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Zeng gao (Xi'an steamed rice cakes with jujube)
蒸糕: little cups of steamed sticky-rice crumb layered with red date paste, served on a stick
Walk the lanes of Huimin Jie in Xi'an in the late afternoon and you will see small round cakes steaming in stacked cups, then flipped out and speared onto bamboo sticks for children heading home from school. They are made from glutinous rice flour rubbed to a damp crumb, layered with sweet jujube paste and steamed until the crumb fuses into a soft, springy cake with a dark red stripe through the middle. They are lightly sweet, chewy and best eaten warm. Chef's tip: rub the flour with water until it just clumps when squeezed, then sieve it, because a light, airy crumb is what makes the cake tender.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 7 oz glutinous rice flour
- 3 ½ oz rice flour
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- ¾ cup wateradd gradually
- 1 tsp neutral oilfor the cups
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 7 oz glutinous rice flour, 3 ½ oz rice flour and 2 tbsp white sugar in a bowl.
2 minStep 2: Sprinkle in ¾ cup water a tablespoon at a time, rubbing the flour between your fingertips. Stop when the mixture looks like damp sand and holds together when squeezed but still breaks apart when poked. Common mistake: adding the water all at once; a wet dough steams into a gluey lump instead of a light cake.
10 minStep 3: Push the crumb through a coarse sieve to break up any lumps. Brush 8 small cups or ramekins with 1 tsp neutral oil.
5 minStep 4: Divide 7 oz red date (jujube) paste into 8 and flatten each into a disc slightly smaller than the cups.
Step 5: Spoon a layer of crumb into each cup, lay in a disc of jujube paste and cover with more crumb. Level the top with a knife without pressing down.
Step 6: Steam over boiling water on a high heat for 20–25 minutes, until the crumb has turned slightly translucent and there are no white, powdery patches left.
25 minStep 7: Rest for 5 minutes, run a knife round the edge, turn out and push a bamboo stick into each cake. Serve warm.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 47 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zeng gao (Xi'an steamed rice cakes with jujube) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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