Rice Snacks · FFET10276
Zi fan tuan (sticky rice roll)
Warm glutinous rice rolled tight around youtiao, pork floss and pickled vegetables, a breakfast made to order in the lower Yangtze region.
A white porcelain plate holds rolls of glutinous rice and short-grain white rice enclosing golden youtiao, pork floss and pickled radish strips, with black sesame on the rice, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the plate.
Cakes and snacks made from rice and rice flour.
Zi fan tuan is a breakfast of warm glutinous rice rolled tight around a youtiao, filled with pork floss and pickled vegetables, or with sugar and sesame for a sweet version. It is a breakfast snack of Jiangsu and Zhejiang; southern Jiangsu and Shanghai call it zi fan tuan, while Nanjing calls it zheng fan. Shanghai immigrants brought it to Hong Kong and Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century; the 2022 English-language article on Nanjing establishes only that it existed by then, and no earlier dated record was found.
What
Zi fan tuan is a hand-pressed breakfast: warm glutinous rice is spread out, a crisp youtiao is set in the middle with pork floss and pickled vegetables, or with sugar and sesame, and the whole is rolled and pressed tight. It is a breakfast snack of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, called zheng fan bao youtiao in Nanjing.1,2,3,4
When
Shanghai immigrants brought it to Hong Kong and Taiwan in the first half of the 20th century. The 2022 English-language article on Nanjing establishes only that it existed by then, gives no earlier record, and leaves its exact date of origin uncertain.1,2
Where
It is eaten in Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and Nanjing: southern Jiangsu and Shanghai call it zi fan tuan, and Nanjing calls it zheng fan. Immigrants from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai brought it to Hong Kong, and Shanghai immigrants also took it to Taiwan. A recipe attributes its origin to Shanghai, but that remains a recipe author's claim; its city of origin is uncertain.1,2,3,4
How
Hot steamed glutinous rice is spread on a cloth, wrapped around a youtiao with pork floss and pickled vegetables (or sugar and sesame), and rolled tight. It is made to order at the stall. At home, plastic wrap and a rolling mat often replace the cloth: one method cooks glutinous and white rice together in a rice cooker, while another soaks glutinous rice for 8 to 10 hours before steaming it.1,2,3,4
Why
It is a lower Yangtze breakfast made to order, with rice wrapped around fried dough.2
Impact and influence
It is still a common breakfast in Shanghai, and versions with pork floss, egg or grilled meat now appear in convenience stores and fast-food chains.2
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is my simplified home version. I read two recipes that name their authors: one cooks glutinous and white rice together in a rice cooker, the other soaks glutinous rice for 8 to 10 hours and steams it. The rice, water and fillings follow the former (a cup is a US cup, about 240 ml); the soak-and-steam method goes in the tips. Both recipes roll with plastic wrap, and the small amounts of filling are my own choices.
Ingredients
- Glutinous rice 1 cup
- Short- or medium-grain white rice 1/2 cup
- Water 1 1/2 cups
- Youtiao (Chinese fried dough sticks) 2
- Pork floss about 1 cup, shared between the 2 rolls
- Pickled radish strips a few strips, to taste; my own choice
- Black sesame seeds a small pinch, toasted; my own choice
Steps
- Rinse the glutinous and white rice together, put them in a rice cooker with 1 1/2 cups of water and cook until done; the proportions follow the former recipe.
- Toast the black sesame in a dry pan over low heat until fragrant and set it aside.
- Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on a rolling mat and, while the rice is hot, spread half of it out and press it into a rectangle.
- Set 1 youtiao along the middle (fold it if it is too long) and scatter pork floss, pickled radish and sesame over it.
- Using the mat and plastic wrap, roll the rice up tight and pinch the ends shut. Make the second roll from the other half and eat them warm.
Tips
- The other recipe soaks the glutinous rice for 8 to 10 hours before steaming and says to keep the finished rolls at room temperature, not in the refrigerator; when I have the time, I try that method.
- Before rolling, I warm the youtiao in a pan to crisp it up; that is my own habit.
Allergens: wheat, soy, sesame