What is Shaoxing fennel?

Anise bean is a famous traditional snack in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, which belongs to folk leisure food and is also a regular drink in urban and rural hotels all year round.

Fennel beans seem simple and easy to make, but they are actually very particular. Dry broad beans (commonly known as arhat beans) must be carefully selected, washed out of the pot, added with water until immersed, and boiled for about 15 minutes. When the periphery of the bean skin is uneven, add cinnamon, fennel and soy sauce, and then cook slowly for about 15 minutes.

At that time, the bean skin was yellow and wrinkled, the bean meat was cooked but not rotten, soft and tough, chewed with saliva, rich in aroma and salty. The more you chew this bean, the more you want to chew it. Full of Shaoxing flavor. It was written by Lu Xun, so it is especially popular with foreign tourists. Buy it as a gift for relatives and friends.