Introduction to Guangxi Snacks
Guangxi snacks share a common origin with dim sum and have a long history. Qu Dajun's "New Discourses on Guangdong" records many types of folk delicacies, such as Fenguo (steamed dumplings with various fillings), Sa Weng (fried twisted dough fritters), Zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings), and Bo Chui (crispy fried wafers), many of which are still popular today.
Guangxi snacks belong to the Lingnan culinary style and mostly originate from the folk, having been passed down to become traditional famous foods. There is a distinction between modern Guangxi snacks and dim sum. Snacks specifically refer to the small rice and flour-based foods sold in small street-side shops, which are relatively simple to make. Dim sum, on the other hand, refers to the wide variety of items served in tea houses and during morning tea, as well as "special weekend dim sum," characterized by a large variety of styles and exquisite presentation.
There is a distinction between modern Guangxi snacks and dim sum. Although the variety of snacks is not as extensive as dim sum, they use a wider range of ingredients. Snacks specifically refer to the small rice and flour-based foods sold in small street-side shops, which are relatively simple to make. Dim sum, on the other hand, refers to the wide variety of items served in tea houses and during morning tea, as well as "special weekend dim sum," characterized by a large variety of styles and exquisite presentation.
The cooking methods for Guangxi snacks are mainly steaming, pan-frying, boiling, and deep-frying. They can be divided into six categories: Oil-Fried Products, which are deep-fried snacks made from rice, flour, and various grains, each with its own unique flavor; Cakes and Pastries, primarily made from rice and flour, with some grains, all steamed until cooked, and can be divided into fermented and non-fermented types; Rice and Flour Noodles, made from rice and flour, mostly boiled; Congee, with a wide variety of names, which are usually named after their ingredients or their unique flavor; Sweet Snacks, referring to various sweet-flavored snack items that do not include pastries or cakes, with ingredients including eggs, milk, and the roots, stems, stalks, flowers, fruits, and kernels of plants; and Miscellaneous Foods, which include anything not in the above categories, named for their wide variety of ingredients, and are known for being inexpensive and having diverse flavors.
Introduction to Guangxi Snacks: Crispy Skin Lotus Seed Paste Bun, E-jie Fen Guo (Steamed Dumplings with Pork and Shrimp), Water Chestnut Cake, Lunjiao Cake, Honeycomb Taro Puffs, Soup-filled Crab Roe Dumplings, Thin-skinned Fresh Shrimp Dumplings, Steamed Shumai, Shahe Rice Noodles, Lotus Leaf Rice, Ji Zhou Congee (Congee with offal and various ingredients), and Ting Zai Zhou (Boat Congee).