In the small town of Su-ao in northeast Taiwan, a 107-year-old shop known as “Feng-ming” has long had success in selling the treat. By taking in new elements while keeping the necessary traditional ingredients, third-generation owner Ung Rei-yih has kept the old shop alive and kicking.
Yokan’s history dates back hundreds if not thousands of years. Originally a Chinese snack, the word yokan is a Japanese transliteration of the Chinese phrase Yang Geng, meaning “sheep broth.” The treat acquired this name because in the beginning its main ingredient—gelatin—was made from sheep broth which was left to cool and congeal.
Thus yokan has not always been sweet, but even so it has long been famous for its tastiness. Rumor has it that in ancient China during the fifth century B.C. a high-ranking general waged war against his own country because he was refused a bowl of Yang Geng.
The charming dessert was introduced into Japan in the 12th century by Buddhist monks, who, because they were only allowed to eat vegetarian food, had to find a way around the sheep broth. They did this by replacing it with a dark-colored broth made from red bean soup mixed with agar, a seaweed substance that turns into jelly when boiled with water. With time, the dessert gradually grew into the present form, a sweet-tasting delicacy loved by many.
After the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Taiwan was ceded to Japan by China. With the new rulers came an influx of Japanese immigrants to the island, who brought their yokan-making techniques with them.
By chance, Ung Feng-ming, father of the present owner, started his apprenticeship with a Japanese yokan maker in Su-ao.
“My father didn’t choose yokan. Yokan chose him,” Ung reflected. His father continued working at the store until the end of World War II, after which the Japanese returned home, leaving him with the keys to their shop. The apprentice-turned-chef became the sole owner of the store.
Under his reign, the shop enjoyed a smooth business for some years, but it was not until Ung took over the shop from his father some 37 years ago that business really began to take off.
It became an important local specialty store and a favorite stop for Japanese tourists. Eventually it even had a branch in the boutique section of a large Japanese department store in the capital city of Taipei, and even now it continues to find new patrons among the younger generations.
Ung is proudly surrounded by his bright-colored yokan gift boxes, with certificates of merit awarded by both public and private food institutions for his quality dessert. (Staff photo / Tien-ying Hsu)
“Good traditions should always be kept. Feng-ming yokan is special, because it is made of Su-ao’s carbonated spring water and agar extracted from locally produced seaweed,” Ung said. He explained that the water can give the dessert a more resilient texture, while the seaweed makes yokan’s look pleasantly darker, like the color of ripe autumn grapes.
Ung made good use of other local ingredients to render his yokan even more unique. In addition to red bean paste, he blended in oolong tea from the high mountains of Lugu Township in Nantou County, as well as kumquat, a soft, golden-colored petite tangerine which Su-ao abounds in.
As time went on, more and more customers began to notice the distinctively delicious flavor of Ung’s creative recipe. Soon, Feng-ming’s yokan became one of Su-ao’s biggest attractions; not only did locals love it as an afternoon snack, many far-away visitors came to Su-ao solely for the delicious treat.
Ung first attended a bakery training course held by the Taiwan branch of U.S. Wheat Associates two years after he took over Feng-ming. From this course he obtained knowledge in western baking.
“Traditionally speaking, sugar is used to make yokan sweet, while flour is used to give it weight. By taking the course, I learned to replace these ingredients with malt sugar and cornstarch, which not only added a caramel-like flavor to my yokan, but also gave it a much mellower texture,” said Ung. “At the time, I even added lemon cream, an innovative ingredient, to help my products congeal.”
Not only was Ung eager to search out new ingredients for yokan, he also wanted to find new ways of producing and packaging the product. Ung already had some knowledge of modern production techniques, since he had been the former factory head of the Taiwan branch of the electronics giant Victor Company of Japan Ltd. when he was asked to take over Feng-ming. Now he found ways to put the experience and knowledge he had gained from working with JVC to other uses.
First he decided, five years after taking over the shop, to import costly machines from Japan to speed up the production process. “Using machines does not mean losing the quality of hand-made products. Rather, it helps to produce quality products consistently,” explained Ung.
The innovative owner also purchased vacuum-packaging facilities, to wrap his yokan in aluminum foil, instead of hand-packing it with cellophane. A common preservation method these days, it was almost revolutionary four decades ago.
Ung’s vision to modernize his yokan business bore fruitful results, helped by the timely construction of the North-Link Line between 1973 and 1980. Since Taiwan received Japanese assistance in building the railroad, many engineers from Japan had occasion to visit Ung’s shop. Surprised at the enjoyable taste at only one-third to one-fourth of the price in Japan, Ung’s Japanese customers simply could not have enough of his products.
“They brought boxes after boxes of my yokan back with them to Japan, even when their luggage far exceeded weight limits set by airline companies,” Ung said, proudly.
In 1980, local biscuit giant I-Mei Foods Co. Ltd. launched “I-Mei mini yokan,” which helped Feng-ming’s yokan garner the spotlight. In most cases, large companies win the sales wars, but Feng-ming actually benefited from I-Mei’s move.
“Because of the mini yokan, the public became more aware of this traditional snack, which further boosted our sales,” the owner explained.
The inauguration of the railway ushered in more customers. Feng–ming prospered, thanks to the trains and the store’s ever-increasing fame. At its peak, more than a dozen artisans worked at the plant, producing yokan daily for both domestic and overseas customers. Ung declined to give concrete sales numbers, but humbly admitted that he enjoyed “a life more affluent than quite a few.”
In the 1990s, Feng-ming yokan reached out from the local shop to Dayeh Takashimaya Co. Ltd., a Japan-invested department store in Taipei. “I have always been careful with choosing business partners,” Ung said. “Before stepping in, I researched my potential clientele, and realized that Feng-ming would be loved by consumers that enjoy Japanese goods. Anchoring a branch counter in the department store proved to be the right decision, as business grew by substantial numbers.”
The tip to standing on firm ground for more than a century, Ung said, is to focus on what one excels in, and never let ambitions outweigh capability. “I don’t dream of establishing a yokan empire, because I know the limitations of this shop. It may not be as productive as large-scale companies, but creativity-based local features and quality have enabled this shop to thrive.”
Nevertheless, a crisis looms over the shop, in spite of its long-lasting success. “My son and my daughter are settled in big cities, and they have no intention of taking over the shop at all,” Ung said. Lack of dedicated heirs eventually forced Ung to retreat from the niche market in Taipei, to focus on business in Su-ao.
But with domestic tourism becoming one of the government- emphasized industries during the recent years, Feng-ming has gathered force again, from young holiday makers who flood into the shop for the dessert.
“I do hope to see the shop live on,” Ung said, adding that he would consider passing the store to the current chef. With locally produced ingredients, improved baking techniques and focused business strategies, Ung hopes successors of Feng-ming keep the store running for centuries to come. (HZW)
Write to Tien-ying Hsu at: tyhsu@mail.gio.gov.tw