It has a production history of hundreds of years, and is famous for its exquisite materials and fine production. After washing with high-quality late japonica rice, soak it in water for 3-4 days or a week, grind it into powder with water, and press off the water until it is dry but not wet. After crushing, put it in a steamer and steam it thoroughly, or cook it or roll it into a strip-shaped rice cake with uniform size.

How to eat rice cakes: cook, stir-fry, fry, stir-fry and make soup. And both salty and sweet are suitable. For example: fried rice cakes with sugar. There is a folk saying that "sugar is fried, fried, and the corners of the mouth are blistered." Another example: shepherd's purse rice cake. There is a saying in the folk proverb: "Stir-fried rice cakes with shredded pork and shepherd's purse are within reach of the Kitchen God and Bodhisattva". Also: Juice rice cake soup is delicious and is a must-have food for every household on New Year's Eve. There are many cooking methods, including dozens. In the past, the storage conditions were not good, so many residents sliced the rice cakes and dried them, and then soaked them in water for two days. Some people can keep fresh for several months by soaking in water in batches.

There is a folk saying in Ningbo that "rice cakes are rising year by year, and this year is better than last year". People also use rice cake printing plates to press it into the shapes and appearances of "Five Blessingg", "Liubao", "Money" and "Ruyi" to symbolize "auspiciousness" and "good luck". Others are made into small animals such as "Jade Rabbit" and "White Goose", which constitute the perfect combination of content and form in the true sense.

Sanbei lotus root soup

Sanbei lotus root sugar, which is as famous as Sanbei soybean crisp sugar, is a special food in Ningbo. In the Qing Dynasty, it was presented to the South Courtyard as a tribute and served as royal food.

Sanbei lotus root silk sugar is produced in Cixi. According to legend, during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a pastry chef named Shen Yongnian in Shenshiqiao, Cixi, who made a good pastry and constantly innovated to produce a kind of food, which was columnar and as thick as the middle finger, but not more than three inches long. Broken, in this thin column, dozens of fine holes are arranged neatly, which looks like a broken lotus root. Later generations called this kind of food lotus root sugar, because it is located in the "Three North", so it is also called "Three North Lotus Root Sugar".

Lotus root sugar outside the column, with black sesame or white sesame, crisp and sweet, not sticky, suitable for all ages. Lotus root is rich in sugar, crisp and sweet, and has a unique flavor.

Since its production, Sanbei Lotus Root Sugar has gained a great reputation and soon spread to Beijing. After tasting the lotus root candy brought from Cixi's hometown, Minister Kyoto was full of praise and gave it to Empress Dowager Cixi. At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi was old and weak, and the lotus root candy was crisp and sweet, so she repeatedly praised it and immediately instructed local officials to pay tribute to the court every year, which was listed as "imperial food". As a result, the lotus root sugar in Sanbei is more famous.

Sanbei Lotus Root Sugar is not only famous in China, but also widely circulated in Japan and some countries in Southeast Asia. 1905, Mr. Wu Jintang, a patriotic overseas Chinese living in Japan and known as the three sages of running a school in China, returned to his hometown of Cixi. He lived in his hometown for a while and then left. The folks in Cixi gave him some Cixi specialties, including Sanbei Lotus Root Sugar. When he was taken to Japan, it coincided with the birthday of the Japanese emperor. Wu Jintang specially put a few boxes of lotus root candy when giving wedding gifts. The Japanese emperor had never seen such a cake before, so he picked it up and ate it. Everyone claimed it was delicious. The news spread to foreigners in Kyoto, and many Japanese businessmen went to Cixi to order. Since then, Sanbei Lotus Root Sugar has become famous in Japan.

Now the quality of Sanbei lotus root sugar is further improved on the original basis. With the opening of Ningbo, some "Ningbo Gang" living abroad bought lotus root candy in Cixi as a gift for relatives and friends.

Sanbei bean crisp sugar

Sanbei bean crisp candy is a traditional food in Cixi, Ningbo, which is as famous as Sanbei lotus root candy and enjoys a good reputation in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and overseas.

Sanbei University has a long history of soybean crisp candy production. According to legend, more than 100 years ago, there was a southern tea shop called "Ganfeng" in Lubu Town, and the bean crisp candy was successfully trial-produced by a Ningbo master. Due to the exquisite ingredients and fine processing, the bean paste candy made is sweet and delicious, crisp and slag-free, and it melts in the mouth. It doesn't stick to teeth and has a unique taste. After eating, it makes people feel fragrant and memorable. At that time, customers were crowded, famous in eastern Zhejiang and hundreds of miles in Fiona Fang, and buyers were in an endless stream. The selection of materials for making crispy beans is very strict. It is necessary to choose new soybeans that appeared in August and September of that year, and those that are not rotten and moth-eaten as raw materials. These soybeans are big, thick in powder, pure in color and full in particles. Stir-fry soybeans, shell them, grind them into powder, sieve them, and add sugar, black sesame seeds and malt maltose. Black sesame must be produced in Yanzhou, with thick shell, plenty of meat, sufficient oil and strong fragrance, which is superior to sesame in other places. The raw material of caramel should be white and shiny glutinous rice that is aged every other year.

Crispy sugar is carefully made through many processes, and then packaged with paper to make it angular, thick and uniform, and the bottom seal does not need to be pasted to avoid the tide of crisp sugar. This can keep the characteristics of sweetness, sweetness, crispness and looseness for a long time, which is suitable for all ages. After listing, it was widely welcomed by people and became famous for a while.

Crispy sugar is rich in nutrition. It contains protein, pyrocarbon compounds, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene and other nutrients. At the end of each year, most rural areas in Ningbo will make rice cakes and enjoy them during the Spring Festival. Crispy sugar is embedded in fiery red rice cakes, which is fragrant, great wall and waxy, and is a seasonal food deeply loved by young and old.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, "Three North Crispy Sugar" was improved on the basis of traditional characteristics. Produced in Yuyao and Zhouxiang, Cixi, "Sanbei Crispy Sugar" has a long reputation. In the old days, in addition to the famous bean crisp candy in Lubu Town, the bean crisp candy produced by Sanbei Shenshiqiao was also famous. Sold to Shanghai and other places are filled with fire tanks, and the surrounding is sealed to avoid counterfeiting.