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Nanakusa-no-sekku
The Festival of Seven Herbs or ''Nanakusa no sekku'' () is the long-standing Japanese custom of eating seven-herb rice porridge (七草粥, ''nanakusa-gayu'', lit. "7 Herbs Rice-Congee") on January 7 (人日, ''Jinjitsu''); one of the ''Gosekku''. History The seventh of the first month has been an important Japanese festival since ancient times. Jingchu Suishiji, written in the Six Dynasties China, recorded the Southern Chinese custom of eating a hot soup that contains seven vegetables to bring longevity and health and ward off evil on the 7th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. Since there is little green at that time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them suits the spirit of the New Year. The custom was present in Taiwan until the mid-Qing Dynasty, and is still present in parts of rural Guangdong province. Seven spring flowers The ''nanakusa'' (), or more specifically, ''haru no nanakusa'' (), spring's seven flowers (or herbs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shepherd's Purse
''Capsella bursa-pastoris'', known as shepherd's purse or lady's purse because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Scientists have referred to this species as a protocarnivore, since it has been found that its seeds attract and kill nematodes as a means to locally enrich the soil. It is native to Eurasia but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates. It has a number of culinary uses. Description ''Capsella bursa-pastoris'' plants grow from a rosette of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem most often tall, but occasionally as much as or as little as , which bears a few pointed leaves which partly grasp the stem. The flowers, which appear in any month of the year in the British Isles, are white and small, in diameter, with four petals and six stamens. They are borne in loose racemes, and produc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnaphalium Affine
''Pseudognaphalium affine'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the genus '' Pseudognaphalium''. The species is widely distributed in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Transcaucasus and Anatolia. The plant is biennial, with stems 15–40 cm long, the surface of the plant is covered with fine woolly hair and the leaves are small and rounded. The flowers appear as small florets with petal around 2 mm long. In Mainland China and Taiwan, this plant is used to make rice-flour pastry (such as '' chháu-á-kóe'') for the Qingming Festival. In Japan, it is one of the herbs consumed during the Seven-Herbs Festival in the spring. Uses This plant has been used traditionally in Traditional Chinese medicine and also features in the cuisine of East Asian Countries namely in sweet rice confections. They include the Japanese Kusa mochi and the Fujianese/ Taiwanese '' chhú-khak-ké''. The plant can be ground up and used to give noodles and fried onion rice cake a di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chickweed (aka)
''Stellaria media'', chickweed, is an annual flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world, where it is a weed of waste ground, farmland and gardens. It is sometimes grown as a salad crop or for poultry consumption. Description Chickweed is a hardy annual which flowers throughout the year in northern Europe, in mild weather. The stems are terete and glabrous with a lax and sprawling growth habit, up to long and in diameter, with a line (very occasionally 2 lines) of hairs running straight down its length, alternating sides at the nodes. The petioles are 5 to 8 mm long with hairy margins. The leaves are green, hairless, oval and opposite, long by wide with a hydathode at the tip. The flowers are small, less than 1 cm in diameter, with 5 white petals, 1–3 mm long, nestled inside the larger (3–5 mm long) sepals. These sepals have long, wavyvillous hairs on their outer (distal) sides and are o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nanakusa Gayu On Nanakusa No Sekku
The Festival of Seven Herbs or ''Nanakusa no sekku'' () is the long-standing Japanese custom of eating seven-herb rice porridge (七草粥, ''nanakusa-gayu'', lit. "7 Herbs Rice-Congee") on January 7 (人日, ''Jinjitsu''); one of the '' Gosekku''. History The seventh of the first month has been an important Japanese festival since ancient times. Jingchu Suishiji, written in the Six Dynasties China, recorded the Southern Chinese custom of eating a hot soup that contains seven vegetables to bring longevity and health and ward off evil on the 7th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. Since there is little green at that time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them suits the spirit of the New Year. The custom was present in Taiwan until the mid-Qing Dynasty, and is still present in parts of rural Guangdong province. Seven spring flowers The ''nanakusa'' (), or more specifically, ''haru no nanakusa'' (), spring's seven flowers (or herb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jinjitsu
''Jinjitsu'' (, "Human Day") is one of the Japanese calendar#Seasonal festivals, five seasonal festivals ( ''gosekku'') that were integrated into the Japanese Imperial calendar over 1,000 years ago. ''Sekku'' is the term given meaning special day of observance. The festival is now celebrated on the seventh day of the first month and is considered a part of the New Year observances that are celebrated during this time. It is also known as Nanakusa-no-sekku, the "Feast of Seven Herbs", from the custom of eating seven-herb kayu ( ') to ensure good health and to ward off away evil spirits in the coming new year. The name "Day of Mankind" generates from the stipulation of no harm coming to humans on this day and the name "Festival of The Seven Herbs" comes from a tradition of store owners gathering and providing the seven lucky herbs to the emperor as nanakusagayu. The typical herbs used for the creation of nanakusagayu are nazuna, Oenanthe javanica, seri, Gnaphalium affine, gogyo, ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rice Congee
Congee ( , derived from Tamil ), is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a gruel. Since the history of rice cultivation in Asia stretches back to the Baiyue-inhabited lower Yangtze circa 10,000 BC, congee is unlikely to have appeared before that date. Congee is typically served with side dishes, or it can be topped with meat, fish, and pickled vegetables. Vivid experiences of eating or delivering thin congee as wartime or famine food often feature in diaries and chronicles. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food. Etymology The popular English name ''congee'' derives from the Tamil word (''kañci''). The Portuguese adopted the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surikogi
''Suribachi'' (, lit. "grinding-bowl") and ''surikogi'' (, lit. "grind-powder-wood") are a Japanese mortar and pestle. These mortars are used in Japanese cooking to crush different ingredients such as sesame seeds. Form The ''suribachi'' is a pottery bowl, glazed on the outside and with a rough pattern called ''kushi-no-me'' on the unglazed inside. This surface is somewhat similar to the surface of the ''oroshigane'' (grater). The ''surikogi'' pestle is made from wood to avoid excessive wear on the ''suribachi''. Traditionally, the wood from the sanshō tree (Japanese prickly ash) was used, which adds a slight flavor to the food, although nowadays other woods are more common. The bowls have a diameter from 10 to 30 centimeters (3.9 to 11.8 inches). Use To use the ''suribachi'' the bowl is set on a non-slip surface, such as a rubber mat or a damp towel, and the ''surikogi'' is used to grind the material. Recently, plastic versions of the ''suribachi'' have also become p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shamoji
A rice paddle (, Japanese language, Japanese: , ) is a large flat spoon used in East Asian cuisine. It is used to stir and to serve rice, to dip gochujang, and to mix vinegar into the rice for sushi. Rice paddles are traditionally made from bamboo, wood, or lacquer, and nowadays often from plastic. History The specific origin of the rice paddle is unknown, but it has been spotted in artifacts dating back to the 4th or 5th century. One such artifact originating from the Silla, Silla dynasty in Korea was excavated from the Gold Crown Tomb in Gyeongju along with a pot. The Japanese version of the rice paddle, the 'shamoji', is said to have been first devised by a monk on Itsukushima, Hiroshima Prefecture. The word is an example of nyōbō kotoba, being derived from the first part of , plus the suffix. Modern rice cookers may include a rice paddle in the box, usually made of white plastic. Materials and uses In Korea, rice paddles, or 'jugeok' () were originally made out of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radish
The radish (''Raphanus sativus'') is a flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Its large taproot is commonly used as a root vegetable, although the entire plant is edible and its leaves are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable. Originally domesticated in Asia, radishes are now grown and consumed globally. The radish is sometimes considered to form a species complex with the wild radish, and instead given the trinomial name ''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus''. Radishes are often used raw as a crunchy salad vegetable with a pungent, slightly spicy flavor, varying in intensity depending on its growing environment. There are numerous varieties varying in size, flavor, color, and length of time they take to mature. Radishes owe their sharp flavor to the various chemical compounds produced by the plants, including glucosinolate, myrosinase, and isothiocyanate. They are sometimes grown as companion plants and suffer from few pests and diseases. They germinate q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leaves Of Japanese Radish
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the shoot system. In most leaves, the primary photosynthetic tissue is the palisade mesophyll and is located on the upper side of the blade or lamina of the leaf, but in some species, including the mature foliage of ''Eucalyptus'', palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and the leaves are said to be isobilateral. The leaf is an integral part of the stem system, and most leaves are flattened and have distinct upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) surfaces that differ in color, hairiness, the number of stomata (pores that intake and output gases), the amount and structure of epicuticular wax, and other features. Leaves are mostly green in color due to the presence of a compound called chlorophyll which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock. The name ''turnip'' used in many regions may also be used to refer to rutabaga (or ''neep'' or ''swede''), which is a different but related vegetable. Etymology The origin of the word ''turnip'' is uncertain, though it is hypothesised that it could be a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ''neep'', derived from Latin ''napus'', the word for the plant. According to An Universal Etymological English Dictionary, ''turn'' refers to "round ''napus'' to distinguish it from the napi, which were generally long". Description The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned, apart from the upper , which protrude above the ground and are purple or red or greenish where the sun has h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
