Oven photography

Among many word of mouth, there is a halal market near changshou road (that is, Penguin Jun's office). There are stalls full of smoke and shouts every Friday. Mutton kebabs, hand-grabbed rice, naan, baked buns, and all kinds of dried fruits, preserves, snacks ... There are surprises every time I go.

One day at noon, Penguin once again came to this magical food market.

Passing a booth, I found many people queuing in front of a mysterious dessert. A whole milky soft cake was stuffed into a rectangular baking tray, and a thin layer of fine powder was screened on the surface. Looking at the cross section carefully, this stout guy is divided into many fine levels.

The little brother who sells cakes quickly cuts into pieces, boxes them and weighs them with a spatula. Because there are too many people waiting, he moves as fast as an assembly line.

"What's the name of this cake?" A: "Napalion, delicious."

Although Penguinjun's stomach was full of mutton pilaf, steamed buns and roast lamb tenderloin, this time he didn't resist the temptation of "delicious" and let his younger brother cut two pieces.

Well, the soft sandwich melts like cream, and the pastry in the middle is a little tough, but the whole sandwich is still soft, and it slides into the stomach without biting, which is very layered-much like the hybrid of lady M in Celebrity on the Internet, new york and French Napoleon.

Ms. M (left) Wismir-Foye (right)

I haven't recovered from my drunkenness. A friend asked me, er, why does the name "Napoleon Yong" sound so similar to "Napoleon"?

Open Baidu, and enter Napoli Yong. It turns out that this dessert is a regular program of many Xinjiang restaurants! Some netizens said that they had eaten in Xinjiang restaurant and noticed that its English translation was Napoleon.

Oh, Xinjiang has its own Napoleon? ! So, Napoleon is in Xinjiang, is it him ... related to the kind of thousand-layer aristocratic dessert from France, which is famous for its complexity? (Mille-Feuille, French is a musician and English is Napoleon)

We turned all the Chinese search engines upside down and found nothing, so we decided to find a senior Xinjiang person to find out.

Life entanglements: Xinjiang desserts?

Relying on the office of Xinjiang Penguin in the circle of friends, Penguin Jun was lucky enough to hook up with an old driver who knew this dessert.

Chatting with the old driver, I suddenly realized that Napaliyong is not the "traditional Xinjiang dessert" that everyone thought. ...

In fact, Napaliyong only appeared in China for seven years, and made its first appearance at the food exhibition of the 20 10 World Expo, which was the result of the exchange between Shanghai chain Xinjiang restaurant Yeri Li Xia and Uzbekistan National Pavilion.

Then Uzbekistan, as a close neighbor of Xinjiang, is the only way of the Silk Road and a member of the former Soviet Union. Presumably, the earliest life experience of Parriyong was related to geography.

Later, when penguins were studying Napoleon in France, they found a kind of Napoleon? Russian version.

It first appeared in 19th century, and became famous in 19 12 when Russia celebrated the 0/00th anniversary of its victory over France. наполеоннннннннннннннннн.

This patriotic and iconic dessert of the former Soviet Union is Napoli Yong!

Yeri Li Xia's Na Parion.

After the World Expo, Li Xia, Yeri, successfully obtained Napalion's recipe and applied for a patent for making this cake through exchange opportunities. Seeing that Napaliyong is similar to western-style dessert and has the potential of national characteristics, they invested a lot of money to promote it as a signboard.

Later, Naples Yong really got angry.

The pastry chef who left Li Xia, Yeri, either found another job or simply went out and opened a small workshop to supply this kind of pastry to other restaurants in Xinjiang. Blink of an eye, that Parriyong soon opened a branch in Shanghai.

Surprisingly, Napaliyong's success took only a few short years, from the initial contact with consumers, to the word-of-mouth of diners, and now out of the magic capital, which was misinformed as "traditional Xinjiang cakes" everywhere.

Going deep into the kitchen, this is how the food comes.

The cream is not as light as lady M, and the crust is not as thin as Napoleon's. Goose Jun only knows that this Napaliyong is delicious. As for what the stuffing and crispy skin in the middle are made of, it's really confusing.

Out of curiosity, we went straight to Yeri Li Xia's kitchen and asked the most experienced pastry chef how to make this dessert.

Into the kitchen, a giant blender rumbled: the chef's machine for making bread was not half as big as it, and some kind of mixture like eggs and flour was stirred at high speed in the basin.

Master Wang, who is making cakes, explained that the filling being stirred is Napaliyong's cream filling, and before stirring, eggs, butter, flour and sugar should be mixed, completely steamed in a steamer, and then stirred for at least 30 minutes to have a soft and smooth texture.

The chopping board at the other end is covered with a layer of crispy skin covered with pores, and the master gently presses it with his hand, making a crisp "click" sound.

"Unlike French cakes, it is difficult to fold and roll up. Our cakes are quite good, not so many layers, but very delicious. " Master Wang said that to make this kind of crispy skin, first roll out the eggs, butter and flour evenly in proportion, and then bake them in the oven until they are golden and crisp.

While speaking, she skillfully picked up a scraper and put a layer of cream filling on the crispy skin. Smoothing, and then laying the next layer, this operation has to be repeated several times.

Master Wang has always stressed that the butter and sugar used in the Uzbek version of Napaliyong are too strong!

"When we improved the formula, we lost at least half of the butter and sugar. People there are big and like sweet and greasy food, but we must adapt to the tastes of city people ... at first, they had to put 8 pieces of butter in a whole cake. Who can eat? "

In order to unify the size and height, they also unified Napalion into a "standardized seven-layer cake": seven layers, that is, from bottom to top, cakes filled with milk should be folded seven times.

Spread seven layers, sprinkle with "snowflakes", and then put them in the refrigerator for 4 hours. When you take it out, Napalion is what you see.

By the way, Napalion softened at room temperature is much more delicious than the one just taken out of the refrigerator.

Compared with French Napoleon, who wins and who loses?

If you still don't quite understand the French Napoleon's craft and its difference, I'll give you a step diagram, which is easy to understand:

So the two take different routes. Napoleon of France sells complex craftsmanship and layered taste. You can label it "exquisite" and "advanced". Relatively speaking, Napaliyong was born in a barbarian, and the practice was much simpler, but with unambiguous materials, he did not lose the excellent West Point style.

Compared with the French Napoleon who was forced to ask for fifty or sixty yuan, the price of this Russian version of Napoleon is close to the people who save manpower. The price of a small piece in 6 yuan starts at $4 per piece. You can pack $2 for an order and take it away.

Yeri Li Xia vs Xinjiang Market, Neapolitan Yong's "Orthodox" Debate

Napoli Yong, from different sects, has different shapes and tastes:

The masters who went out from Li Xia, Yeri, later formed their own schools. Compared with the Yeri version of "seven floors", Napalion on Macau Road has more floors and higher density. I also heard that many Xinjiang restaurants in the market have only four to five floors in order to save costs.

For the first time, I ate the amazing Napaliyong in Xinjiang market, and Penguin Jun never met it again. After that, every time I visited the Xinjiang market, my little brother's diced pieces were very casual, crispy and hard, and sometimes even slightly raw. Moreover, in the Xinjiang market, two pieces of Napaliyong cost me 40 yuan, and the price is similar to cutting cakes.

Comparatively speaking, the "seven layers" with very stable length, width and height look more beautiful, and can keep the crispy and soft taste for a long time.

On the other hand, there is a premise that can't be ignored in the debate about which Napaliyong is "more authentic": Napaliyong is not the only snack that spread from the west to the east and was mistaken for "Xinjiang traditional cuisine".

Just like another dessert we ate in the restaurant that day, "Bahalawa", which is made of walnuts, raisins, cakes and a lot of icing, its name in the Middle East is Baklawa, and it is also a dessert slowly introduced to Xinjiang through the Silk Road, which has its own form in many Eurasian countries; For another example, the flat bread in the Middle East is actually the same as the one you have eaten. ...

Baharava and Nange

In the process of spreading and evolution, food with stories will always derive various forms. No school can be called a real creator. Even after applying for a patent, Napali Yong is still thriving in Xinjiang restaurants under various flower names.

In any case, from the emotional point of view, it is hardly a bad thing that a group of ethnic minority foods with exotic characteristics can stand firm in a modern city, be accepted by consumers and be passed down in a new way.

Besides, without competition, there will be no progress. In the recent two years, Li Xia of Yeri is preparing to expand Napaliyong's product line. The first new taste to test the water is a square Melaleuca, with a large durian pulp and a few almonds on it. It has just been launched in the Yioulai store near Disney and will soon appear in other stores.

Durian is delicate in texture and steamed with stuffing, which adds lightness to the aroma. Durian lovers naturally admire it, but some with conservative tastes may stay away.

In the future, other desserts may be introduced to China to replace Napalion and become a new generation of legends to satisfy the increasingly picky taste buds of diners, which is unpredictable.

In the final analysis, in this fast-paced society, perhaps only innovation itself can truly stand the test of time.

Text || Judy

Figure | Xinyue one person

Photography | Pei Xuan