Ludagun


Ludagun, also called as "doumiangao" or "fried chop rice cake", is a traditional Manchu snack in China. It has origins from Manchuria, and later became famous in Beijing. The yellow soybean flour sprinkled over the pastry makes it look like a donkey rolling on the loess, which gives its Chinese name "Lu Da Gun".

Origins

The origin of the ludagun comes from a folk tale. The story said that in Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi was tired of imperial food, so she asked the royal chef to cook something new. After delibrate thought, the chef decided to make a dish using sticky rice and bean paste. When the chef finished cooking, a yound eunuch, named Lu, carelessly dropped the dish into soya bean flour, but there was no time to re-make the dish. The chef had to serve it to Cixi. However, Cixi praised the taste and wondered what was the name of that dish. The chef never thought about this question, but he named it as "Lu Da Gun" to credit eunuch Lu's carelessness.

Ingredients

Modern Ludagun

The main ingredients are sticky rice flour, red bean paste, and soybean flour. The exact recipe for making a ludagun may vary depended on regions and eras, but the general steps for making a modern ludagun are described as followed. The sticky rice flour is first mixed with warm water to a dough, then after being steamed, the sticky rice paste is shaped into a long strip covered with red bean paste on top, and then it is rolled up into a cylinder-shaped pastry. Finally the pastry is sprinkled with soybean flour, and it is ready to be served.

Traditional Ludagun

Compared to a modern ludagun, the filling in a traditional ludagun is brown sugar syrup rather than red bean paste. The recipe of making a traditional ludagun and the scenario of selling a ludagun is documented by Zhang Jiangcai in "Popular Food and Goods in Yenching" :
Simplified
Chinese		Traditional
Chinese		PinyinTranslation
驴打滚，乃用黄米粘面蒸熟，裹以红糖水为馅，滚于炒豆面中，使成球形。燕市各大庙会集市时，多有售此者。兼亦有沿街叫卖，近年则少见矣。驢打滾，乃用黃米粘面蒸熟，裹以紅糖水為餡，滾於炒豆麵中，使成球形。燕市各大廟會集市時，多有售此者。兼亦有沿街叫賣，近年則少見矣。Lǘ dǎ gǔn, nǎi yòng huáng mǐ zhān miàn zhēng shú, guǒ yǐ hóng táng shuǐ wèi xiàn, gǔn yú chǎo dòu miàn zhōng, shǐ chéng qiú xíng. Yàn shì gè dà miào huì jí shì shí, duō yǒu shòu cǐ zhě. Jiān yì yǒu yán jiē jiào mài, jìn nián zé shǎo jiàn yǐ.Ludagun, is first made from steaming the millet flour to a dough, then filled with brown sugar syrup, and finally rolled in fried soya bean flour to a ball. People sell ludagun in temple fairs or markets. People also sell ludagun on the street, but it is less commonly seen these days.

A similar recipe is also documented in a poem called "Ludagun" in "The Custom of Peking" :
Simplified
Chinese		Traditional
Chinese		PinyinTranslation
红糖水馅巧安排，
黄面成团豆里埋。
何事群呼驴打滚，
称名未免近诙谐。		紅糖水餡巧安排，
黃面成團豆裡埋。
何事群呼驢打滾，
稱名未免近詼諧。		Hóng táng shuǐ xiàn qiǎo ān pái,
huáng miàn chéng tuán dòu lǐ mái.
Hé shì qún hū ‘lǘ dǎ gǔn’,
chēng míng wèi miǎn jìn huī xié.		Brown sugar syrup is made as filling,
yellow dough is buried in soybean flour.
It looks like a rolling donkey,
this is rather too hilarious.