Jujube Cake Steamed Bun

Jujube Cake Steamed Bun

　　Jujube Cake Steamed Bun

　　Since the Tang and Song dynasties, it has been a local delicacy, famous for the Zhifang Jujube Cake. The bun is made mainly from high-quality flour, with jujubes, vegetable oil, and white sugar as supplementary ingredients. After fermenting the flour, it is repeatedly kneaded to create a firm dough that is shaped, with two pieces of crushed jujube inserted on each side, then steamed over high heat. Once cooked, red plum blossom imprints are made on both sides of the top to showcase its distinctive features. The bun tastes sweet, soft, and delicious, with a lingering fragrant aftertaste. It keeps well without losing flavor, not becoming moldy or misshapen, making it an excellent choice for entertaining guests or as a gift for relatives and friends. According to the county annals, starting from the Ming dynasty, Yangxian Jujube Cake Steamed Buns have also been widely known both within and beyond the Hanzhong region.

　　Yangxian Jujube Cake Steamed Buns are famous throughout southern Shaanxi. The buns are strung together with ropes and carried in bunches, serving as gifts for visiting relatives or entertaining guests. These buns are pure white without cracks, crispy on the outside yet soft, chewy, fluffy, and sweet on the inside. When hung in a cool, breezy place, they retain their flavor for three to four months. If steamed again, they taste almost as fresh as newly baked buns. In an era without refrigeration or freezing technology, they were a rare and valuable type of flour-based food.

　　They can be made in restaurants, workshops, or homes in Yangxian. The buns use yellow wine lees for fermentation, and white sugar is added during kneading. Water temperature is adjusted according to seasonal temperatures, and the dough must be repeatedly kneaded. After shaping, the buns are covered with a cloth and left to ferment for half an hour before being steamed in a large iron pot. Upon removal, flower imprints are pressed onto the surface. The ingredients—flour, sugar, vegetable oil, and red jujubes—are steamed, imprinted, then strung with rope and stored in a ventilated area, remaining flavorful for months.

　　Ingredient formula: 50 kg of strong flour, 500 g of yellow wine lees, 3.5–4 kg of white sugar, 20 kg of water

　　Preparation method:

　　1. Fermenting the dough: Use 500 g of yellow wine lees as a starter, dissolve in warm water, strain through a fine sieve, and ferment 5 kg of dough. The amount of warm water used is 5 kg in winter, 2.5 kg in summer, and around 3.5 kg in spring and autumn. In winter, place the fermenting bowl in a warm spot, ensuring it’s warm but not dry. In summer, place it in the coolest area possible.

　　2. Kneading the dough: Generally, the dough is fermented the night before and kneaded the next morning. For every 50 kg of flour, add 3.5–4 kg of white sugar, including the water used for fermenting, with total water usage around 20 kg. In winter, the water temperature should be 60–80°C, around 50°C in spring and autumn, and even lower in summer. When kneading, dilute the starter dough first, then mix in the flour. The kneading process must be quick—be careful not to scald the dough. In summer, start by…

　　For Yangxian Jujube Cake Steamed Buns, add about 25 kg of dough first, then adjust the remaining 20 kg as needed. In winter, add about 30–40 kg first, then adjust the remaining 5–10 kg accordingly. The firmer the dough, the better.

　　3. Shaping: Knead the dough until smooth and well-formed, then divide into pieces weighing about 100 g each. Roll each into a long strip, press a groove down the center of the length, apply sesame oil inside the groove, flip it so the groove faces downward, then pinch and shape it into a strip about 17 cm long. Lay it flat horizontally, press both ends down with your palm to create a convex shape, then flatten the middle section to form a flat surface. Place a jujube segment (jujube pits removed and cut into quarters) at each of the four corners of the flat surface. Finally, roll the two ends toward each other, flip it so the oiled groove is on top, and the desired “ruyi” (scepter-like) shaped bun is complete. After shaping, arrange the buns on a tray. In winter, cover with a cotton blanket; in summer, use a thin cloth, and let them rise (proof) for about half an hour.

　　4. Steaming and steaming-braising: A large iron pot is used locally. Place the proofed buns on a bamboo steamer rack, cover with an iron basin, bring to a rolling boil over high heat for 15 minutes, then allow the steam to subside for 10 minutes until cooked. The iron basin is used to prevent the buns from becoming too moist.

　　5. Printing: Once the buns are out of the steamer, use a small bamboo stick carved into a floral stamp, dip it in edible red dye, and press to create the flower imprint.