Hello everyone, I'm Xiaotan. Today we will explore the five major differences between Lantern Festival and Tangyuan. Although they all look like white and fat food, there are actually some subtle differences. Let's take a look at the differences between the two.
First of all, the way the Lantern Festival and the rice balls are made is different. Lantern Festival is made by forming glutinous rice dough into a circle, then boiling, steaming, frying, or pulling silk. Glutinous rice balls, on the other hand, are made by wrapping the filling in glutinous rice balls and then rolling them round. It can be said that the Lantern Festival is rolled out, while the rice balls are wrapped.
Secondly, the names of Lantern Festival and Tangyuan contain different meanings. The character "yuan" in Lantern Festival means beginning, while "宵" refers to night. Therefore, the Lantern Festival signifies the beginning of the year. The "circle" of tangyuan means reunion and family harmony. Therefore, the Lantern Festival emphasizes the starting point of time, while the Tangyuan emphasizes the desire to reunite.
Historically, Lantern Festival and Tangyuan have also had different development processes. The origin of the Lantern Festival can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty, while the history of Tangyuan can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. This gives them different cultural origins.
In terms of taste, there are also significant differences between Lantern Festival and Tangyuan. The skin of the rice balls is harder, the filling is firmer, and the soup is thicker, making it taste like rice soup. In contrast, the skin of Lantern Festival is smoother, the taste is more delicate, and the filling is relatively thin, and when bitten, the filling will flow out smoothly like quicksand. In addition, the flavor of tangyuan is both sweet and salty, which is suitable for people with all tastes, while Lantern Festival is mainly sweet and has a stronger taste.
In terms of fillings, tangyuan and lantern festival also have different characteristics. Originally based on black sesame seeds, bean paste, walnuts, nuts, and jujube paste, modern innovations have emerged in Western flavors such as strawberry, coffee, and matcha. The Lantern Festival was the first to use a mixed filling based on jujube paste, and the ingredients include sugar, roses, sesame seeds, bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnuts, nuts, etc. This makes them more varied in taste.
Finally, in terms of preservation, tangyuan is more convenient and can be frozen and can be eaten almost all year round. Lantern festivals, on the other hand, require fresher and have a relatively short shelf life, usually four or five days. This also explains why it is easier for us to find tangyuan in supermarkets than lantern festivals.
To sum up, although Lantern Festival and Tangyuan are both delicacies of the Lantern Festival, there are obvious differences in the way they are made, the meaning, the taste, the filling and the preservation. This difference enriches the Lantern Festival culture in different regions of the mainland, and also allows us to taste the rich and colorful traditional food when celebrating the Lantern Festival.