Top 10 Yichang snacks

By Ma Yuhan, Yichang International Communication Studio

1. Radish Dumplings (萝卜饺子)
Coated in a soft and crispy batter with a hint of salt, these dumplings consist of a soft radish on the surface. They’re a perfect blend of salty, spicy, numbing and fragrant.

2. Red Oil Noodles (红油小面)

Seasoned with vinegar, red oil, ginger, and scallion, red oil noodles traditionally call for fresh alkaline noodles (Jian碱 Mian面), which have an excellent texture: slippery, springy and elastic. These noodles may appear spicy due to the vibrant red color of the broth, however, they might not always be as hot as you’d imagine. The chili oil in the bowl is super aromatic, making for an irresistible dish.

3. Deep-Fried Ciba Pancake (糍粑油饼)
Deep-fried until golden brown, these pancakes are made from steamed glutinous rice mixed with salt, pepper, chili powder, and minced ginger to form a sticky rice cake (Ciba糍粑). The Ciba is then wrapped with fermented dough, rolled into a flat disc shape, and punctured with a knife in the center to prepare for frying.

4. Pine Needle Buns (松针包子)

Unlike traditional buns, pine needle buns are steamed on top of a layer of pine needles, adding a wonderful aroma and also acting as a non-stick liner, preventing buns from sticking to the steamer. 

5.Cold Shrimp Jelly（凉虾）
This smooth, refreshing, soft, and sweet dish commonly found in Yichang, is made by draining rice pulp through a colander into a basin of cool water. The snack gets its name from its thin “head and tail,” resembling a shrimp. The jelly is often paired with brown sugar syrup.

6.Fried Glutinous Rice Strips (金果条)

Made with just alkaline water and glutinous rice dough kneaded thoroughly and shaped into strips, this snack is simply fried until golden brown and coated with a layer of  powdered sugar.

7.Ding Ding Cake (顶顶糕)
This fragrantly sweet and delectable cake is made by mixing rice flour and brown sugar, then packing the mixture into a specially crafted cylindrical wooden steaming tube. The tube is placed over the mouth of a pot of boiling water, allowing for the dense steam to cook the mixture for two to three minutes.

8.Triangular Rice Dumplings (屈乡三角粽)
Stack the reed leaves into a funnel shape, pour in glutinous rice, and place a red date inside. Then just tie off the dumplings with a cotton thread, wrap them into triangle shapes, and after being boiled, all the ingredients will stick together, staying in a particular shape when unwrapped.

9.Fried Sugar Cake (油香儿)

Fried sugar cake, or Youxiang’er (meaning “oily aroma”), is a popular snack in Xingshan County deriving its name from the odor given off when fried. Made of wheat flour, the cakes are wrapped in a brown or white sugar which melts into syrup when fried in the pan. Sugar is added to both the outer dough covering and the filling, giving them their extremely sweet taste.

10.“Strange Stones” of The Three Gorges (三峡奇石)
Of course not real stones, this original delicacy was created by Yichang Taohualing Hotel, based on traditional tangyuan (汤圆). Similar to traditional glutinous rice balls, the “stones” are made with unique colors, patterns and shapes and make for a sticky, sweet, smooth snack unlike any other. 



Pan Huimin, Jie Xingwei contributed the original Chinese story for this report. Photo by Zhang Ning.