The Laba Festival is approaching. What should we eat during Laba? How are these dishes prepared? Let's explore the essential Laba Festival dishes together. I. Laba Congee Ingredients: 50g white rice, 50g yellow millet, 50g glutinous yellow rice, 50g glutinous rice, 50g glutinous sorghum,100g red beans, 100g lotus seeds, 100g longan, 100g peanuts, 100g chestnuts, 100g small red dates, sugar to taste.
Method:
1. Remove the skins and seeds from the lotus seeds. Place them in a bowl, cover with water, and steam over high heat for about 1 hour. Remove and set aside.
2. Remove the skin and pit from the longan, keeping only the flesh. Peel the chestnuts, removing both shell and skin.
3. Add an appropriate amount of water to a pot. Rinse the millet, red beans, peanuts, and small red dates, then add them to the pot and bring to a boil.
4. When the mixture is half-cooked, add washed rice, yellow millet, glutinous yellow millet, and glutinous rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat.
5. When the porridge is 70-80% cooked, stir in the steamed lotus seeds until well combined. Bring to a boil again, then remove from heat. Transfer to a clean, sterilized pot and sprinkle with white sugar.
II. Laba Beans
Ingredients: Soybeans, salt, Sichuan peppercorns, fresh ginger, white wine.
Method:
1. Rinse soybeans, removing hollow or damaged beans. Soak in cold water until plump, then drain. Add water to a pot (water should cover beans by 1 inch). Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer until tender.
2. Drain the beans (reserve the cooking liquid with added salt for later use), spread them out to cool, then transfer to a cloth bag.
3. Place the bag inside a straw sack or other container. Wrap it with straw or cotton batting for insulation and store in a location around 20°C (68°F).After 2-3 days, the beans will become warm and develop white mold from fermentation. Remove and let cool. 4. Transfer the beans to a clay pot. Add the reserved cooking liquid, then seasonings: 50g salt per 500g beans, 2 grams Sichuan peppercorns, and finely chopped fresh ginger to taste.
5. If insufficiently salty during mixing, add more salt. Finally, add a splash of white wine and mix thoroughly.
III. Laba Tofu
Ingredients: Small yellow soybeans, salt.
Method:
1. First, make tofu from high-quality small yellow soybeans and cut it into round or square blocks.
2. Coat with salt water, then carve a small hole in the center of each block and fill with an appropriate amount of salt.
3. Slowly sun-dry under mild winter sunlight until salt is fully absorbed and moisture evaporates completely, yielding Laba Tofu.
2. Dice fresh pork or lamb, then dice vegetables.
3. Stir-fry meat in hot oil until nearly cooked, add diced vegetables, stir-fry until done, then set aside.
4. Roll the dough into thin sheets, cut into diamond-shaped strips. Bring water to a boil in a pot, add soaked vegetables first.
5. When nearly cooked, add the noodles. Finally, stir in the prepared meat mixture, season with salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices as desired.
V. Laba Garlic
Ingredients: Garlic, white sugar, aged vinegar.
Method:
1. Use 250g of garlic, preferably purple-skinned varieties. Trim off the hard root ends.
2. Peel and wash the garlic thoroughly. Pat dry with a clean cloth—ensure all moisture is removed.
3. Add one large spoonful of white sugar (about 12g).
4. Pour in 200g aged vinegar until it covers the garlic. Seal tightly. After 15 days, the garlic will turn green.

VI. Cooking the "Five Beans"
In some regions, the Laba Festival porridge isn't called "Laba porridge" but rather "Five Beans" stew. Some prepare it on the actual day of Laba, while others cook it as early as the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. They also mold "sparrow heads" from dough to cook alongside rice and beans (five varieties).Legend holds that eating these "sparrow heads" causes sparrows headaches, preventing them from damaging crops the following year. Beyond personal consumption, this "Five Beans" porridge is also gifted to relatives and neighbors. It is reheated and eaten daily with meals until the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, symbolizing abundance year after year.