How to make rural sesame candy

In rural areas and other regions, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, many families will make sesame candy. We know that the 23rd is the traditional Little New Year, also known as the Kitchen God Festival. On this day, we have to worship the Kitchen God, so eating sesame candy has the beautiful meaning of praying for peace and safety. The method of making sesame candy in rural areas mainly involves selecting carefully selected glutinous rice, white sugar sesame, and other ingredients such as osmanthus.

Why do we eat sesame candy during the Little New Year?

"On the 23rd, worship the Kitchen God", "Leave on the 23rd, return on the 1st and 5th", "Say good things to the gods, keep the world safe"...

On the day of Little New Year, according to folk customs, every household has to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, and one of the indispensable offerings is Kitchen God candy, so Little New Year is also called the Kitchen God Festival.

According to legend, the Kitchen God was banished to the mortal world by the Jade Emperor because he made mistakes. In the kitchen stove of every household, people’s words and deeds for the year are recorded. Every year on the New Year’s Eve, the Kitchen God goes to heaven to report the good and evil deeds of the family to the Jade Emperor, who will reward or punish them. Because sesame candy is crispy in the mouth, sticky after chewing, melts afterwards and is sweet, it can "fog" the mouth of the Kitchen God. In this way, the Kitchen God will only speak well of peace, good harvest and harmony on earth to the Jade Emperor, and there will be good weather and good harvests in the coming year.

How to make rural sesame candy

Sesame candy is made from carefully selected glutinous rice, sesame seeds and white sugar as the main raw materials, mixed with osmanthus, tangerine cake and other ingredients. It is refined without any chemical pollution or additives and is a pure natural green food. Sesame candy is famous for its unique flavor of fragrance, sweetness, thinness and crispness. It has the typical characteristics of being fragrant but not gaudy, sweet but not greasy, and having endless aftertaste. It is shaped like a jade comb, white like a wall, thin as a cicada's wing, and sweet as honey. It is rich in nutrients, containing protein, glucose and multiple vitamins, and has the effects of warming the lungs, nourishing the stomach, nourishing the liver and tonifying the kidneys.

There are many ways to make sesame candy, and the shapes are different in different places, such as slices, blocks, sticks, etc. The following introduces one of the methods.

1. Wash and drain the peeled white sesame seeds;

2. Put the washed sesame seeds into a baking tray and bake at 100 degrees for ten minutes;

3. Roast the sesame seeds until they are slightly yellow and separated into individual pieces.

4. Heat oil in a pan, add sesame seeds and stir-fry slowly over low heat;

5. Fry until the color turns yellow, then put in another pan, sugar and water;

6. Stir-fry the sugar water over low heat. It will start to bubble up slowly, then turn into small bubbles. Then add maltose and continue to stir-fry.

7. Stir-fry until it is all small bubbles.

8. Pour in the fried sesame seeds and stir-fry until they are ready to be pulled into shreds;

9. Quickly pour into a non-stick baking pan and use a rolling pin to roll into thin slices of any thickness;

10. Cut into slices while hot.