History of San Zi & Forgotten Cold Food Day 馓子 淮安茶馓 寒食节

During my trips to Jiangsu province over the last ten years, I noticed that a sort of fried noodle is popular both at street side and also at top restaurants. I later found out that it is called sanzi 馓子.

I first saw it at this street side stall in Yangzhou city 扬州. I thought then that it was a kind of yee noodle 伊麵 or yee meen in Cantonese.

Yee noodle

But, it was not served or eaten the way of yee noodles.

Sanzi is more like a deep fried stretched dough twist. I soon realised that there are many ways to eat sanzi.

One of my favourite ways is to wrap it in wheat skin (crepe) together with stewed meat or scrambled egg, julienned vegetables (e.g. cucumber), chili, and sauce, like a Chinese taco except that the wrap is soft but the filling has various textures from soft to crunchy to crispy. It is delicious too with blend of savoury, sweet, spicy, and tangy flavours depending on what we pack into the roll.

I had this in Huaian city 淮安 and it was particularly memorable as sanzi was served at every meal here - I look forward to it every time 😁

In Huaian, it is known as chasan 茶馓 as it is often eaten as a tea snack.

Sanzi has been enjoyed for at least 3,000 years, going back to the Spring and Autumn Period 春秋战国 of China from 770BC to 481BC.

The Spring and Autumn Period was a chaotic time in China with many kingdoms vying for dominance. The crown prince of Jin kingdom 晋国, his ministers and followers marched across the vast land for more than a decade before finally establishing his domain.

When the Jin kingdom 晋国 was finally founded, the prince (now king) rewarded all his loyal ministers with high positions. However, one minister, Jie Zitui 介子推 declined and instead went quietly into the mountains with his mother.

The emperor was determined to reward his favourite, loyal minister, so he set the mountain ablaze to ~~force~~ persuade Jie Zitui 介子推 to come out. Unfortunately, Jie Zitui 介子推 and his mother were killed in the fire.

The regretful emperor was so sad that he banned all fires on the day Jie Zitui 介子推 was killed and proclaimed it "Cold Food Day" 寒食节 annually to commemorate his minister. On Jie Zitui remembrance day, no fire or cooking were allowed, so people observed the day with precooked, preserved or raw dishes.

(There are many slight variations to the Jie Zitui 介子推 story but this is the gist of it.)

Sanzi was one of the popular foods for Cold Food Day as the fried dough twists can keep very well.

Over the years, Cold Food Day faded away, forgotten and is no longer observed. (Since the Tang dynasty, Cold Food Day gradually merged with Qing Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Festival as they fell on the same day. Today, not many have heard of Cold Food Day 寒食节 so sanzi serves as a good reminder.)

Traditionally, Sanzi is made by hand kneading wheat flour into dough. Sesame seeds are often added to the mix.

The flour dough is skilfully pulled into long strands which are deep fried to a brown crisp in hot oil.

Revered Song dynasty poet 苏东坡 also loved sanzi, and described the making process such:

“纤手搓成玉数寻,

碧油煎出嫩黄深."

"With delicate hands, rub for few seconds into jade,

Fry in fresh oil until tender and deep yellow."

Sanzi is believed to be derived from the Central Asian cаңза or sangza, likely brought to China by caravan traders plying the ancient trade routes between Central Asia and China.

Give sanzi a try when you are in China, especially in Huaian city and Jiangsu province which are considered its home in China.

Remember the loyal minister Jie Zitui and Cold Food Day. I haven't seen sanzi outside of China, so it makes a simple but meaningful gift for the folks back home.