When it comes to this rice cake, people in the south of China especially love to eat it. As a traditional food of the Chinese nation, it carries the beautiful wish of abundant harvest and also symbolizes the improvement of people's work and life year by year. Spicy Stir-Fried Rice Cake brings it to you!
【Name】
Spicy Stir-Fried Rice Cake
【Ingredients】
Rice cake, green pepper, red pepper, onion
2. Prepare the sauce: Heinz tomato chili sauce, sugar mixed with 5 tablespoons of water;
3. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion;
4. Add the rice cake, pour in the prepared sauce, and add 8 tablespoons of water to boil;
5. When the sauce is reduced, add the green and red peppers and stir-fry;
6. Sprinkle with white sesame seeds. (Or sprinkle with white sesame seeds on the serving plate)
【Origin of Rice Cakes】
There is an ancient legend about the origin of rice cakes during the Spring Festival. In ancient times, there was a monster called "Nian" that lived in the deep mountains all year round. When it was hungry, it would catch other animals to satisfy its hunger.
However, during the harsh winter season, most animals would hide and rest. When "Nian" was extremely hungry, it would come down from the mountain and harm the people, snatching them as food, causing great suffering to the people.
Later, there was a clever tribe called the "Gao Clan". Every winter, when they expected the monster to come down the mountain to search for food, they would prepare a large amount of food in advance. They would knead the food into long strips and press them into pieces, placing them outside the door, while the people hid inside their homes.
When "Nian" couldn't find any people to eat, it would eat the food made by the people, and after being full, it would return to the mountain. When people saw that the monster had left, they would come out of their homes to congratulate each other, celebrating that they had passed the test of "Nian" and could prepare for spring farming in peace.
This method of avoiding the monster's harm was passed down from generation to generation. Because the food strips and pieces were made by the Gao Clan, with the purpose of feeding the "Nian" during the Spring Festival, the two words "Nian" and "Gao" were combined together, forming the word "Nian Gao" (which sounds like "rice cake").
