Salt and pepper peach slices

Salt and pepper peach slices

　　Salt and pepper peach slices were first created in Hechuan, Chongqing, and began to be produced in Chongqing and other areas in the 1920s. Their characteristics include: fine powder, crispy texture, pleasant aroma, mildly numbing, slightly salty, and uniquely delicious flavor.

　　Characteristics of salt and pepper peach slices

　　Specifications: Rectangular slices with uniform thickness, intact pieces, distinct edges, and about 120–160 slices per kilogram.

　　Color: Pale yellow.

　　Texture: Crispy and delicate, with tightly bound peach kernels within the cake.

　　Flavor: Crispy yet tender, fragrant and sweet with a pleasant taste, mildly numbing and slightly salty, offering a unique flavor.

　　Preparation method of salt and pepper peach slices

　　Ingredients: Returned flour, stirred sugar, peach kernels, sesame seeds, Sichuan white sugar, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn powder.

　　1. Making returned flour: Select glutinous rice, wash it with warm water at 50–60°C, drain, then stir-fry it vigorously with sand over high heat. Stir-fry about 1 kg of rice per pot for 1–2 minutes. The rice should be evenly puffed without any hard cores and have a white color. Then grind it into fine powder, sieve it through a 120-mesh sieve to ensure the fineness of the powder—this is called “fire powder.” Place the “fire powder” in a specially prepared environment to absorb moisture and become returned flour. The returned flour must have uniform humidity and should not crumble when squeezed by hand before it is ready. The returned flour usually needs more than 7 days to mature. In summer, the returned flour must be slightly heated, then cooled before use. The higher the temperature, the hotter the flour should be stir-fried. In winter, there is no need to stir-fry it until hot. This process gives the final product a glossy finish and prevents deformation.

　　2. Stirring sugar: Same preparation method as used for the stirred sugar in Hechuan peach slices.

　　3. Mixing ingredients: First, prepare the syrup (use 2% sugar of the total product weight, with a sugar-to-water ratio of 10:5), and bring it to a boil until it reaches 105°C, then remove from heat. Once the syrup has completely cooled, mix it with peach kernels and sesame seeds (peach kernels should be cut to the size of corn grains, and sesame seeds should be hulled), then add salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder, and mix everything evenly for later use.

　　4. Loading the mold: Use a square flat-bottomed iron mold. Knead the stirred sugar and flour together, sieve it through a 60-mesh sieve, then layer it in three parts in the mold. One third is mixed with ingredients to form the middle layer of sugar-flour mixture; the remaining two thirds form the top and bottom layers of sugar-flour mixture. Of these, the bottom layer accounts for two thirds. First, spread the bottom layer of sugar-flour at the base of the mold, smooth and press it firmly with a copper spatula, then add the middle layer of sugar-flour, smooth and press it again, then add the top layer of sugar-flour, smooth it, tamp it down, smooth it once more.

　　5. Steaming the cake: Place the cake in a pot of warm water at 50–60°C for about 3 minutes, then let it sit.

　　6. Resting: Let it rest for about 12 hours in summer, and around 24 hours during other seasons. While resting, sprinkle and spread rice flour between each cake piece to prevent sticking and improve color.

　　7. Shaping and baking: Slice the rested cake into pieces for shaping—each slice should be about 6 cm long, 2.5 cm wide, and 2 mm thick—then arrange them evenly on an iron tray or flat pan for baking. Bake at around 150°C for approximately 8 minutes. When the slices turn pale yellow, remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool before packaging.