Qingtuan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Qingtuan |
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Qingtuan, traditional Chinese food of the Qingming festival
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| Traditional Chinese | 青糰 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 青团 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | verdant lump | ||||||||
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Qīngtuán (also called Tsingtuan) is a special green dumpling from China. It started in a place called Jiangnan but is now popular all over the country.
This yummy treat is made from glutinous rice mixed with plants like Chinese mugwort or barley grass. These plants give Qingtuan its unique green color! Inside, it's usually filled with sweet red or black bean paste.
Making traditional Qingtuan can be a bit tricky. The special grass used for its color is only good to eat in early spring. Because of this, you'll mostly find Qingtuan around the time of the Qingming Festival, which is usually on April 4th or 5th. It has become a symbol of this festival!
Today, you can find Qingtuan in many convenience stores in China. These modern versions often use matcha (green tea powder) for color instead of grass. They also have new and exciting fillings, like rousong (pork floss) or salted egg yolk. Many people in China enjoy Qingtuan as street food, buying it from local sellers.
Why Qingtuan is Eaten During Qingming Festival
The tradition of eating Qingtuan during the Qingming Festival comes from an older holiday called Cold Food Day. This festival was celebrated one or two days before Qingming.
On Cold Food Day, people had a special rule: they couldn't light fires or cook any food. They could only eat food that was already prepared and didn't need to be heated. Qingtuan was perfect for this! It could be made the day before and eaten cold, helping people stay full.
Over time, the Cold Food Festival changed and became part of the Qingming Festival. Because Qingtuan was such a good food for Cold Food Day, it became an important part of the Qingming Festival, especially in eastern and southern China.
What Qingtuan is Made Of
Traditional Qingtuan uses a few main ingredients:
- Glutinous rice flour
- Mugwort or barley grass
- Sweet red or black bean paste
Here's a simple way to understand how it's made:
- First, the mugwort is crushed to get its green juice.
- This green juice is mixed with hot glutinous rice flour.
- The mixture is kneaded into a soft dough.
- Then, the dough and bean paste are shaped into small, equal-sized balls.
- A little bit of lard oil is added to the bean paste filling.
- The bean paste filling is placed inside the dough ball, and it's rolled into a round shape.
- Finally, the Qingtuan is steamed until it's ready to eat!
