The use of spices to cook fresh beans is a long-standing eating habit of the people of Shanghai, and the most famous one is the well-known traditional snack - five-spice beans, which was pioneered by the five-spice bean shop in Guo Ji Xinglong, the old town of Shanghai.

The five-spice bean skin of Chenghuang Temple is thin and flossy, the salt frost is even, the mouth is soft and hard, salty and sweet, the more you chew, the more fragrant it is, and finally turns into a wisp of bean fragrance between the lips and teeth, which has a unique flavor, it is the childhood memory of countless Shanghainese, and it is also a casual snack with a high degree of acceptance, which is very suitable for buying as a gift to relatives and friends. The price is cheap, generally about 25 yuan a catty, and it varies according to the different packaging grades.

Spiced beans are made of selected broad beans as raw materials, cooked in hot water first, and then stir-fried in a properly prepared spice sauce. Although the process is not complicated, the one that can hook the taste buds is the most rare. The production process of finished five-spice beans on the market will be used: pepper, angelica, star anise, bay leaves, grass fruit, cinnamon, refined salt and other more than 10 kinds of ingredients, which will be simpler for general home cooking.

Although many diners will use "chewing soft and glutinous" to evaluate the taste of the five-spice beans, the zero-scale or bagged five-spice beans purchased by tourists are not freshly baked and steaming beans, and in order to last longer, the water content is often very low, so the taste is harder, and those with bad teeth should not be greedy.

Where to buy: Shanghai No.1 Food Store, Shanghai Spice Bean Store, Specialty Store