Yan'an Oil Cake

Yan'an Oil Cake

　　Yan'an Oil Cake is a specialty of Baota District in Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province. Also known as New Year Cake or Date Cake, this local delicacy is one of the most representative snacks in Northern Shaanxi. Made from broomcorn millet and jujubes, it is deep-fried in plant oil, resulting in a fragrant, delicate, sweet, and delicious taste.

　　Back then, when the Central Red Army successfully arrived in Northern Shaanxi, the people of Yan'an served Oil Cake to welcome the Red Army soldiers. This is vividly depicted in the Northern Shaanxi folk song "The Red Blooms of Mountain Darnel Are Brilliant." Oil Cake is commonly seen during festivals or when entertaining relatives and friends, especially at wedding banquets. It is usually served on a plate with ten pieces per plate, each costing 0.5 yuan. It is best enjoyed with white sugar and flour soup, offering an excellent flavor. The cake has a golden color, is soft and delicate, and retains its color and quality over time, making it a natural green food. Soft-grain millet or Job’s tears millet is soaked in cold water, ground into coarse powder, steamed in a basket, taken out and kneaded, then mixed with mashed jujubes to make Date Cake. It has a golden color, a soft and palatable texture, a fragrant taste, and leaves a lingering aftertaste. It is also highly nutritious. Various hotels and restaurants offer it as a local specialty.