Date Pancakes

Two main types of Chinese dates are used in cooking: small red, dried dates, which are unsweetened, and black, boiled dates. There is also a third, less common, variety called mi zao in Mandarin, which is coated with honey and eaten as a snack, but it is also ideal for making sweet pastries like this Henan date cake. This variety can be hard to find, even within China, so you can use dried red dates, which are sold in all Chinese stores.