Good Luck Food: Villagers prepare red rice cakes for Spring Festival

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With most holidays, comes food. In southwest China's Guizhou province, local residents of Sinan County are already preparing a tasty spread for the Chinese Lunar New Year. And, one of the most prominent items on their menu is the Hua Tian Ba cake. Check it out.

Apart from decorating their window panes and door frames with crimson papercuts and couplets, people in Sinan county have a distinctive ritual for their Spring Festival revelry. That is the carving of the Hua Tian Ba, also known as the Florid Sweet Cake.

Once cut cross-wise, the inimitable rice cake displays a unique red pattern resembling the shape of a blossoming flower. The sweet dish is de rigeur for local dinners during the Spring Festival season.

Mr. Li Wenyi is a chef specializing in making Hua Tian Ba. Years of experience have made him a master of the craft.

The process begins with boiling the main ingredient, rice. A blend of regular rice and sticky rice has to be boiled on the stove, before the paste goes into the churn to produce a smooth and firm dough.

After being rolled into a thick flat piece, the chef applies an even layer of red syrupy liquid, which is extracted from an edible plant found in the region.

Further folding and applications of the red color will generate the distinctive pattern concealed inside the cake. The final product will be divided into one-pound portions and steamed in a special oven.

According to Li Wenyi, in the weeks leading to the Spring Festival, his shop produces more than 150 kilograms of the rice cake every day. All of them sell fast.

In Sinan county, the Hua Tian Ba is also considered an auspicious gift during the Spring Festival. In recent years, this traditional food has spread to neighboring regions. Last year, it began to travel farther afield, thanks to China's booming online retail sector.