A traditional Manchu pastry also known as soybean flour buns, often used as sacrificial offerings to gods. Making process: Soak glutinous yellow millet in water, grind into flour, knead well and roll into thin sheets, then steam thoroughly. Stir-fry soybeans and grind them into fine powder, spread evenly over the steamed millet sheets, roll them up and slice into rolls 1 to 2 inches long. Golden yellow, chewy and aromatic. The recipe evolved from the custom of dipping pastries in soybean flour, which comes with a touching folk tale.

Legend holds that Manchu ancestors once lived north of the Heilongjiang River, a frigid land unsuitable for grain farming. They survived by hunting wild animals for meat and hides, enduring harsh hardship. Some young people grew weary of this harsh life and asked the tribe’s eldest elder how to find a better life. The elder recounted stories passed down from his grandfather: to seek prosperity, head south to Changbai Mountain, where dense forests teem with game and fertile foothills support crop cultivation. Inspired, the youth packed minimal supplies and dried meat, leading the tribe’s migration south toward Changbai Mountain. They endured countless cold nights, erratic meals, crossing countless rivers and climbing endless mountains through untold hardships.

That autumn, they finally reached the foot of Changbai Mountain, gazing up at mist-shrouded towering woods radiating solemn mystery. Weary and starving, their dried meat long exhausted, they lacked energy to hunt in the unfamiliar mountains. As despair loomed, an elder pointed to two stretches of farmland nearby and wondered if the crops were edible. One field blazed fiery red, the other glowed golden yellow. After consulting local residents, they learned the red crop was called susubuda and the golden one tuli, both delicious staples.

Following local guidance, they ground susubuda into flour to make pastries and stir-fried tuli before milling it into powder, working through the entire night. The next day fell on the first day of the tenth lunar month. They ate millet pastries as staple food with tuli powder as a side. With no tables available, they squatted on the ground, holding pastries by hand and dipping them in soybean flour. Tasting grains for the first time, they found the food incredibly flavorful. To commemorate this first harvest of grain, the Manchu formed a tradition: every year on the first day of the tenth lunar month, families eat pastries dipped in soybean flour without tables, side dishes or chopsticks.