Wu'an Mini Sesame Candy

Wu'an Mini Sesame Candy

　　Wu'an Mini Sesame Candy is a specialty of Wu'an City, Handan, Hebei Province. It is a unique festive food that locals in Wu'an must have during the Chinese New Year. Chewy, crispy, flaky, and sweet — it’s beloved by both the elderly and children.

　　It is a unique festive food in Wu'an. Similar to how many places fry New Year’s rice cakes, every household in Wu'an fries mini sesame candies at the start of the year. The first step is to prepare the dough starter: mix some yeast (old dough) with white flour using warm water, cover it, and let it ferment in a warm place for about one night. The next day, add more white flour, persimmons or white sugar, a small amount of alkaline powder, and a few eggs to the fermented dough, then continue kneading. Set the kneaded dough aside to rest. Once rested, roll the dough into a large long strip with some oil added during rolling, then use a knife to cut the strip into small pieces about 3 cm wide and 5 cm long. At the same time, make a small slit in the middle of each piece. Stack two slitted pieces on top of each other, pinch one end, and pull the other end through the middle slit to twist them slightly into a braided, mini sesame candy shaped like a twist. When frying, use high heat and watch the timing carefully to avoid burning. Once done, scoop them out with a strainer. They are characterized by being fragrant, crispy, flaky, and sweet. In the past, families would make a lot and enjoy them until the second day of the second lunar month, though now they seem to make less. This is because the candy tends to go stale after a while. They can be eaten as is, soaked, toasted, or steamed.