At the table
Let a freshly fried cake cool, then split it or take a small bite; the bean filling can stay hot. The sticky rice layer has some chew, so take small pieces.
Sesame oil contains sesame. Check the filling, frying oil and fermented starter if you avoid particular ingredients; rice dough does not guarantee that the complete recipe is wheat-free, vegan or vegetarian.
Traditional dough is fermented with an old dough starter and adjusted with food-grade alkali. Sweet red-bean paste includes sugar, and sesame oil is used for frying in the described version. Exact starter, filling and oil recipes can vary.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Sesame oil can be used in the preparation.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Sweet
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Golden fried crust and soft filling.
- How it’s made
- Enclose the sweet bean filling in rice dough and deep-fry.
Sesame oil can be used in the preparation.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Tianjin.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有耳朵眼炸糕吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A Tianjin fried cake named for the lane beside its shop
The name Erduoyan fried cake comes from a Tianjin lane, not from the cake’s shape. In 1892, Liu Wanchun and his nephew opened a small shop beside Erduoyan Lane, and customers began calling its fried sticky-rice cakes after the place. The shop’s method used fermented rice dough, sweet red-bean filling and two stages of frying. The craft first passed from father to son, then from teacher to apprentice; it is now carried through five generations. A lane name became the name of one of Tianjin’s best-known snacks.