Description
A traditional cake with a mysterious texture, made by packing rice flour and peanut (or sesame) powder into a wooden mold, placing it over a boiling kettle nozzle, and steaming instantly in seconds.
Restaurants serving Zhuangyuan Gao (Scholar's Cake)
Researching
We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Glutinous rice flour
- Zailai rice flour
- Peanut powder
- Black sesame powder
- Sugar
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- [Dough Powder] Blend glutinous and Zailai rice flour in an exquisite ratio, dampen slightly, and sift through a fine sieve into a dry 'powder' (the biggest feature is not kneading with water).
- Prepare 'peanut powder (Hua Sheng)' and 'black sesame powder (Zhi Ma)' mixed with sugar as fillings.
- [Stall Performance] Prepare a special kettle (or boiler) where boiling water shoots powerful steam 'Pshhh!' from a thin nozzle.
- In a small hat-shaped wooden mold, put half the rice powder, top with peanut (or sesame) powder in the center, and cover with more rice powder, flattening it.
- 'Pop' this wooden mold directly onto the steaming kettle nozzle.
- The powerful steam passes through the rice powder gaps, steaming it solid instantly in just '10-
- seconds'.
- Remove mold, push out with a bamboo stick to finish.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Peanut and Black sesame aroma
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Irreplaceable (due to instant steam-setting method)
Pairing
Warm Tea(Must have)
Trivia
[For Everyone] An auspicious sweet named because its shape resembles the hat of the top scholar (Zhuangyuan) in ancient imperial exams. The vendor's rhythmic 'pshhh' steaming performance is an intangible cultural landscape of Taiwan night markets.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Enjoy the freshly steamed piping hot cake with its mysterious texture—somewhere between fluffy and chewy, crumbling 'softly'—while passing the peanut aroma through your nose!
Allergen
Peanuts, Sesame