Qingtuan
Green glutinous rice cakes with sweet or savoury fillings, traditionally eaten around the Qingming season.
How to eat it
The glutinous wrapper is very sticky, so take small bites rather than putting a whole cake into your mouth.
The story behind the dish
Plant juice colours the glutinous rice dough green, linking these cakes with spring and the Qingming period. The name simply means “green round cake,” although modern shapes and fillings now vary widely. Sweet red bean paste has long been common, while Shanghai shops also sell savoury versions filled with pork, salted egg yolk or spring vegetables.
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.