A Huizhou mountain New Year snack from Xiuning County: fresh cornmeal is cooked into a thick sesame-flecked paste, pressed into slabs, then shaved into gossamer-thin curls with a bow planer, sun-dried and deep-fried until they shatter into featherweight crisps.
Cornmeal Crisp Floss has been made in the Liukou area of Xiuning County for roughly 480 years according to local tradition, placing its origin in the mid-Ming Dynasty when corn first reached the Huizhou highlands. Corn (locally called 苞芦) arrived in China in the mid-16th century, spreading gradually through Anhui's mountain settlements; in the Qing dynasty, after the Qianlong Emperor opened highland cultivation to migrant settlers, 苞芦 became a staple across Huizhou's hillsides. Surplus autumn corn was ground and preserved as this shelf-stable winter snack, inseparable from the Huangshan New Year hearth.
Impossibly light — the fried curl shatters at first touch into fine sweet corn and sesame dust. There is a subtle smokiness from the toasted sesame, and a lingering natural sweetness from the corn.
Pouring fine cornmeal into boiling water triggers rapid starch gelatinization, binding the granules into a moldable paste. Sun-drying allows the starch to partially retrograde — amylose chains recrystallize, creating a firm, dense slab that can be shaved into thin sheets. When immersed in 180°C oil, residual moisture flash-vaporizes, expanding the starch network into an airy, porous structure — the defining crunch of the finished crisp.
Variations
Some Xiuning households add dried chili flakes or five-spice powder to the paste for a savory-spicy version; sweet variants are drizzled with honey while still hot from the oil.
On the Palate
Where Cornmeal Crisp Floss sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
7 steps · 20 min
- 120 min
Select plump, fully dried corn kernels from the current year's harvest; grind into fine flour and sift to remove bran layers, keeping only the pale, starch-rich powder.
- 215 min
Gradually sprinkle the cornmeal into a pot of briskly boiling water (ratio roughly 1 part meal to 2 parts water), stirring constantly with a wooden paddle to prevent lumps, until a thick, smooth paste forms.
Watch outSprinkle the meal into hard-boiling water while stirring nonstop — dumped in it clumps; the goal is a thick, lump-free paste.
- 35 min
Stir in toasted black sesame seeds and a small pinch of salt; pour paste into a lightly oiled square tray and smooth the surface.
- 4120 min
Allow to cool at room temperature until firm; refrigerate for 1–2 hours if needed to achieve a solid, sliceable consistency.
- 520 min
Using a bow-shaped hand planer or fine mandoline, shave the set block into gossamer-thin naturally curling wisps; lay them flat on bamboo mats without overlapping.
- 6360 min
Sun-dry the cornmeal curls outdoors for 4–6 hours until completely dry and rigid, or dry in a low oven at 60°C for 2 hours.
- 710 min
Heat oil to 180°C; fry dried curls in small batches for 20–30 seconds until they puff and turn pale gold. Drain well and cool before serving.
Watch outFry the dried curls twenty to thirty seconds until they puff and pale-gold — the residual moisture flashes to steam, so pull them fast.
