Longyou Fermented Rice Cake
A tall, pale, honeycombed cake of fermented rice batter sweetened with sugar and enriched with lard, steamed in a round tin and cut into wedges, soft and faintly sour.
How to eat it
The cake is sold whole and cut at home into wedges or thick slices. It is best warm, so steam a slice for a few minutes or heat it briefly in a pan; some people fry slices in a little oil until the surface crisps. Eat it with your fingers or chopsticks. The texture is spongy with an open crumb, and it is sweet enough on its own without dipping. It keeps for a few days at room temperature and longer refrigerated, which is why it travels well as a gift. Do not expect it to taste like a Western sponge; the rice-wine tang is part of it.
The story behind the dish
Longyou, a county west of the city, has made this cake for generations as a New Year food. The name plays on the character for rising, which also means prospering, so a cake that rose well was read as a good omen for the year ahead. The batter is leavened with a rice-wine starter rather than yeast, which gives the faint sourness and the characteristic large bubbles. The making technique is recognised as local intangible heritage, and the cake is now produced year-round for visitors, though households still steam their own around the Spring Festival.
For reference
Every kitchen does it its own way. What follows is the typical version — ingredients, heat and price shift from city to city and from one restaurant to the next, so take it as a guide rather than a fixed recipe.
If you have an allergy or something you can't eat, check with the staff before you order.