritious and easy to digest.