Almost unheard of outside of China, Yunnan's traditional erkuai rice cakes lure a writer back to the province on a fact-finding mission
). But because Yunnan's erkuai is not made with sticky rice, it is tender and toothsome rather than sticky and chewy, and therefore the dough can be used in far more ways and cut into far more shapes. Despite erkuai's simplicity and versatility, I've never seen it outside Yunnan. When I moved back to the U.S., erkuai was one of the things I missed most. I had heard about how it was made, and it didn't sound particularly complicated.
Erkuai has been eaten in this part of Yunnan for around 400 years. There are lots of stories about how erkuai came to the area, but Yang thinks the most reliable is that it arrived with soldiers from central China. “The main reason it became so popular is that it’s easy to carry,” he explained. “Soldiers could take it out and heat it or roast it when they needed to.
But as my mission was dajiujia, I made my way to a restaurant I had heard about in the countryside called Jing Nong Zhuang, or “Golden Farm,” to meet with a local guide named Bing Li. The reason dajiujia is so famous, she told me, is its origin story. According to legend, in 1661, the emperor Zhu Youlang was fleeing from the Manchus and took refuge in the city. He arrived in Tengchong tired and hungry, and a cook quickly stir-fried some erkuai with the ingredients he had on hand.
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