Tongcheng Vegetable Heart Cake

Tongcheng Vegetable Heart Cake

　　It is a uniquely flavored traditional breakfast dish from Tongcheng City, renowned as early as the Ming and Qing dynasties. Back then, the most beloved breakfast for residents of the ancient city was a cup of clear tea paired with a plate of glossy and translucent vegetable heart cakes. Along the streets of the county town, shops and teahouses specializing in vegetable heart cakes were everywhere, enjoying booming business. The making of Tongcheng Vegetable Heart Cake is extremely meticulous, using seventy percent indica rice and thirty percent glutinous rice, soaked in warm water for half a day, then drained and pounded into powder. Tender green cabbage hearts are lightly boiled and mashed into a paste, with the stems removed, before being mixed with lard and white sugar to form the cake filling. Once steamed, the finished cake has an exterior smooth as carved jade and an interior tender as emerald — soft yet not sticky, sweet yet not greasy.