At the table
Let a freshly fried cake cool slightly, then break off small pieces. It can be shared or eaten with tea; the rice center is sticky.
Do not assume gluten-free: some versions contain wheat starch. Check the fat used if avoiding pork.
Ask about lard in the dough as well as the frying oil; appearance does not reveal the fat.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Some doughs include wheat starch and lard. The frying fat and type of sugar coating vary.
Typical ingredients
In some versions
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Sweet rice flavor with a light fried aroma.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Lightly crisp outside, soft and chewy within.
- How it’s made
- Rice-flour dough is rolled and folded into loops, fried, then coated with sugar.
Some doughs include wheat starch and lard. The frying fat and type of sugar coating vary.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Jiangxi.
About this regional connection
Jiangxi: Nanchang fried glutinous-rice cake, not steamed white-sugar cake.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有南昌白糖糕吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A sweet with tea
White-sugar cakes belong to Nanchang’s street-snack and tea-house traditions. Their coiled shape and chewy rice center distinguish them from sponge cakes.