Hexi amaranth seed cake: Delicacy of homesickness

When they prepare food for the spring festival, people in Hexi Town, west Yunnan’s Lanping County often make some amaranth seed cakes in traditional ways.

When it comes to delicacies in hometowns, they often arouse many people’s childhood memories and make some of them homesick. In Hexi Township, west Yunnan’s Lanping County, there is a delicacy—the amaranth seed cake. In preparing food for the spring festival, the local Hexi people often make some amaranth seed cakes. Firstly, they hull the amaranth seeds in traditional ways, and steam the seeds after washing them clean. And then the steamed seeds are pounded into paste, which is made into cakes. When it is time to eat the cakes, local people often bake or deep-fry them. Tasting soft but less sticky than glutinous rice cakes, they are usually served on the family reunion banquet during the lunar new year eve.