Huangling Oil Cake

Huangling Oil Cake

　　Huangling Oil Cake

　　Huangling Oil Cake Association

　　The Huangling Oil Cake is round as a pancake, shaped like a drum, colored like bronze, and fragrant to the nose. It is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet, fragrant, and delicious.

　　The Huangling Oil Cake is made from locally sourced soft millet flour and edible oil. The main ingredients are Huangling’s local soft millet flour and cooking oil.

　　The production process involves milling, fermenting, and then deep-frying. Specifically, the fermented soft millet dough is steamed directly in a pot until cooked. After removal from the pot, it is rolled into oval strips, left to cool, and then sliced into thin pieces. These slices are then deep-fried in boiling oil until they turn yellow. The finished oil cakes are sticky, soft, moist, and flavorful—sweet and aromatic. A sprinkle of white sugar while eating helps lower blood pressure and clear internal heat, making them truly unforgettable. Thanks to the frying process, they are also easy to preserve, making them an excellent gift for family and friends.

　　The Legend of Huangling Oil Cake

　　After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, imperial mausoleums such as the Xianling, Zhuangling, and Duanling were built in the northern plateau region of Sanyuan. As a result, this area became an important site for the Tang royal family to visit the tombs and engage in hunting. The road from Chang’an to the mausoleum area saw a constant flow of people all year round. Along this road was a village located about eighty to ninety li south of Chang’an and twenty to thirty li north of the plateau, which became an important resting spot for the emperor during his travels.

　　Due to the construction of the mausoleums, “Wangdian” quickly transformed from a sparsely populated village into a place frequently visited by nobles, officials, merchants, and the wealthy. This led to the rise of trade, markets, and material exchanges, turning it into a bustling “Wangdian Market.” In the Wangdian Market, there was a small shop that specialized in making oil cakes. The oil cakes produced there had a puffed crust, were crispy, tender, and flaky, with a sweet, soft, and fragrant filling. One day, Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was out hunting in the northern plateau, tasted the oil cake and praised it. The shop’s fame soared, and its oil cakes gained widespread popularity. This Wangdian is now known as Huangling, and thus the Huangling Oil Cake became a unique and distinctive delicacy. When you visit Huangling, be sure to try the Huangling Oil Cake.