Qingming Cake: Guizhou Tujia's time-honored festive delicacy

Qingming Cake is a traditional delicacy that the Tujia people of Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in southwest China's Guizhou Province cannot live without around the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4 this year. From picking the cudweed to steaming, it takes more than 10 procedures to make. Its main ingredients are fresh and tender cudweed, glutinous rice flour and rice flour, while the filling is made of diced tofu, wild onions and chili peppers.

First of all, pick the newly sprouted tender leaves of the cudweed. Once picked, the cudweed should be washed immediately with clean water while it's still fresh. At the same time, soak the glutinous rice in advance. Subsequently, pound the glutinous rice and the cudweed together. The beaten glutinous rice is then filtered through a sieve, making it more delicate, which is the key to ensuring that the Qingming Cake is soft and glutinous when eaten. Next, cook the cudweed until it's fully fried. Then, pour the glutinous rice flour and rice flour into a basin and stir them evenly. Add the chopped cudweed and slowly pour it in an appropriate amount of warm water. Then knead the mixture into a smooth dough that doesn't stick to the hands and has a moderate texture and consistency. Divide the kneaded dough into appropriately sized dough balls. Wrap the deep-fried tofu cubes, wild onions, and chili peppers into the dough balls. Roll the cakes into a round shape, which symbolizes family reunion, happiness, and good health. Finally, steam them.

Passed down from generation to generation, the technique of making Qingming Cake transforms the tender shoots from the mountains into the taste of spring that lingers on the tip of the tongue, allowing the gifts of nature and the legacy of culture to blend perfectly at the dexterous fingertips of the Tujia people. This touch of green is not only a nod to the people's ancestors, but also a symbol of anticipation for a family reunion.