🍽️ Tianshui Guagua

Buckwheat mush with chili, Gansu breakfast.

Tianshui Guagua is a traditional breakfast of Tianshui, Gansu, a flavor of the Longshou region. Buckwheat starch is mixed into a batter, simmered thick and cooled into a block; served torn into small pieces and tossed with chili oil, sesame paste, garlic water, vinegar and salt. The texture is glutinous, smooth and soft, cool yet springy, with sour, spicy and savory layers that wake up the appetite and fill the stomach. Tianshui locals commonly start the morning with a bowl of guagua alongside fried dough sticks or flatbread; it is one of the most common breakfasts on the streets of southeastern Gansu. Served cold and simply dressed, it is surprisingly addictive; that buckwheat aroma with sour-spicy heat is a street taste of this Longshou ancient city that has continued for years.