清明时节，东莞美食“艾”C位置出道
清明是二十四节气中的第五个节气，也是我国最重要的节日之一。民以食为天，在民间，清明节除了扫墓祭祖与踏青郊游等传统习俗之外，利用当季的新鲜食材制作美食也成为人们过节的必备仪式。
从农历二月开始一直到清明节后，艾草满地，艾叶刚刚长出嫩芽，一年之中最为鲜嫩，是制作艾角的最好时节。每逢清明吃艾角，对于东莞人来说是一个传统习俗，也是作为东莞清明节前后的“C位”美食而出道。
清明节前后，郊外的田间、房前屋后会长出野生艾叶，清香扑鼻，色泽青翠，摘下嫩叶部分清洗干净，然后水煮艾草，叶子变软后捞出控干水分，打碎成末，加入糯米粉与艾叶水一起搅拌均匀，揉成团，压成皮。传统艾角一般有2个口味，一个花生芝麻（甜馅），另外一个沙姜绿豆（咸馅）。将馅料包入艾角皮中，捏成扁半圆形（形似饺子），每个艾角放在一小片柚子叶上，放入蒸笼，蒸煮20分钟即可享用。一个个艾角油绿如玉，馅心饱满，看到都“流口水”了
The Qingming Festival is the fifth of the twenty-four solar terms in China, and it is also one of the most important festivals in our country. In folk culture, people consider food to be of utmost importance. In addition to traditional customs such as tomb sweeping and outings to enjoy the spring scenery, using fresh seasonal ingredients to prepare delicious food has become an essential ritual for people to celebrate the festival.
From the second month of the lunar calendar until after the Qingming Festival, the fields are full of mugwort, and the mugwort leaves have just sprouted tender shoots. This is the freshest and tenderest time of the year, and it is also the best season for making mugwort cakes. Eating mugwort cakes during the Qingming Festival is a traditional custom for the people of Dongguan, and it has emerged as a "featured" delicacy before and after the Qingming Festival in Dongguan.
Around the Qingming Festival, wild mugwort leaves grow in the fields and around houses in the countryside, emitting a refreshing fragrance and displaying a vibrant green color. After picking the tender leaves and cleaning them thoroughly, the mugwort is boiled in water. After the leaves become soft, they are removed and drained of excess water, then crushed into powder. The powder is mixed evenly with glutinous rice flour and mugwort-infused water, kneaded into a dough, and pressed into thin skins. Traditional mugwort cakes usually come in two flavors: one with peanut and sesame filling (sweet) and the other with sand ginger and mung bean filling (salty). The filling is wrapped in mugwort cake skins, shaped into flat semi-circular forms (resembling dumplings), each mugwort cake placed on a small piece of pomelo leaf, then steamed for 20 minutes before serving. These mugwort cakes are as green as jade, with plump fillings, and just looking at them makes one's mouth water.
