Creating new flavors, Cantonese mooncakes, and meat filling? Shanghai's time-honored catering industry is flipping through historical books
As the Mid Autumn Festival approaches, the line of people buying moon cakes on the Nanjing Road Walkway is growing. In this year's Cantonese mooncake and freshly baked mooncake markets, various time-honored brands in Shanghai have launched mooncakes with innovative flavors and replicated classics.
Eating freshly baked mooncakes emphasizes "eating and making as you go", especially fresh meat mooncakes, which should be eaten immediately after being cooked. Shanghai's time-honored brand Xinya's fresh meat mooncakes have a unique craftsmanship: the water, oil, and dough are mixed and baked to create a crispy crust. The ratio of oil and water is precise to 5:1:2, and after repeated kneading and folding by experienced craftsmen, the crust is clearly layered and crispy until it falls off. Even if bought overnight and then heated, the pastry remains crispy and layered. In previous years, the best-selling freshly baked mooncakes in Xinya were traditional fresh meat mooncakes and pickled fresh mooncakes. The latter is the "pioneering" of Xinya, which incorporates the fresh and pickled flavor that Shanghai people like into mooncakes. When the warm and delicious soup is soaked in the crispy skin, it ripples in the mouth, leaving an endless aftertaste. This year, Xinya has launched freshly baked barbecue mooncakes, which are made from tender and juicy pork belly suitable for barbecue. They are marinated and baked using secret cooking techniques. The filling is slightly sweet, and the cake skin is dry, fragrant, and crispy. It is wrapped in a thick soup, and one bite is very satisfying. In addition, Xinya has also launched freshly baked mooncakes such as spicy beef and crab roe shrimp this year, which are also worth a try.
The duck gizzard and liver of the time-honored brand "Shanghai Daoxiangcun" are the most famous. This year, it teamed up with the time-honored brand "Taikang Food" to combine the intangible cultural heritage skills of Daoxiangcun with the handmade techniques of Taikang fresh meat mooncakes, and jointly launched the "Stir fried Juice gizzard and Liver Mooncake". Compared to traditional fresh meat mooncakes, this new product is very chewy and has a fresher taste.
The time-honored brand "Shao Wansheng" has also showcased its unique characteristics with its fragrant and fresh meat mooncakes. The inner filling is made by mixing Shao Wansheng's own premium brine with fresh pork, and the outer skin is made with selected flour and lard. When tasted, it not only has the crispness of the outer skin, but also the freshness and aroma of the inner filling.
The time-honored Cantonese mooncakes have also made innovations in their inheritance this year. Coconut paste, bean paste, lotus paste, and five kernels are the "Four Great Vajras" in Cantonese mooncakes. To have this title, it requires time and recognition from people's taste buds.
Among them, the five kernel mooncake is a special existence. Some people may not have this taste, but those who like this taste are extremely fond of it. In fact, Wuren mooncakes also have national standards in the industry, and authentic Wuren mooncakes have gradually been recognized by more and more people in recent years. The R&D team of Xinya has browsed through historical books, gone through two years, and based on current ingredients, they have recreated the Wuren mooncake. "A high-quality five kernel moon cake should have a correct shape and not break the skin; when unpacking, it needs a bouquet of wine; the mouth and the cake body are solid; when chewing, a variety of nut aromas fill the mouth; when the aftertaste, the wine and nut aroma are refreshing. The dried fruits such as walnut, almond, olive, melon kernel, sesame, etc., are full of unique fragrance under the harmony of Maotai flavor Baijiu." The teacher of Xinya moon cake introduced. In recent years, on the basis of superior five kernels, Xinya has continuously improved and developed more delicious flavors. For example, this year's "Oyster Emperor Five Ren Golden Leg Barbecue Mooncake" retains the distinct characteristics of five kernel mooncakes with distinct nut layers, as well as Xinya's unique barbecue. Coupled with the salty and fresh taste of ham, the entire mooncake has a salty and sweet aftertaste, with a meat content of over 30%. After the launch of "Oyster Emperor Five Ren Golden Leg Barbecue Mooncake", it has been deeply loved by consumers, and young consumers refer to it as "Meat Five Ren".
