''Cifantuan'', also known simply as ''chi faan'' or ''fantuan'', is a glutinous rice dish in
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...
originating in the
Jiangnan
Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...
area of
eastern China
East China () is a geographical region in the People’s Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, a ...
which encompasses
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and surrounding regions. It is made by tightly wrapping a piece of ''
youtiao
''Youtiao'' (), known in Southern China as yu char kway, is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of wheat flour dough of Chinese cuisine, Chinese origin and (by a variety of other names) also popular in other East Asia, East and Southeast Asia ...
'' (fried dough) with
glutinous rice
Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals.
Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...
. It is usually eaten as breakfast together with sweetened or savory
soy milk
Soy milk (or soymilk), also known as soya milk, is a plant-based milk produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Its original ...
in its native Jiangnan.
Today, ''cifantuan'' is commonly available in two varieties. Whereas the "
savory" variety includes ingredients such as ''
zha cai'' (pickled vegetable), ''
rousong'' (pork floss) and small pieces of ''youtiao'' being wrapped in the rice ball, the "sweet" variety adds sugar and sometimes
sesame
Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...
to the filling. There are many modern variations of the food which are made from purple rice and include fillings such as tuna, kimchi, or cheese.
''Cifantuan'' is a major breakfast food item in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
.
''Cifantuan'' is also popular in
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
.
See also
*
List of rice dishes
This is a list of rice dishes from all over the world, arranged alphabetically. Rice is the seed of the monocot plants ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). As a cereal, cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed s ...
*
Jumeok-bap
''Jumeok-bap'' (), sometimes jumeokbap, is a Korean rice dish made from a lump of cooked rice made into a round loaf the shape of a fist. Rice balls are a common item in ''dosirak'' (a packed meal) and often eaten as a light meal, between-meal s ...
, the Korean dish of Japanese onigiri-styled rice balls, with various fillings
*
Lo mai gai
Lo mai gai (), literally "glutinous rice chicken", is a classic dim sum dish served during yum cha.Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. 005(2005). The food of China: a journey for food lovers. Bay Books. . p27. The portion size of ''lo ...
*
Onigiri
, also known as or , is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese rice ball made from white rice. It is usually formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes, and wrapped in ''nori'' (seaweed). Onigiri traditionally have sour or salty fillings such as ''um ...
, Japanese glutinous rice dish formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in ''
nori
Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus ''Pyropia'', including ''P. yezoensis'' and ''Pyropia tenera, P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made in ...
''
*
Zhaliang
*
Zongzi
''Zongzi'' () or simply ''zong'' () is a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with a range of fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Fillings can be either sweet, such as red bean paste, or savory, such as pork belly or ...
, Chinese glutinous rice dish served with various fillings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.
References
External links
What is Fan Tuan?
Chinese rice dishes
Dim sum
Glutinous rice dishes
Shanghai cuisine
{{China-cuisine-stub