Pounded Rice Cake 打糕

How it is made

The China Ethnic Culture Resource Database (中国民族文化资源库) gives the older method in detail. Glutinous rice or broomcorn millet is washed, and soybeans are roasted and ground into a fine flour. The cooked rice goes into a wooden trough and is pounded into a paste with a wooden hammer dipped in water, then tipped onto a prepared stone slab and beaten flat while a second person turns and spreads it so the thickness stays even; finally it is sprinkled with the bean flour. The first batch beaten on the slab is called 'slab-wiping cake' (擦台糕) and was not used as an offering, since only later batches came off a clean stone. The database notes that the work takes practice and a lot of arm strength.

Chinese Wikipedia adds that two people often stand face to face at the trough and strike in turn, so the pounding became a rite for newly-weds.

How it is eaten

The cake is cut into pieces and dipped in bean flour, white sugar or honey; the database describes it as chewy and fragrant, and Wikipedia as soft and sticky, firm from the mallet, with the soybean coating giving it its own flavour. It is set out for guests and at festivals, and in the past it was offered to the gods at sacrifices in the third lunar month. In a January 2023 report CCTV's programme Xiaofei Zhuzhang (消费主张) described the cake as carrying the wish for a career that rises steadily in the coming year.

Where it comes from

People's Daily Online reported on 15 September 2025 that a national 'village gala' (村晚) event had just been held in Zhongxing Village (中兴村), Xi'an District, Mudanjiang, with a hand-made rice cake session in its ethnic food area, where the rhythm of pounding glutinous rice mixed with laughter. In Sanchakou, which faces Russia across the Suifen (绥芬河) and Hubutu (瑚布图河) rivers, China Culture Daily reported in June 2024 that pounded rice cake, spicy cabbage, rice sausage and rice wine are sold as Korean souvenirs, bringing income to more than 20 Korean households.