green cake

[lilyhotel]

Qingtuan (Chinese: 青团, literally "green cake") is a traditional Chinese dish.

This food, which looks like a round green stone, is made of rice, black bean paste and a special plant called maiqing (麦青) (barnyard grass shoots).

The exact technique in making qingtuan is quite complicated.

Barnyard grass shoots are edible only in spring, so this food is eaten for the annual Qingming Festival, which falls around April 5 in the Gregorian Calendar.

Edited March 3, 2009 by lilyhotel (log)

[melamed]

Qingtuan (Chinese: 青团, literally "green cake") is a traditional Chinese dish.

This food, which looks like a round green stone, is made of rice, black bean paste and a special plant called maiqing (麦青) (barnyard grass shoots).

The exact technique in making qingtuan is quite complicated.

Barnyard grass shoots are edible only in spring, so this food is eaten for the annual Qingming Festival, which falls around April 5 in the Gregorian Calendar.

←

Looks pretty interesting, what does it taste like and how is it made? The shell looks

spongy. Is is a popular snack in many regions of China? I have been China for a short trip in September and ate moon cakes, which, besides the shape, seem very different from green cake.

[lilyhotel]

Qingtuan (Chinese: 青团, literally "green cake") is a traditional Chinese dish.

This food, which looks like a round green stone, is made of rice, black bean paste and a special plant called maiqing (麦青) (barnyard grass shoots).

The exact technique in making qingtuan is quite complicated.

Barnyard grass shoots are edible only in spring, so this food is eaten for the annual Qingming Festival, which falls around April 5 in the Gregorian Calendar.

←

Looks pretty interesting, what does it taste like and how is it made? The shell looks

spongy. Is is a popular snack in many regions of China? I have been China for a short trip in September and ate moon cakes, which, besides the shape, seem very different from green cake.

←

spongy,glutinous and sweet, just like cake .

It is only popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang province of China.

[melamed]

Barnyard grass shoots are edible only in spring, so this food is eaten for the annual Qingming Festival, which falls around April 5 in the Gregorian Calendar.

←

Does the green symbolize anything? I once visited a Persian friend and couldn't help but notice wilting lettuce, parsley and other green leaves on every door knob of the house, which I thought very bizarre. She explained that during the spring holidays it is a tradition and that it symbolizes new growth and health.

Edited March 5, 2009 by melamed (log)

[Ce'nedra]

I read in passing once that these green ball/cakes are part of Hakka cuisine. I'm probably wrong though...my memory isn't exactly my best quality.

[prasantrin]

They look like Japanese kusamochi. I don't think kusamochi are steamed, though I could be very wrong (I've never made it).

Kusamochi is made with mugwort, aka huang hua ai in Chinese, or Artemisia princeps (according to Wiki). Any relationship to maiqing?

[Naftal]

Hello- Personally, when you wrote "green stone", I thought of jade.And that is a good thing.

Edited March 7, 2009 by Naftal (log)