Water-Splashing Glutinous Rice Cakes

Water-Splashing Glutinous Rice Cakes

　　During the Water-Splashing Festival, every Dai household makes water-splashing glutinous rice cakes. The method involves using high-quality glutinous rice, which is ground with water into a slurry powder, then adding an appropriate amount of brown sugar. The slurry powder and brown sugar are kneaded into a dough-like consistency. Fresh banana leaves are then collected and coated with lard before wrapping the dough into long strips, which are then placed in a steamer. Once steamed, the cakes are soft and elastic, and can also be filled with various stuffings. These cakes can be preserved for up to a week and, when they harden, can be pan-fried. Some people call them the Dai version of New Year cake.

Daiwang Brand Water-Splashing Glutinous Rice Cakes. This product is a distinctive Dai-flavor food, made using fresh bamboo leaves unique to the Land of Peacocks, along with premium purple glutinous rice from Ruili, fresh meat, brown sugar, and white sugar. It is wrapped and steamed to create a treat that symbolizes both career and life prosperity—“advancing year by year” and “prospering step by step.” These cakes have a long shelf life, are easy to heat, and offer a fragrant and tempting taste that is sweet without being greasy. They are a must-have snack at home, a great accompaniment to festive banquets, and a beloved Dai-style gift for friends and family. They are widely available.

Every year on April 12th is the Water-Splashing Festival. Dai villages and Han compatriots each send representatives to go up the mountain to pick flowers on the day before the festival. In Dehong, there’s a saying about the Water-Splashing Festival: “Three days of big splashing, seven days of small splashing.” This means that the collective celebration usually lasts three days, during which the mornings are spent dancing and eating free water-splashing glutinous rice cakes.