Jianpan Cake of Xuwu Introduction
Wang Yeh-Ying (born in 1946) wanted to start a business to supplement her family's income when her children were young, so she sold fried onion cakes and savory cakes at the current location on Guangming Road. However, since fried onion cakes and savory cakes cannot be consumed by vegetarians and fried onion cakes were mostly purchased during the Lunar New Year, she switched to selling pan-fried cakes. In 2013, due to her advancing age, she passed the business to her son Chen Guo-Shu (born in 1968) and daughter-in-law Yu Hsueh-Hung to continue its operation. The method for making the clear cake is as follows: the day before, soak local rice for 2-3 hours in the afternoon, then grind it into rice paste. Pour the rice paste into a lead bucket about 90% full, add flour and seasonings, and mix well. After bringing water to a boil in a large stove pot, pour in the rice paste, stir with a frying spoon, and smooth it out. Cook for 4 hours, then remove and let cool. After 1 hour, brush with salad oil to prevent the surface of the clear cake from becoming dry and hard. Once cooled, slice it. Since no preservatives are added, it cannot be stored for long, so the sliced pieces are immediately placed in the refrigerator for future use. The next morning, they are taken to the market, and when customers order, oil is added to a frying pan; the clear cake slices are then fried until crisp on both sides and served on a plate with a dipping sauce. The dipping sauce is made by boiling soy sauce and mixing in minced garlic. The soy sauce is boiled first to prevent excessive saltiness. When Wang Yeh-Ying sought advice on making the cake, no one was willing to teach her, so she went to a rice store to buy rice and asked the owner to take her...
