Cí fàn tuán is a kind of food in Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...

, originating from Shanghai. It is made by tightly wrapping a piece of youtiao (fried dough) with glutinous rice

Glutinous rice

Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...

. It is usually eaten as breakfast together with sweetened or savory soy milk

Soy milk

Soy milk and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water...

  in Eastern China

Eastern China

Eastern China or East China may mean:* East China* East China Township, Michigan - East China Charter Township in Michigan, USA* ECNU - East China Normal University* Northeast China* Northeast China Plain* Southeast China-See also:...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

.

In Hong Kong, it is usually known as ci faan (粢飯). In Shanghai, the equivalent term cifan means compressed glutinous rice generally, and is used in compound names such as cifan gao, "glutinous rice cake", a toasted cake also made from compressed glutinous rice.

In recent years, there have been innovations on the traditional ci fan tuan, originating from Hong Kong and Taiwan, then reverse-introduced into Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

 and its vicinity. Today, ci fan tuan is commonly available in two varieties. The "savoury" variety includes ingredients such as zha cai

Zha cai

Zha cai is a type of pickled mustard plant stem originating from Sichuan, China. Other transliterations might include cha tsai, tsa tsai; or jar choy, jar choi, ja choi, ja choy, or cha tsoi...

(pickled vegetable), rousong

Rousong

Rousong , also sometimes called meat wool, meat floss, pork floss, pork sung, is a dried meat product that has a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from Fujian. Rousong is used as a topping for many foods such as congee, tofu, and savory soy milk. It is also used as...

(pork floss) and small pieces of youtiao being wrapped in the rice ball. The "sweet" variety adds sugar and sometimes sesame

Sesame

Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....

to the filling.