Butterfly Sanzi

Butterfly Sanzi

　　Xuzhou’s butterfly sanzi is beloved for its crispy texture, balanced saltiness, delicate strands, and melt-in-your-mouth quality. These beautifully shaped sanzi offer a delightful taste. During his tenure in Xuzhou, Su Dongpo enjoyed this snack, writing in his poem “Ode to Hanju”: “Slender hands roll jade-like strands long and fine, fried golden in emerald oil so deep; one night’s light slumber pressed them flat, like gold bracelets worn by beauties on their sleep.” (“Hanju” was an alternative name for sanzi during the Han Dynasty)

　　Sanzi is also commonly used by locals as a form of traditional medicine. For example, in Xuzhou folk remedies, sanzi is often soaked in broth along with Corydalis yanhusuo and Melia toosendan to treat children’s urinary blockage; or served in broth with baked Sanguisorba officinalis and goat blood to relieve persistent red dysentery. Especially for postpartum women, drinking brown sugar tea with sanzi during the confinement period helps dissipate blood stasis in the abdomen. However, the most favored way to enjoy sanzi in Xuzhou is to wrap it in baked flatbread (lamo) along with thin porridge — a comforting and satisfying meal.

　　　Xuzhou’s butterfly sanzi is beloved for its crispy texture, balanced saltiness, delicate strands, and melt-in-your-mouth quality.

　　　　Xuzhou’s butterfly sanzi is beautifully shaped and offers a delightful taste. During his tenure in Xuzhou, Su Dongpo enjoyed this snack, writing in his poem “Ode to Hanju”: “Slender hands roll jade-like strands long and fine, fried golden in emerald oil so deep; one night’s light slumber pressed them flat, like gold bracelets worn by beauties on their sleep.” (“Hanju” was an alternative name for sanzi during the Han Dynasty)

　　　　Sanzi is also commonly used by locals as a form of traditional medicine. For example, in Xuzhou folk remedies, sanzi is often soaked in broth along with Corydalis yanhusuo and Melia toosendan to treat children’s urinary blockage; or served in broth with baked Sanguisorba officinalis and goat blood to relieve persistent red dysentery. Especially for postpartum women, drinking brown sugar tea with sanzi during the confinement period helps dissipate blood stasis in the abdomen.

　　　　However, the most favored way to enjoy sanzi in Xuzhou is to wrap it in baked flatbread (lamo) along with thin porridge — a comforting and satisfying meal.