In southern Shanxi, there is a very popular snack, which is called "Ge You Horse" in Jincheng. It is said that this frog is called Gema in Jincheng dialect, and when this snack is fried in an oil pan, it looks like a frog floating on the water after diving.
In Yangcheng, this snack is called "Yougeduo".
Besides oil flowers, there are many popular fried foods in Yangcheng, such as fried oil angle, oil cakes, fried meatballs, fried vegetarian pills, glutinous food and so on.
According to legend, in the past, edible oil was a scarce material, which could only be eaten during the Chinese New Year holidays. Therefore, locals prefer to entertain guests with fried food, which has been passed down to this day. Of course, today's edible oil is not a rarity, but this eating habit has not changed.
The production of oil-filled flowers is relatively simple. Mix flour with water to make paste, then add proper amount of baking soda and vinegar to make noodles full of bubbles. It has the same effect as our usual dough mixing. It takes about 20 minutes to make them into small balls and then fry them in the oil pan. After cooking, you can dip it in vinegar and garlic juice, or dip it in sugar or honey. Just out of the pot, the oil is crispy outside and soft inside, which is very chewy. It is also a local specialty snack.
Generally, when you eat oil-filled flowers, you should serve a bowl of Mickey (a kind of porridge). Even if a meal is finished, even if it is 20 19, a bowl of oil flowers will only be sold in 3 yuan, and the price of a bowl of Mickey will be 2 yuan. I'm afraid it's very enviable to spend 5 yuan on a basic dinner.