Dingbian Potatoes Potatoes are an agricultural product that can be used both as a staple food and a vegetable. Among cash crops in Dingbian’s planting industry, Dingbian Potatoes are the most competitive, characterized by strong adaptability, wide cultivation range, high yield, superior quality, and significant economic benefits. They serve as a pillar industry for the county’s poverty alleviation and prosperity. Currently, the potato planting area in Dingbian covers 500,000 mu,...
Huo Mo ("Oven Cake") — when did it originate? Its beginnings are shrouded in mystery. Legend has it that as early as the late Yuan Dynasty, people would hide paper notes inside Huo Mo. It is a traditional delicacy from Anbian (now part of Dingbian County). Thanks to its premium ingredients, meticulous and refined craftsmanship, it has enjoyed widespread acclaim across the land for three hundred years, winning praise from diners everywhere. While everyone knows that Huo Mo tastes delicious, …
Mix peas and wheat in equal parts, grind them into flour, and then add a small amount of wormwood flour. Roll the dough thin and cut it into fine noodles. The resulting noodles not only have the chewiness of wheat flour but also a unique bean flavor, making them especially popular among locals.…
Lamb is a distinctive local delicacy in Dingbian and Jingbian, also known as "slaughtered lamb." This refers to lambs—mostly male—that are slaughtered around 40 days after birth. There are two ways to prepare lamb: one is steaming. The lamb, with bones intact, is cut into one-inch cubes. Heat the cooking oil in a pan until it's about 70–80% hot...
Zizhou Flour Flowers are a specialty of Zizhou County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. Flour flowers are an artistic and delicious food, a unique gift for family and friends, and also a reflection of traditional cultural sentiment. The flour flowers of Nanchuan in Zizhou have a long history and distinctive taste, and are an important intangible cultural heritage. In the past, almost every household in Nanchuan (from Hejiaji Town to Huaining...) of Zizhou County would...
Oil Cake (Rice Cake) Oil cake, also known as rice cake, is mainly made from millet. There are two types of millet—soft and hard. The hulled soft type is sticky and called "soft rice," while the hard type is called "yellow rice." To make the cake, soft rice and yellow rice are mixed in a four-to-six ratio, soaked in water overnight, then ground into flour. Steamed and eaten as is, it’s called sweet cake. Adding dates to the sweet cake makes it a date cake, and frying it results in oil cake. The rice cake is soft, fragrant, and sweet, and is especially favored by the locals. It is customary to eat cake during weddings and funerals, birthdays and full-moon celebrations, as well as during festivals and holidays. Even students eat cake before exams. “Cake” sounds like “high” (高), symbolizing the wish for people to rise higher step by step, carrying festive and auspicious meanings.
Gētū is a common home-cooked dish made from buckwheat flour. The buckwheat flour is pinched into small rolls about the size of a pinky finger tip and then boiled in hot water, somewhat similar to the hand-pulled wheat noodles sold on the streets of Xi'an. It tastes even better when served in lamb soup. A folk song goes, “Buckwheat gētū in lamb broth, together in life and death,” which aligns with the culinary principle of “harmonizing flavors in the cauldron.” The combination of buckwheat and lamb soup is a perfect match, highlighting each other’s best qualities. Mixing peas and wheat in equal parts, grinding them into flour, and adding a bit of wormwood flour results in noodles that are not only as chewy as wheat noodles but also carry a unique bean aroma. This is why the locals particularly enjoy mixed grain noodles.
The Zizhou fruit-filled pastry originated in the Ming Dynasty. In ancient times, it was often used to offer sacrifices to ancestors or deities, hence it is also called "fruit offering" or "fruit pastry." According to local customs in the southern region, when young men and women become engaged, the groom’s family is expected to send 8 to 24 fruit pastries as a gift to the bride’s family. It is also commonly given as a present to relatives and friends. The most famous variety originally came from Zhoujiajian Town in Zizhou, also known as the "large-flower fruit pastry." Zhoujian fruit pastry...
In the rural areas of Zizhou, few people eat plain white steamed buns—what you mostly see in people’s hands are yellow steamed buns. These are also made from a mixture of soft rice and yellow rice in a certain proportion. After soaking and grinding, the grains are stir-fried in a pan, then cooled and mixed with fermented dough before being steamed once the dough has risen. Sometimes a filling is added, usually consisting of boiled soft soybeans and dates. The yellow steamed buns have a uniquely sweet and fragrant taste from the yellow rice...
Zizhou Astragalus, commonly known as “Zizhou Qi,” is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb and a specialty of Zizhou County, Shaanxi Province. Its dried roots are used medicinally and are known for their efficacy in replenishing qi and strengthening the body’s foundation, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, detoxifying and discharging pus, and promoting tissue regeneration. It holds high medicinal value. Zizhou Astragalus is renowned across China for its bright color and superior quality, earning the reputation of “Northeast Ginseng, Zizhou Qi.” It is the only product among China’s six major traditional Chinese medicine bases that meets export standards. The product is exported to Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao, and other regions. In May 2008, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China issued Announcement No. 49 (2008), announcing the implementation of national geographical indication product protection for Zizhou Astragalus.
As the saying goes: “Season bitter greens with clear oil, and everyone picks their favorite.” During spring and summer, people in the areas of Zizhou, Hengshan, and Suide especially love to eat this uniquely flavored cold dish — “Almond-seasoned Bitter Greens.” This dish is easy and simple to prepare. First, remove the roots from the bitter greens picked from the mountain, wash them, and blanch them in boiling water for about 2 minutes...
In the summer and autumn seasons, in the Zizhou area of northern Shaanxi, people often make a dish called corn kernel congee. This congee is light and delicious, appetizing, highly nutritious, and makes one want to eat more the more they have it. How is corn kernel congee made? First, the husk is removed from the corn to get the corn kernels. Then red beans, yellow...
Zizhou Oil Spiral —— A flavor to remember. Making oil spirals is an intricate process. First comes kneading the dough, and the amount of water added varies across the four seasons. Once the dough is ready, it should achieve “three glows (glowing hands, glowing basin, glowing dough),” meaning the texture is just right in terms of firmness and moisture, leaving the hands and basin spotless without even a trace…
Zizhou Red Onion belongs to the genus Allium in the Liliaceae family. It is a 2–3 year herbaceous plant named for its reddish skin. With thousands of years of growth history in northern Shaanxi, it even has dream interpretations related to red onions from the Zhougong Dream Dictionary. The Zizhou Red Onion is extremely hardy—not only cold-resistant but also drought-tolerant. A local saying goes: “Drought won’t scorch the onion, and famine won’t starve the soldier…”
The Suide snack "Tanhuang" (Scallion Pancake) is a unique food from northern Shaanxi. Its ingredients include hard millet flour or cornmeal, with some wheat flour added to make it. Because it is cooked on a flat griddle, it is called "Tanhuang" (literally "Poured Yellow"). In some places, it is simply called "Yellow," possibly due to its color—whether made with millet or cornmeal, both are yellow.
Zizhou soybeans are a specialty of Zizhou County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. These are authentic, non-GMO, original variety soybeans with years of cultivation history within Zizhou County, representing the unique eco-friendly soybeans of Northern Shaanxi. As early as the Suide Prefecture Records and Mizhi County Records, the "Products" section of the Mizhi County Records from the 20th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1681) noted: “Beans…”
Zizhou apples are a specialty of Zizhou County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. The county lies in one of the best regions for mountain-grown apples in China. Compared to apples from other well-known production areas such as Luochuan and Huanglong, Zizhou apples are known for their vibrant color, high sugar content, and rich, authentic flavor, making them highly favored by consumers. Leveraging its unique geographical and climatic advantages, Zizhou County has seized the historic opportunity of the northward shift of Shaanxi Province’s fruit production bases...
A local snack from Dingbian and Jingbian (compiled by the Yellow River Studio of Yulin Online). Mix buckwheat groat flour with water to form a dough, roll it into a two-centimeter-thick flat cake, then chop it into long strips as wide as chive leaves using a cleaver, chopping and dropping them directly into the pot. Cook until done, then scoop into a bowl. Heat sesame oil until 80% hot, add shredded wood ear mushrooms and chili powder, stir-fry until fragrant, then pour into the bowl. Next, bring pickled vegetable soup to a boil in the pot and...
Sanbian buckwheat refers mainly to the buckwheat produced in Dingbian, Jingbian, Wuqi, and Zhidan counties in northern Shaanxi. In export trade, buckwheat from these areas as well as adjacent regions in Gansu and Ningxia is customarily referred to as Yulin buckwheat. Yulin buckwheat belongs to the red-flowered sweet buckwheat type, with three-edged, brown grains, and a thousand-grain weight of 35 grams. It is known for its large grains, …
Jingbian County in Shaanxi Province boasts uniquely favorable conditions for agricultural development, especially with an average altitude of around 1,400 meters, coupled with a dry climate, large diurnal temperature variations, abundant sunlight, concurrent rainfall and heat, fertile soil, and loose soil texture. It is the optimal premium production area for potatoes, as well as an advantageous region for breeding high-quality potato seeds. Jingbian potatoes…