Guilin Ai Ye Baba (Mugwort Rice Cakes)

Guilin Ai Ye Baba (Mugwort Rice Cakes) are a spring-limited "herbal poetry," made with fresh mugwort leaves and glutinous rice flour, blending natural fragrance with the warmth of handcraft. The process starts with washing and blanching mugwort leaves, mashing them into a paste, and mixing with glutinous rice flour and sugar to form a vibrant green dough. The dough is then stuffed with red bean paste, sesame sugar, or crushed peanuts, and steamed on grapefruit or banana leaves. The finished cakes are dark green and glossy, smooth as jade. Biting into one, the glutinous rice skin is soft and chewy, with the bitter freshness of mugwort balancing the sweetness of the filling, and a hint of grapefruit leaf aroma at the end. The medicinal properties of mugwort and the warming nature of glutinous rice make this snack not only delicious but also effective for dispelling dampness and cold. Around Qingming Festival, the scent of mugwort fills Guilin's streets. Foreign visitors are often drawn to the unique green color and buy two to eat while warm, feeling spring leap on their tongues.