Diets for Laba Festival in Various Regions 腊八节的各地食俗

中国各地腊八粥的花样，争奇竞巧，品种繁多。讲究些的还要加莲子、百合、珍珠米、意仁米、大麦仁、粘秫米、粘黄米、云豆、绿豆、桂圆肉、龙眼肉、白果、红枣及糖水桂花等，色、香、味俱佳。近年还有加入黑米的。这种腊八粥可供食疗，有健脾、开胃、补气、安神、清心、养血等功效。
Different places have different rice porridges for the Laba Festival. In some place, materials such as lotus seeds, lily roots, pearl rice, coix seed rice, barley rice, sticky Shu rice, sticky yellow rice, kidney beans, mung beans, dried longan, fresh longan, ginkgo biloba, Chinese dates and sugar with osmanthus are added into porridge to increase its color and fragrance. Nowadays, brown rice is also used to improve people’s health by improving spleen function, helping digestion, increasing energy, soothing the nerves, clearing the mind and improving blood quality.
腊八粥，别称八宝粥，以小米为主，附加以豇豆、小豆、绿豆、小枣，还有粘黄米、大米、江米等煮之。晋东南地区，腊月初五即用小豆、红豆、豇豆、红薯、花生、江米、柿饼，合水煮粥，又叫甜饭，亦是食俗之一。
Laba porridge, also known as “eight treasure porridge,” is mainly made with millet and other ingredients such as cowpeas, red bean, mung bean, Chinese date, sticky yellow rice and glutinous rice. In southeast Shanxi Province, people cook porridge with red bean, adzuki bean, cowpeas, peanuts, glutinous rice and dried persimmon on the fifth day of the 12th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Local people call the food sweet porridge.
山东
Shandong
在山东“孔府食制”中，规定“腊八粥”分两种，一种是用意米仁、桂圆、莲子、百合、栗子、红枣、粳米等熬成的，盛入碗里还要加些“粥果”，主要是雕刻成各种形状的水果，是为点缀。这种粥专供孔府主人及十二府主人食用。另一种是用大米、肉片、白菜、豆腐等煮成的，是给孔府里当差们喝的。
According to the Confucius Diet in Shandong, Laba porridge consists of two types: The first type is made of coix seed rice, dried longan, lotus seeds, lily roots, chestnuts, Chinese dates and rice. After the porridge is put in a bowl, some fruits are carved into different shapes and added for decoration. Such porridge is specially for the master of Confucius Mansion and masters of the other 12 mansions; the other type is made of rice, pork, cabbage and tofu, which is for the employees in the Confucius Mansion.
四川
Sichuan
地大人多.腊八粥做法五花八门，甜咸麻辣，而农村人吃咸味的比较多，主要是用黄豆、花生、肉丁、白萝卜、胡萝卜熬成的。异乡人来此品尝，虽入乡随俗，但很难习惯，现如今城市人吃甜粥的也不少，堪称风味各异。腊八与粥可谓密切相关，而粥喝在腊八，也算是喝出了花样，喝出了水平。
Sichuan boasts a large geographic area and thus has different ways of cooking Laba porridge. Most people in rural areas prefer salty porridge made of soybeans, peanuts, chopped pork, white turnips and carrots. People in other areas find it difficult to eat such porridge. Today, many people in urban areas also like sweet porridge. Laba Festival is closely related to porridge. But different places have different ways of eating porridge.
天津
Tianjin
讲究些的还要加莲子、百合、珍珠米、意仁米、大麦仁、粘秫米、粘黄米、云豆、绿豆、桂圆肉、龙眼肉、白果、红枣及糖水桂花等，色、香、味俱佳。近年还有加入黑米的。这种腊八粥可供食疗，有健脾、开胃、补气、安神、清心、养血等功效。
Some professionals cook porridge with lotus seeds, lily roots, pearl rice, coix seed rice, barley, sticky Shu rice, sticky yellow rice, kidney beans, mung beans, dried longan, fresh longan, ginkgo biloba, Chinese dates and sugar with osmanthus are added into porridge to increase its color and fragrance. Nowadays, brown rice is also used to improve people’s health by improving spleen functions, helping digestion, increasing energy, soothing the nerves, clearing the mind and improving blood quality.
山西
Shanxi
腊八粥，别称八宝粥，以小米为主，附加以豇豆、小豆、绿豆、小枣，还有粘黄米、大米、江米等煮之。晋东南地区，腊月初五即用小豆、红豆、豇豆、红薯、花生、江米、柿饼，合水煮粥，又叫甜饭，亦是食俗之一。
Laba Porridge is made mainly with millet, with materials such as cowpeas, red bean, mung bean, Chinese date, sticky yellow rice, rice and glutinous rice. In southeast Shanxi Province, people cook porridge with red bean, adzuki bean, cowpeas, peanuts, glutinous rice and dried persimmon on the fifth of the 12th month of Chinese calendar. Local people call the food sweet porridge. This is one of the local diets for the festival.