Xi'an
🍽️ Zeng Cake
Introduction:
Glutinous rice with dates steamed overnight.
Detailed Introduction:
Zeng Cake is a traditional breakfast of Xi'an, Shaanxi, named after the zeng, an ancient clay steamer. Glutinous rice and red dates, often with red beans and raisins, are layered in the steamer and cooked for hours, sometimes overnight. The result is a glutinous, pudding-like mass in which the dates have melted into a sweet, jammy richness woven through the rice — sweet but not cloying. Vendors sell it from street carts, slicing through to reveal layers of white and red before serving a bowl with extra sugar or osmanthus. Warm, filling and sticky-sweet, it is the familiar morning taste of old Xi'an, especially welcome in cool weather, and a common sight steaming along the Muslim quarter.
