Shizi Bing (Fried Persimmon Cakes)

The fruit behind these cakes has been ripening on the slopes of Mount Li (骊山, Líshān) for well over a thousand years — the "fire-crystal" persimmons of Lintong (临潼, Líntóng), cultivated there since Tang times — and from the autumn harvest to the end of winter the Muslim Quarter still smells of them frying. Shizi bing (柿子饼, shìzi bǐng) — persimmon cakes, or in their full local glory huanggui shizi bing (黄桂柿子饼, huángguì shìzi bǐng), "yellow-osmanthus persimmon cakes" — start with huojing shizi (火晶柿子, huǒjīng shìzi): small, flame-orange, honey-sweet fruits.

The ripe fruit is peeled, mashed and worked into a soft dough with a little flour, wrapped around a filling of crushed walnut, sugar and osmanthus, then shallow-fried in vegetable oil until both sides go deep amber. What lands in your hand is crisp at the edges and molten in the middle — a cross between a doughnut and a very good mince pie, for a few yuan. Local legend ties the cakes to the rebel leader Li Zicheng (李自成, Lǐ Zìchéng), whose army was supposedly provisioned with them on the march; treat that as a good story rather than a date. What isn't legend is the seasonality: griddles fire up after the October persimmon harvest and fry through winter. Off-season you'll mostly meet packaged gift boxes, which are to the fresh article what a vending-machine croissant is to a bakery — skip them and eat something else.

Fillings to know: 原味 (yuánwèi, plain), 黄桂 (huángguì, osmanthus — the classic), 豆沙 (dòushā, red bean), 枣泥 (zǎoní, jujube) and 五仁 (wǔrén, "five kernels," a nut mix). The cakes are a halal, lard-free Muslim Quarter specialty — but the dough does contain wheat flour, so strict gluten-avoiders should sit this one out.