1. Crush a 250g piece of donkey-hide gelatin into small chunks or grind directly into powder.
2. Place the gelatin chunks and 200g rock sugar into an earthenware pot, then pour in 500ml rice wine.
3. Cover the pot and steep for approximately 2 days until the mixture softens.
4. Prepare red dates and walnuts by chopping them into small pieces.
5. Separately stir-fry 250 grams of walnut kernels and 250 grams of black sesame seeds in a wok until fragrant.
6. After soaking for 2 days, place the clay pot on the stove. Simmer the softened donkey-hide gelatin over low heat, stirring constantly with a ceramic spoon.
7. When the donkey-hide gelatin reaches a consistency where it can hold a small flag, turn off the heat or reduce to very low heat.
8. Quickly add 250g each of walnut kernels, red dates, longan, goji berries, and sesame seeds to the clay pot in sequence, stirring each ingredient thoroughly before adding the next.
9. Line a plate with plastic wrap, brush with sesame oil, and pour the hot gelatin mixture onto the plate, pressing it flat.
10. Brush the surface with sesame oil, cover with another layer of plastic wrap, and roll flat with a rolling pin.
11. Freeze in the refrigerator for about 10 hours until the gelatin block hardens.
12. Cut into small pieces with a knife for serving.
How to Slice Homemade Ejiao Cake
1. Freeze the homemade Ejiao cake in the refrigerator for 10 hours to form a solid block.
2. Cut the block into long strips while still wrapped in plastic wrap.
3. Slice the strips into thin, evenly sized pieces.
How to Store Homemade Ejiao Cake
Store homemade Ejiao cake at low temperatures or vacuum-sealed.
1. Rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and moisture, improper storage may cause bacterial growth. Refrigerate during hot weather; store at room temperature below 10°C (50°F).
2. If you have a home vacuum sealer, vacuum-sealing is an effective preservation method.
How Long Does Homemade Ejiao Cake Last?
Homemade Ejiao cake has a shelf life of 30 to 40 days.
Though homemade donkey-hide gelatin cakes contain no preservatives, their high sugar content provides natural preservation. As long as they remain dry and free from liquids, they can last up to one month. With optimal storage conditions, they may keep for 40 days.
What to note when making homemade ejiao cakes:
1. Avoid exposing homemade ejiao cakes to excess moisture during storage. This dilutes the sugar-preserving effect, promotes bacterial growth, and compromises preservation.
2. Ensure utensils and preparation methods maintain proper hygiene throughout the process to prevent foodborne illness.
3. Source ingredients from reputable suppliers to ensure the quality of the donkey-hide gelatin used, as inferior gelatin may compromise its medicinal efficacy.
4. The recommended daily intake of donkey-hide gelatin is approximately 5 grams. Adjust the recipe's ingredient quantities and slice thickness accordingly to control your consumption.
Benefits of Eating Homemade Ejiao Cake
Blood Nourishment
Ejiao enhances the activity of hematopoietic stem cells in bone marrow, increasing red blood cells, white blood cells, and hemoglobin levels. Goji berries and red dates also nourish the blood, making Ejiao cake beneficial for blood replenishment.
Boosting Immunity
Ejiao increases the activity of antioxidants in the body, combats free radicals, and enhances the function of mononuclear phagocytes to fight viruses. Additionally, the proteins in ejiao, walnuts, and black sesame seeds strengthen humoral immunity. Thus, consuming ejiao cakes can bolster overall resistance.
Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases
Ejiao promotes vasodilation and reduces vascular viscosity, thereby lowering blood pressure and preventing blood clots. The unsaturated fatty acids in walnuts and black sesame seeds also help reduce the risk of cerebrovascular diseases. Thus, consuming Ejiao cakes helps prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions.
Enhancing Bone Density
Consuming donkey-hide gelatin, black sesame seeds, red dates, and walnuts increases serum calcium and phosphorus levels in the body. This enhances bone density and promotes the proliferation and synthetic activity of chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Therefore, eating donkey-hide gelatin cakes helps strengthen bone density.
Anti-fatigue
Ejiao increases red blood cell count and prolongs cellular tolerance to hypoxia, offering anti-aging, hypoxia resistance, cold tolerance, and radiation damage protection. Longan soothes nerves, making Ejiao cake consumption effective against fatigue.
Anti-shock
Ejiao dilates blood vessels, alleviating shock caused by vascular blockages. Thus, consuming Ejiao cakes exhibits anti-shock properties.
Memory enhancement
Ejiao mitigates damage to brain cells from metal ions, improving learning and memory impairment. Walnuts, meanwhile,The unsaturated fatty acids in walnuts and black sesame seeds promote brain and cognitive development, making donkey-hide gelatin cake consumption beneficial for memory enhancement.
Anti-tumor Effects
Donkey-hide gelatin contains an active component called CH~G, which reduces the activity of oncogenes and metastasis genes, inhibits tumor metastasis, and suppresses leukemia cell apoptosis. Thus, consuming donkey-hide gelatin cake exhibits anti-tumor properties.
Diuretic and Edema Reduction
Consuming ingredients like donkey-hide gelatin, black sesame seeds, walnuts, goji berries, and longan increases amino acid levels in the blood. This alters blood osmotic pressure, drawing interstitial fluid into blood vessels, thereby reducing swelling and promoting diuresis.
Regulating Menstruation and Stabilizing Pregnancy
Ejiao is used to treat menstrual irregularities caused by blood deficiency, blood stasis, and blood heat. Ejiao cake nourishes yin blood, benefits the Chong and Ren meridians, and has the effects of nourishing and stabilizing the fetus, as well as regulating pregnancy-related disorders. It is highly effective for common conditions such as unstable fetal development, restless fetus, and even threatened miscarriage.