Duyichu Shaomai Making Technique
The old Beijing Duyichu was founded in the third year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1738). It was originally a small hotel "Wangji Liquor Store" opened by Wang Ruifu from Shanxi. In the seventeenth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1752), it was renamed "Duyichu", mainly selling siu mai. In the course of hundreds of years of development, Duyichu has formed a complete set of exquisite siu mai making techniques, among which the siu mai rolling technique is unique, and each siu mai rolled out has 24 folds. Duyichu has so many varieties of siu mai, which is the only one in the country. The old store was originally famous for siu mai with pork filling, beef filling, vegetarian filling and three fresh fillings (pork, sea cucumber, shrimp). Later, according to the changes in the seasons, it added siu mai with seafood fillings such as fish, crab meat, shrimp meat, and pork-based siu mai, which are matched with cabbage, leek, fennel, pumpkin, green onion, zucchini, etc. Since the 1980s, Duyichu has successively developed nourishing shaomai such as hawthorn shaomai, poinsettia shaomai, and wolfberry shaomai. It has also innovated its craftsmanship to make special shaomai such as double-color shaomai, colorful shaomai, jade shaomai, and mint shaomai. At the same time, it has actively enriched the flavors of shaomai and launched more than 30 kinds of shaomai in more than a dozen series, including sour, sweet, salty, fresh, fragrant, and spicy. Duyichu shaomai is unique, delicious and highly ornamental. The wheat ears on the top of the shaomai have 24 folds, like a thin waist and a folded skirt, with a thin skin and transparent fillings, and it is white and transparent, standing tall and graceful. It is fragrant and not greasy when eaten, and it has endless aftertaste. The shaomai made by Duyichu has won the first place in the National Cooking Competition, the "Golden Tripod Award" and the "Famous Chinese Snack" and other honors. The old Duyichu store has also won the title of "Famous Chinese Food Store". At present, problems such as shortage of funds, limited development space, and difficulty in talent training are affecting the development of Duyichu and the smooth inheritance of its shaomai making skills. Relevant parties should pay attention to this and formulate reasonable solutions.