College student from xinjiang hopes to turn nut cake into a well-known energy snack

A young entrepreneur and his friends had the business sense, and good taste, to build on a recipe for success that has seen their enterprise whet the appetites of consumers.

Adili, 23, is a Uygur senior student at Changsha University of Science and Technology in Hunan province but his calculated risk in making a type of cake that has actually been around for centuries showed that he had cooked up a winning formula.

Adili, 23, grew up in Kashi, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. His parents brought up six children by making and selling Xinjiang nut cake, sometimes known by its old Turkic name baklava. For centuries it has been a popular snack across parts of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.

In 2012, Adili was intrigued by an online discussion about the "expensive Xinjiang nut cake".

He decided to make an authentic, delicious and affordable version. The idea was hungrily accepted by his classmates Jiang Jinya and Jiang Chunyang and together they pooled 30,000 yuan ($4,870) and opened an online shop selling Xinjiang nut cake. Now, their business is booming with daily turnover of more than 100,000 yuan. Talk about having your cake and eating it!

Before his venture the cake, or at least the way it was sold, had gained a certain notoriety and for some it had left a bad taste in the mouth. Marentang salesmen in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities had a reputation for overcharging and being rude to customers. The cake became known as qiegao, after the manner in which it was cut with a large knife but it also suggested sharp practices.

A dispute between a Uygur snack vendor and a customer in Yueyang, Hunan province, in 2012 became a major online topic after a fight erupted that ended with the customer paying some 160,000 yuan ($25,616) in damages.

This led to a rash of netizen comments that the cake was too rich, both in ingredients and cost, and should be classified as a luxury. It was this discussion that first intrigued Adili.

Even in Xinjiang, slices of the the cake are sold by vendors on tricycles who are known to overcharge.

Marentang has many ingredients, including walnuts, raisins or dates, and their price can vary, said Abudu Reheman, a marentang chef in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. He hails from Jiashi county, Kashgar prefecture, a place renowned for its marentang and at 39 he still sells it the traditional way, from carts on the streets.

Xinjiang was an important destination along the ancient Silk Road and marentang was a tasty and convenient snack that was easy to carry and preserve.

Eighty percent of marentang is walnuts or other dried fruits and the rest is syrup. The ingredients are high in calories and vitamins and can provide an energy boost for the tired traveler.

Marentang is traditionally only made in winter as high temperatures can cause the syrup to run. Even allowing for entrepreneurs like Adili, the skills in making it are being lost and the ingredients are becoming more expensive, said Abudu.

The syrup must be boiled for about four hours and then walnuts are blended into it. But the key is in the stirring, too much or too little can ruin the taste and texture, said Abudu.

gaobo@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 09/19/2014 page5)