Qingtuan is the hottest food in town these days, and there are good reasons to stand for hours in long lines to buy this freshly made seasonal treat. (Photos: Shine.cn)
Qingtuan is a traditional snack usually eaten around Qingming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day. Its glutinous rice wrapper is made with the juice of wormwood leaves, to present a highly saturated green color, and sweet or savory fillings such as red bean paste or malantou, a spring herb that’s also known as kalimeris.
It’s a food where people with different tastes can find something to their liking, and its small size makes qingtuan a great snack or quick breakfast. It can be paired with tea (preferably green or oolong tea), soy milk and even coffee for a balance of flavors.
Qingtuan became a wanghong (Internet celebrity) favorite in 2016 when Xing Hua Lou, the famous Shanghai time-honored brand, created a new flavor that combined two of the crowd’s favorite guilty pleasures — salted egg yolk and dried meat floss.
