Rice, fish and soup are the basic state of Jiangnan cuisine that has never changed since ancient times. Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Merchants" says: "The land of Chu and Yue is vast and sparsely populated. Rice, fish and soup, or fire and water, fruit and clams." During the harvest time and the slack season, Jiaoxi people often make various snacks and foods to entertain relatives and friends, which is not only a reward for their hard work in the past year, but also a sacrifice to their ancestors and gratitude for the gifts of nature. Oil-flavored cakes are one of the typical seasonal delicacies. They are widely circulated because of their rich aroma, crisp and crunchy, and simple production process. It is impossible to trace when and why it first appeared, but according to the memories of the older generation of people in Jiaoxi, Changzhou, it has a history of at least 120 years. In the Jiaoxi area in the east of Changzhou, oil-flavored cakes were once a snack that every household would make, but they were not always available. In the past, cakes were seasonal and usually only appeared during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the eyes of local people, oil cakes are as important as moon cakes. When supplies are scarce, oil cakes are even used to replace moon cakes. Another factor of seasonality is that August 15th is also the time when new sesame seeds are on the market. The rich aroma of fresh sesame seeds can give this traditional snack the most wonderful flavor. The raw materials of oil cakes include flour, soybean oil or rapeseed oil, cooked sesame powder, and sugar. But unlike ordinary sesame cakes or pies, it is made of flour mixed with oil, soybean oil or rapeseed oil is used to mix flour, knead into dough, wrap the cooked sesame powder, and then roll it with a rolling pin into a round cake of uniform thickness, and fry it in an iron pan on the stove until both sides are golden brown. Because oil has been added when kneading the dough, there is no need to add oil to the pan when frying. The method of making oil cakes generally has the following steps: 1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water, let it stand for three to five minutes, and then add it to the flour. Then add water little by little to make the dough to a state similar to that of the earlobe. 1. Put it in a warm place and let it rise to twice its size; 2. Dip your finger in flour and insert it in the middle of the risen dough. If it does not shrink, it is risen; 3. After the dough is exhausted, pinch it into dough pieces of similar size; 4. Roll the dough into an ox tongue shape and spread it evenly with pastry; 5. Roll it up from top to bottom into a roll; 6. Put it aside and let it rise for about ten minutes after it is all rolled up; 7. After it has risen, roll the rolled dough into long strips, lift it up twice while rolling, and stretch it as long as possible; 8. Roll the long strips into a pancake shape; 8. After the pan is preheated, gently flatten the pancake dough, then roll it into a round shape. Don't make it too thin (the fermented pancake tastes better if it is a little thicker); 9. Put the pancake dough in and bake it for two minutes, then turn it over and bake it for another two minutes. It will be successful. The yellow and round oil cake has a crispy crust, but it is not loose, oily but not greasy. After it comes out of the pan, take a bite while it is hot, and you will feel the aroma of oil cake skin and sesame lingering in your mouth, which makes people very satisfied. Of course, the cold food flavor is not reduced. The cooled oil cake is packed in a food bag and can be stored for a month at room temperature without deterioration. With the development of technology, the tools for making cakes are becoming more and more abundant. Nowadays, electrical appliances have long replaced firewood in the process of making oil cakes. The application of electric baking pans makes the oil cakes more evenly heated during production, with better taste and appearance. In Jiaoxi and surrounding areas, oil cakes are very similar to moon cakes. They are both seasonal foods for moon viewing. In a sense, it is a kind of moon cake. But in terms of appearance and production, there are still many differences between the two. For example, oil cakes are heavy in oil, while moon cakes are light in oil; oil cakes are the size of a palm and about 1 cm thick, while moon cakes are large and thin in appearance, and the largest ones are even as big as the mouth of a pot, with both salty and sweet flavors. In the days when materials were not so abundant, the aroma of oil and sesame from the puff pastry during the Mid-Autumn Festival not only carried a sense of ritual, but also carried people's yearning for a better life at that time, that is, reunion and sweetness. In the 1920s, Shi Fuliang and Liu Linfeng opened a Tianfu grocery store on Jiaoxi Street. They also sold puff pastry during the season and continued to run the business until their death. Their son Shi Yongchun joined the National Revolutionary Army at the age of 17. He returned to his hometown in 1949 and opened a coppersmith shop in Jiaoxi. Because he learned the skill of making puff pastry since he was a child, he also sold puff pastry in the season like his parents. Shi Xiaoyan and Shi Xudan, a brother and sister, have been influenced by their parents since childhood and have outstanding skills in making puff pastry. In 1998, they opened a southern goods store on Jiaoxi Old Street, and have been mainly engaged in puff pastry ever since. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)