Northern Shaanxi Oil Cake

Northern Shaanxi Oil Cake

　　Made from glutinous rice flour and jujubes, it is deep-fried in vegetable oil, resulting in a fragrant, delicate, sweet, and delicious taste.

　　The rice cake is mainly made from broomcorn millet. There are two types of broomcorn millet: soft and hard. The hulled, sticky kind is called soft rice, and the hard kind is called yellow rice. In preparation, soft rice and yellow rice are mixed in a four-to-six ratio, soaked in water overnight, then drained and ground into flour on a millstone. After steaming, it is eaten as a sweet cake. When jujubes are added to the sweet cake, it becomes a jujube cake; when it is deep-fried, it is called an oil cake. The rice cake has a soft, fragrant, and sweet taste, and is especially popular among locals. It is customary to eat cake during weddings, funerals, birthdays, full-moon celebrations, festivals, and even when students take exams. The word “cake” (糕, gāo) sounds like “high” (高, gāo), symbolizing wishes for people to rise step by step in life, carrying connotations of celebration and good fortune.

　　The Northern Shaanxi New Year cake generally falls under the category of northern-style New Year cakes. Northern New Year cakes are made from soft glutinous rice—also called soft yellow rice or soft broomcorn millet—as well as wine valley rice, also known as soft millet. In some areas, glutinous rice, also called soft rice, is used to make New Year cakes. As a result, there are yellow and white versions symbolizing gold and silver, as well as meanings representing good luck and happiness. Due to the use of different sticky grains, there are various methods, names, styles, and ways of eating. There are roughly two main methods for making Northern Shaanxi New Year cakes: steaming and frying. In addition to steaming and frying, southern New Year cakes may also be pan-fried in slices or cooked in soup.