Rice and jujube cake (Zeng cake)(甑糕) is a famous Han snack in Shaanxi Xi’an. Zeng is an old steamer in ancient times, and there are ceramic, copper, iron, etc., after folk tradition, the iron Zeng has preserved today. As the name implies, "steamer (Zeng) cake" is a snack use red dates and rice as raw material, steamed the "cake", hence the name.
Rice and jujube cake has a long history. According to legend, a few hundred years ago, it was imported from Shaanxi. The steamer has a hole in the bottom, it can be placed on the ancient cooking pot to steam food. The first performance of the ancient steamer is in its cooking. And the cake is steamed on the oldest "caldron" which is evolved from the ancient steamer (Zeng). It is also the reason why the cake got its name. Ceramic steamer can cook cake with the best quality.
In addition to cookware of old steamer cake, it also evolved from China over 3,000 years ago in Western Zhou Dynasty prince dedicated food " fried glutinous rice cake". The fried glutinous rice cake is a kind of cake made by glutinous rice powder and sweetened bean filling. In the beginning, the cake did not have jujube. In Tang Dynasty, the cake developed into rice and jujube cake.
After Tang and Song dynasties, there were more and more varieties of cakes. There are wheat flour cake, rice cake, beans cake, fruits and vegetables cake. Even glutinous rice cake, in terms of shape and taste, there are so many dozens types. Various cake has its own name. Some of the cakes are in the name of materials, some are in the name of the shape, and steamer cake is in the name of cookware.
Because dates and rice are nutrient-rich, nourishing the body, thus steamer cake is loved by all sectors of consumers. General Feng Yuxiang then praised the "Xi'an steamer cake" as "civilian sectors of jelly." In Xi'an, Shaanxi regions people are used to eat rice and jujube cake in the breakfast. Villagers go to the market to attend the street market would eat a plate of steamer cake. When they return home, they would buy one or two plates of steamer cake, wrapped with tiger leaf, so that their families can share the delicious food when they come back home.
Add on: Steamed Mutton
Dumplings Feast
Biangbiang Noodles
Chinese Hamburger
Sophie

