Staple food in Zhongwei is noodles. Local specialty flour snacks include boiled starch paste with taro, chilled starch jelly salad and hard unleavened flatbread. Zhongwei is home to the prized Yellow River pigeon fish, so steamed pigeon fish is an unmissable local delicacy. The area is also famous for dairy products and mutton. Crispy rice cakes and fried pork offal are popular street foods, while braised camel hooves rank among top-grade rare dishes.

Zhongwei Shopping Mall stands in the middle section of Zhongshan Street, south of the Post Office on West Gulou Street. It hosts a bustling night market. South Street and a section of South Ring Road form a snack street lined with numerous individual stalls, as well as halal and Han Chinese restaurants. Snack carts can also be seen all over the city, selling various local treats for great convenience.

Local taro (potatoes) here are plump, soft and sweet. Steam the taro thoroughly, mash and peel them, then place in a bowl. Blend starch into a thick paste, add seasonings and fresh seasonal vegetables, and bring the mixture to a boil. Pour the hot, savory starch paste over the taro. This dish is hot, sour and spicy with a distinctive taste. Affordable and delicious, it is a favorite breakfast among locals.

Camel hooves are a rare delicacy, just like bear paws. Camel hoof soup dates back to the Han Dynasty and remained a royal court dish through the ages. Compendium of Materia Medica from the Ming Dynasty records that camel humps and hooves were premium ingredients, often pickled after being cooked. Camel hooves are widely enjoyed in Ningxia and Gansu. This dish is stewed and braised together with chicken and duck. It features a deep red sauce, tender and chewy hooves, and a rich umami flavor.

Rice wine lees are re-filtered to make thick rice wine, which fully retains the nutrients of fermented glutinous rice. The diced meat stew is cooked with lamb cubes, turnip dices and vermicelli. To serve, mix the thick rice wine and stewed meat with chili oil. In winter, add pickled Chinese cabbage and chopped scallions, bring to a boil and drop in boiled dumplings. The blend of soup, dumplings, rice wine and fresh lamb creates a unique flavor. It is filling and helps warm the body against the cold.

Made by steaming glutinous rice mixed with fresh pig’s blood for a long time. Cut the finished cake into slices and fry together with braised pork head meat in a flat pan. The rice turns glossy reddish brown, fully infused with fat. The ratio of lean meat and fat can be adjusted to suit different tastes. It is a quick and easy meat snack, fried and served hot right away. The dish is rich but not greasy, with a lingering aftertaste. It pairs well with alcohol, and you can also buy it to fry at home.

This dish is made by steaming pigeon fish. The finished fish looks pure white, with tender flesh and a light, fresh flavor. Also known as copper fish, pigeon fish are abundant along the river reaches from Zhongwei to Shizuishan in Ningxia. Named for their pigeon-like shape, they are a precious local fish. In ancient times, the imperial court set up official fisheries in Zhongwei to regularly tribute this fish to emperors.

Mix 1 kilogram of leavened dough, 5 kilograms of plain flour, warm water, edible alkali and flaxseed oil to make firm dough. Shape the dough into small basin-shaped pastries (about 50 grams each) with wooden molds, then bake slowly over low heat and flip until fully cooked. The pastries are dainty and well-shaped, snow-white instead of burnt yellow. They can be stored for a long time without going moldy, losing flavor or turning hard. Crisp, sweet and chewy with a rich wheat aroma, they are easy to digest and will not fall apart in soup.

Tofu made by the Yan family is the most renowned, now run by the second-generation inheritor Yan Bingyi. Using an ancestral craft, they make tender tofu. When deep-fried in sesame oil, the tofu puffs up with soft, hollow crust that soaks up seasonings easily, much like gluten. Served with spinach, carrot slices and chili oil, the colorful dish boasts perfect color, aroma and taste, popular among people of all ages. Their fried tofu products sell well across neighboring counties.

In winter, local sheep lose weight naturally, so locals tend to slaughter them at this time. Lamb offal is abundant and inexpensive then, though its cleaning and processing are quite labor-intensive. Special workshops prepare and sell the dish at street stalls. It is a tasty winter breakfast. Paired with homemade rice wine, it is filling and helps keep warm. The soup is clear, the offal tender and free of fishy smell. Sliced turnips are added for a rich yet non-greasy taste. You can soak flatbread or add noodles to the soup.

Braised beef is a beloved dish among all ethnic groups in Zhongwei. It boasts excellent color, aroma and taste. There are two cooking methods: braising raw beef and pre-cooked beef.

A traditional folk staple, famous for white, chewy thin noodles and bright red, fragrant soup. A good bowl of diced meat noodles features superior noodles and flavorful broth. Local housewives pay great attention to noodle making and soup preparation. Quality noodles are white, paper-thin, finely cut, springy and unbroken. The savory soup is simmered with meat, chili oil, seasonal vegetables, tofu and assorted condiments, looking vibrant and smelling inviting.

A popular specialty in Haiyuan. The baked bread has a yellow-and-white crust and layered interior. Crisp, sweet and delicious, it keeps well and is easy to carry on trips.

A traditional folk snack. Made from naked oat flour, the finished rolls are chewy and elastic, hence the name. Mostly served cold nowadays, the noodle strips are bright white, slender and unbreakable, paired with carefully selected condiments such as cooked chives, spinach and garlic sprouts