Shaanxi's liangpi: wheat starch or rice batter steamed into thin sheets, cooled, cut into strips and dressed with chili oil, vinegar, garlic and cucumber.
A shallow white porcelain bowl holds wide, milky-white liangpi strips tossed with bright green cucumber strips, glossy red chili oil and a little dark vinegar pooling below, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
Foods made by steaming a rice batter, or a wheat batter with the gluten washed out, into a thin skin and cutting it into strips, usually dressed and eaten cold.
Liangpi is a cold dish of Shaanxi: wheat starch or rice batter is steamed into thin sheets, cooled, cut into strips and dressed with chili oil, vinegar, garlic and cucumber, often with pieces of gluten and sesame paste. Guanzhong is the main area where it is made, and Qinzhen (now in Huyi District, Xi'an), Qishan and Hanzhong each have a different style. No dated text was found; the Qin Shi Huang and Kangxi stories are tales with no source, and a claim from the Qishan county gazetteer appears in a 2024 report, though the original was not consulted. The Qinzhen rice-skin craft was listed in Shaanxi's provincial heritage list in 2007 and Xi'an's municipal list in 2008.
What
Liangpi are cold, steamed sheets of wheat starch or rice batter, cut into strips and dressed with chili oil, vinegar, garlic and cucumber, often with pieces of gluten and sesame paste.1,6,7,8,9
When
No dated text was found. The Qin Shi Huang and Kangxi stories are undated tradition. The claim that Qishan rolled skin originated in the Tang Zhenguan era comes from a 2024 report citing the Qishan county gazetteer; the original was not consulted, so this remains second-hand. The related heritage listings date from 2007 to 2011.1,2,3,4,5,6,10
Where
Shaanxi, especially Guanzhong. Qinzhen (now Huyi District, Xi'an), Qishan (Baoji) and Hanzhong each have a distinct style.1,2,3,5,6,10
How
Qinzhen's rice skin is steamed thin from long-grain rice batter. The common Guanzhong style is steamed from wheat starch slurry, with the gluten steamed separately. Qishan's rolled skin is rolled out and depends on fermentation. The cooled sheets are cut into strips and dressed.1,2,3,5,7,8,9
Why
It is eaten as a cooling dish in warm weather. Hanzhong liangpi is often served hot, and hot liangpi is mostly eaten in winter.6,7,10
Impact and influence
The Qinzhen rice-skin craft was listed in Shaanxi's provincial heritage list in 2007 and Xi'an's municipal list in 2008. Liangpi has become a common fast-food snack across China; Wei Jia Liangpi is a chain headquartered in Xi'an. Store-monitoring figures published in July 2026 put it at about 293 stores in 16 provinces as of June 2026.1,2,3,6,11
Legend has it that in a drought under Qin Shi Huang the rice grains were poor, and Li Shi'er, a farmer in Qinzhen, ground them to paste, steamed it into thin sheets, cut them and offered them to the court, where the emperor liked them. Locals also say the steaming on the 23rd day of lunar January each year honors him.
Told in: An oral tradition of the Qinzhen area, now in Huyi District, Xi'an; a 2010 essay records it, and English Wikipedia says the story has no date or source.
The Qishan Cook in the Imperial Kitchen
Legend has it that Wang Tongren of Qishan made wheat noodle sheets in the imperial kitchen in the Kangxi years. Back home he went into the noodle-sheet snack trade, the sheets spread through Guanzhong from there, and the name yujing fen is said to come from this.
Told in: A tale of the Qishan area (Baoji); Chinese Wikipedia relays it as hearsay without naming a source.
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Liangpi are made in several ways in Shaanxi, and some call for washing the dough to separate the starch and gluten, which takes about five hours. This is my simpler home version: I skip washing out the gluten and steam a plain batter of flour and water, so there are no gluten pieces. The amounts are my own choices at home; the batter ratio follows one batter-style recipe and the dressing follows another. I also choose the steaming time myself, because the recipes I read range from a few dozen seconds to about 2 minutes.
Ingredients
All-purpose flour 250 g
Water 500 g, plus water for the steamer
Salt 1.5 g, about a pinch
Cooking oil 2 tablespoons, for greasing the pan and the sheets
Cucumber 1, cut into thin strips
Garlic 3 cloves, crushed
Cooled boiled water 3 tablespoons, about 45 ml
Light soy sauce 1 tablespoon, about 15 ml
Black vinegar 2 tablespoons, about 30 ml
Chili oil 1 tablespoon, about 15 ml
Sesame oil 1 teaspoon, about 5 ml
Steps
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, add the water in several additions and whisk into a smooth thin batter with no lumps. Sieve it twice and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Bring the water in the steamer to a boil. Take a shallow flat-bottomed pan, brush it with a thin layer of oil and set it in the steamer.
Stir the batter, spoon some into the pan and tilt the pan so it spreads in a thin layer, then cover and steam. I choose the time myself: I watch for the surface to puff up and turn translucent, usually about 1 1/2 minutes, and lift a corner to check it is set.
Lift out the pan and float it on a bowl of cold water to cool. When the sheet has cooled, peel it off and set it on an oiled plate, brushing a thin layer of oil between sheets so they do not stick.
Repeat until the batter is used up. Stack the sheets and cut them into strips about 1 to 1.5 cm wide.
Mix the crushed garlic with the cooled boiled water to make garlic water. Put the strips in a large bowl with the cucumber, garlic water, soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil and sesame oil, toss well, taste, and add a little more vinegar or salt if needed.
Tips
I bring the water to a boil before I set the pan in; this is my own way.
The seasoning amounts are my own taste; I start light on the sour and the hot and add more after tasting.
