Zeng Cake, everyone says, is "all in shape and color, moderately soft and hard, soft, sweet and sticky, with a mellow taste. It is really a good breakfast item in winter and spring." It is a unique Han flavor in Xi'an and Guanzhong. The snack is steamed with glutinous rice, red dates or candied dates, and red beans placed on an iron steamer, hence the name. In this issue, Shaanxi Culture will be introduced to you.
This snack has a long history. The steamer is a very old steamer in ancient China. It is made of pottery, copper, iron, etc. Later, it was passed down among the people and the iron steamer is still preserved to this day. The sticky cakes steamed with it also have a unique flavor.
As the name suggests, "Zeng Cake" is a "cake" made from red dates and glutinous rice, steamed in a "Zeng", hence the name. The steamed cake is a blend of rice and dates, suitable for all ages. It is rich in nutrients, has strong nourishing properties, is fresh in color, soft and sticky, has a strong aroma, and has a unique flavor.
Zenggao is a snack in Guanzhong area. The quality is best when steamed in a pottery steamer. The raw materials of steamer cake are glutinous rice (traditionally Wuxi glutinous rice) and jujube (Lingbao Maotou date is the best). The ratio is 10 kg of glutinous rice and 3 kg of jujube per pot. There are strict requirements.
The raw materials of Xi'an Zeng Cake are glutinous rice and red dates. The proportion is: 65% glutinous rice and 35% red dates. The production technique is quite unique, especially the steps of soaking rice, installing the steamer, adding water and fire skills. Xi'an steamed cakes are best made by the Majia Shizi Muslims in Lianhu District. To make steamed cakes, you need to be able to steam, shovel, and plate them. Use a special spatula to shovel the steamed cakes until the jujube and rice are blended together. The red and white colors complement each other and are placed on a plate. They look like amber or condensed fat, which tempts the appetite. In the 1980s, the relevant departments of the Xi'an Municipal Government awarded Wang Wenji, who had rich experience and superb skills in making rice cakes, the technical title of "Zeng Cake Technician".
Zerg cake has a long history. According to legend, it was introduced from Shaanxi hundreds of years ago. The steamer is an ancient cooking utensil with small holes at the bottom that can be placed on the pot to steam food. Lingbao is commonly known as Jinzi, so the steamer cake is also called Jin cake.
The antiquity of the steamer cake is first reflected in its cooking utensils. It is steamed in a steamer pot that evolved from the oldest steaming utensil "Zeng". This is also the reason why it got its name. . The quality is best when steamed in a pottery steamer.
In addition to being an ancient cooking utensil, Zeng Gao evolved from the "糗玮玳獍", a food reserved exclusively for princes in the Western Zhou Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago. "Zhou Li Tiangong" records that Shamu eats glutinous rice flour cakes. "Powder cakes" are steamed cakes made by adding bean paste filling (called bean crumbs in ancient times) to glutinous rice flour. The pre-Qin "fenzi" is a cake made by adding bean paste filling to glutinous rice flour and steaming it without jujube. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that it developed into steamed jujube and rice. In the Tang Dynasty, the "Crystal Dragon and Phoenix Cake" in the "Shaowei Banquet" hosted by Wei Juyuan for Emperor Zhongzong was in the same vein as today's steamer cake.
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were more and more cakes, including wheat noodles, rice noodles, beans, and vegetables and fruits. Even glutinous rice cakes come in dozens of varieties in terms of shape, taste, etc. Various cakes have their own names. Some are named after the materials used, some are named after the shape, and the steamer cake is named after the unique cooking utensils.
Because red dates and glutinous rice are rich in nutrients and nourishing and strengthening the body, steamed cakes are well received by consumers from all walks of life. At that time, General Feng Yuxiang praised "Xi'an steamed cake" as "the swallow dish of the common people". If you have a meeting in Xi'an or Guanzhong, eat more rice cakes early. When villagers go to the market and attend meetings, they all eat a plate of steamed cakes for snacks; when they return, they buy one or two plates, wrap them in tiger skin leaves, and take them home for their families to enjoy.