Xingyi Chicken Tangyuan

Xingyi chicken tangyuan wraps a chicken filling in glutinous-rice skin, served in clear chicken broth with sesame paste, white pepper and scallion; the skin is chewy, the filling tender and the broth savoury, a rare savoury take on tangyuan.

The snack originated in late-Qing Xingyi, said to be created by the Zou family and handed down through generations; its savoury departure from sweet tangyuan set it apart and made it one of the city's four signature snacks.

Made and boiled to order, it is eaten piping hot, broth and dumpling together—first a sip of the savoury soup, then the chewy skin giving way to the chicken filling—most often as breakfast or an afternoon snack, ideally paired with the bamboo-brush dumpling for a full local spread.

The savoury chicken filling and rich chicken-broth base, in contrast to sweet tangyuan everywhere else, are the defining marks of the Xingyi version.