Xunyi Xicai is a hearty mixed stew dish. Served in a large basin or bowl, it is semi-soupy and semi-vegetable-based, functioning as an elegant starter soup before meals or drinking—akin to the appetizer course in high-end banquets. Xunyi Xicai is served in generous portions, featuring vibrant colors, balanced ingredients, and a mild yet fragrant taste that suits all ages. The main ingredients include: Xunyi…
Royal Noodles, also known as Jade Noodles or Silt Noodles, are a famous specialty snack from Xunyi. The making process of Royal Noodles is quite complex. First, high-quality wheat flour is kneaded into a dough, which is then repeatedly rinsed and rubbed in a basin until the water becomes cloudy. The cloudy water is filtered and poured into a large container. This process is repeated until all the amylose (starch) in the dough is separated out (what remains is mainly amylopectin and protein...
The "Malan Mountain" old corn is produced in Malan, a red revolutionary holy land. Grown using pollution-free methods and high-quality seed varieties, it is classified as a green food product. In addition to containing protein, fat, carotene, vitamin C, and rich calcium, it also includes nutrients such as riboflavin. It has significant preventive effects against diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and cancer, and also offers benefits for beautification and anti-aging.
In Xunyi, there is a common vegetable known in the local dialect as chelan. At first glance, you might not know what it is or how to eat it. In fact, its scientific name is Brassica oleracea var. caulorapa, a type of cabbage. It is a vegetable that falls between turnip and cabbage, with smooth and tender leaves, and a stem that swells into a spherical shape with distinct leaf scars. It is cultivated in both spring and autumn. Chelan...
Dried Potato Rice from Malan is a very unique dish — a simple way to combine both flour and potatoes into one meal. The main ingredient of this dish is Malan potatoes. First, wash the potatoes, peel them, and cut them into small pieces. Then add dry flour, mashed prickly ash leaves, and a little salt, followed by a small amount of water. Stir until the flour and potato pieces stick together...
Xunyi Sweet and Waxy Corn is a specialty of Xunyi County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. It contains higher levels of protein, amino acids, fat, and crude fiber compared to ordinary corn, making it a high-quality, nutrient-rich fruit and vegetable that combines color, aroma, and taste. Xunyi Sweet and Waxy Corn is grown at the foot of the Shimen Mountain, an area with superior natural conditions and no environmental pollution. The region has an average elevation…
Xunyi apples are a specialty of Xunyi County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. Xunyi apples are renowned for their "large size, regular shape, bright color, crisp texture, abundant juice, sweet aroma, long shelf life, and pollution-free quality," making them highly favored by consumers. Xunyi County has been designated by the Ministry of Agriculture as a national key county for green food apple production and honored with the title "Hometown of Apples in China"…
Xunyi stone carvings have been famous since ancient times. Wan Zhengyin, from WanjiaChuan in Dimiao Town, Xunyi County, has loved fine arts, clay sculpture, and carving since childhood. He first tried making clay figures, then moved on to creating Buddha statues using local sandstone. He traveled to most of the Buddhist temples across the country, photographing numerous vivid, lifelike, and diverse images of various Buddha and Bodhisattva statues…
Xunyi farmhouse black pork buns are made with free-range black pork raised on a mixed-grain diet. The meat is tender, firm, and delicious, resulting in buns that are rich yet not greasy, fragrant and tasty. The filling is prepared by hand-cutting the pork into 2 cm cubes, then seasoning them. The bun dough is fermented using traditional yeast dough, without baking powder, yielding thin, tender-skinned buns…
Xunyi flower steamed buns are a type of folk dough sculpture. In the countryside, these buns are steamed during festivals and holidays. For example, during Chinese New Year, they make large steamed buns, date flowers, gold ingot figures, and gold ingot baskets; on the 15th day of the first lunar month, they create dough cups and make steamed animal figurines such as sheep, dogs, chickens, and pigs for children; during Qingming Festival, they shape dough into swallows; during Qiqiao Festival (also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day), they craft flower buns (known as “skillful buns”), shaped like pomegranates,…
Fried dough twists, a local delicacy of Xunyi. The preparation process is relatively simple: use high-quality wheat flour to make a fermented dough, then add an appropriate amount of dry flour, edible alkali, eggs, salt (or sugar), and five-spice powder, and knead into a uniform mixture. Pinch off portions of the dough, roll them into strips about 20 centimeters long, brush with oil, and set aside. Once the oil in the wok is boiling, …
Zeng (zèng) cake is a local specialty of Xunyi. With a long and storied history, it is believed to have evolved from China’s most ancient "fen ci" and took on its current form during the Tang Dynasty. It is called Zeng cake because it is steamed in a "zeng" (a type of traditional steaming vessel). The preparation of Zeng cake is quite intricate, using glutinous rice and jujubes as the main ingredients…
Shimen Spicy and Sour Chinese Cabbage uses tightly wrapped yellow cabbage. The outer leaves are removed, the cabbage is washed, cut vertically into halves, then sliced into segments about an inch and a half long, and finally cut into thick strips about two millimeters wide. Place the cabbage in a large basin, layering it with salt, then mix well. Cover with a large plate and press down, allowing it to marinate for three hours. Squeeze out the water and return the cabbage to the basin, then add white...
It is said that during the Qin Dynasty, when Emperor Qin Shi Huang passed away and urgently summoned his eldest son, Prince Fu Su, who was guarding the frontier, Fu Su returned to Xianyang via the Qin Direct Road and passed through Xunyi. Famished, he was served a dish by local farmers: a chicken was butchered, cut into small pieces, mixed with flour and prickly ash leaves, layered on a base of dough, and steamed over low heat. The result was a dish with a bright yellow hue, rich yet not greasy, tender and delicious...
Harvest Bounty is a celebratory stew that combines five types of grains—rice, wheat, soybeans, corn, and tubers—with a variety of greens and seasoned to create a richly flavored dish. Served in an impressive presentation with vibrant colors, it offers a well-balanced mix of ingredients, mild yet fragrant taste, making it suitable for all ages. The contents of Harvest Bounty symbolize...
Caramelized apple is a specialty dish from the Weibei region. Xunyi caramelized apple uses Xunyi apples as the main ingredient. It has a golden color, smooth texture, crispy outside and tender inside, sweet and delicious flavor, with long, unbroken sugar threads. Once served, diners pull and stretch the threads, creating a table full of golden strands amid laughter. The cooking technique mainly involves sugar pulling and the flavor is sweet.
The hot pot is round, larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, with the upper part functioning as the cooking vessel and the lower part serving as both the fire chamber and base. The earthen hot pot is heated with charcoal. In the center of the pot stands a cylindrical chimney that is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom. All earthen hot pots come with a lid, which has a round hole in the middle through which the chimney passes. The lid covers the pot tightly, preventing heat from escaping and also keeping out…
A local snack from Xunyi, primarily made with Xunyi millet. It is typically served with ingredients such as red dates, lotus seeds, and longan flesh, and can also be paired with walnuts, raisins, peanuts, rose petals, cherries, and other fruits or nuts. The basic preparation involves washing the millet thoroughly, placing it in a basin with water, steaming it, and then mixing it with an appropriate amount of aged honey or sugar syrup. Another steaming bowl is prepared by coating the bottom with a thin layer of...
Dog’s Tongue Flatbread is a traditional food from Xunyi. This flatbread is not made solely by steaming but through a combination of steaming and baking—first baked, then steamed, hence it is also called “baked flatbread.” High-quality wheat flour is first fermented, then mixed with crushed Chinese prickly ash leaves and a pinch of salt, kneaded into a slightly oblong, flat shape, and patterned with the tines of a comb. It is briefly baked in an iron pan to develop color, then steamed in a basket…
Stir-fried chives with farmhouse chicken eggs from Xunyi is one of the local home-style dishes of Xunyi. It uses naturally grown, pollution-free chives and free-range eggs from local farms. The eggs have a bright yellow color and are rich in nutrients, offering a uniquely delicious taste. Eating chives and eggs together helps balance yin and yang and provides notable health benefits. …