Jixi snacks become the synonym of home; visitors all love to eat them

Anyone who has been to Jixi knows that in Jixi there is a snack called tada guo (griddle cake). It looks a bit like a pancake or a large flatbread, but the taste is a completely different flavor.

If you ask Jixi people working away from home what they miss most about their hometown, besides family they will surely tell you it is the tada guo at home. For Jixi people, tada guo is not just a delicious snack, but also a synonym for home.

Not one snack shop in the streets and alleys of Jixi lacks tada guo, which shows how much Jixi people love it. Tada guo is made by mixing dough with flour, then letting it rest and rise for a night, and rolling the wrapper by hand. The fillings are varied, and depending on the season include Chinese toon, winter bamboo shoots, pickled vegetables, yardlong bean, shredded radish and more, paired with the local pork specialty of southern Anhui.

The cooked tada guo is golden brown on both sides, oil sizzles out from inside, and the aroma has long since drifted to the neighbors. In the past, Jixi was the birthplace of Huizhou merchants. People here went from a young age to Suzhou and Hangzhou to work and do business. At that time transportation was inconvenient, and most went out via the mountain route known as the "Huizhou-Hangzhou Ancient Trail", and the food on the road was tada guo, because it was easy to carry and convenient to eat cold.

Especially in winter, Jixi people make some tada guo and keep them. When hungry, they toast one on the huo tong (fire basket) and it can serve as lunch, saving time and effort. The huo tong and tada guo are a perfect match. There is a saying among Jixi people: huo tong tada guo, apart from the emperor it is just me. Haha, that shows the optimistic life of Jixi people.

If you come to Jixi for fun, you must go into those small alleys. Eat the tada guo there, paired with a bowl of plain congee and a plate of Jixi pickled mustard greens; that is the authentic taste of Jixi.