In China's food map, the southwest always hides mysteries. From here, peppers begin to conquer the taste buds of Chinese; the tropical style gives the plant a strong vitality, but also blurs the boundaries between viewing and eating; the widespread use of fermentation makes the table forever filled with an inexplicable mysterious smell. But among the many fascinating suspense, dipping in water is undoubtedly the most difficult mystery to uncover.
Eating in Yunguichuan, Chongqing and other places, there is always a plate of dipping water on the table. Whether it is hot pot, barbecue, soup, cold mix, or rice noodles and fruits as staple foods and desserts, they cannot escape the "fate" of putting them in the saucer and rolling and then sending them into the mouth.
For the people of Yungui, dipping in water is no less important than chopsticks: when there is it, it is taken for granted, and if it is suddenly withdrawn one day, the meal will really be chaotic.
Northerners listened to a question mark: What is dipping water, so important why don't we?
"Dipping water" is a superorganic word in the north, and it is much clearer to replace it with "small material" or "dipping sauce". The sesame sauce ingredients for Beijing shabu lamb dips, the spicy soy sauce dipped in Shanghai pork chops, the ginger and shallot dipping sauce that Guangfu white cut chicken cannot do without; and even the vinegar sauce that must be eaten for dumplings can essentially be classified into the category of "dipping water".
▲ Ginger shallot dipping sauce is the soul of white cut chicken
In fact, this way of "dipping" the food and then entering it is the dietary legacy left by the ancestors. The ancients mashed ginger, garlic, onion and leeks and called them "jī"; fish, shrimps and crabs were chopped into meat sauce or fermented to produce juice, called "hǎi". Leek sauce in the north, fish sauce and shrimp oil in the south, and even national seasoning soy sauce can be regarded as an extension of "dipping food" from ancient times to the present.
This kind of seasoning method does not distinguish between regions and has a whole country, but only Yungui two provinces and one "dip" became famous. Because of the high water and rapid water in Yunnan-Guishan Mountain, the transportation is inconvenient, and it is not easy to obtain oil and salt since ancient times, so it is more dependent on this straightforward seasoning method to solve the "urgent need". The local people took advantage of the situation and used it to the extreme, gradually forming a unique set of "southwest dipping water culture".
Although the dipping water has a "water" word, it is not stuck in the liquid state, but can be dry or wet, and can be sauced or sauced. Anything called "seasoning" or "spice" can be used to dip in water.
Mastering the principle of dipping water and the "classic style", we have found the password to the "shortcut" of Yungui cuisine.
01 Oil chili dipped in water
Yuan Mei advocated "meat oil for stir-frying vegetarian vegetables and vegetable oil for stir-frying meat dishes", and this principle is also applicable to driving to dipping water. For foods such as bean blossom noodles/rice, such as "clear soup and little water", the dipping water should not tire of its "complexity": the oil chili pepper made of soy sauce, pepper powder, minced meat, rapeseed oil, etc. is dipped in water, and the function is equivalent to "cheek". The pure bean blossoms are baptized with red oil dipped in water, and they come out with a variety of styles.
▲ The bean blossoms are dipped in oil pepper dipped in water and immediately become colorful
Each shop sells bean blossoms, but the spelling is dipped in water. It is not only the soul of the table, but also the foundation of the store's survival.
▲ Light bean blossoms and rich oil chili dipped in water are a perfect match
02 Boil green pepper dipped in water
The photogenic rate of roasted green pepper dipping water in Guizhou can probably be divided into autumn colors with boiled pepper dipping level, dipped in bean flowers, hot pots, and stews. Green peppers and wild tomatoes are grilled over a fire, the outer skin is peeled off, mixed and mashed and then salt and other spices are added, without too complicated modifications, and the fragrance of the peppers themselves is enough to conquer the taste buds.
▲ A dip of roasted green peppers, simmered peppers and folded ear roots. There are no rules for dipping in water, and it's all up to your liking
Dipping in water has never been the protagonist on the table, and it is its duty to accompany the main dish and set off the original taste, but there are occasional examples of breaking the stereotypes. A large spoonful of roasted green pepper dipped in water and covered with rice is a good play based on anti-guests. Shaanxi people have "a dish of oil and spicy seeds", for Guizhou people, this position is not to burn green pepper dipped in water.
03 Dip the chili peppers in water
Xi Chili, Yungui's most versatile piece, restraint and restraint are its survival rules in the dipping water world. Charcoal-baked red peppers have a crisp texture, prominent aroma, reduced spiciness, non-greasy meat and sweet side dishes. Even if you don't make the main tune, you can be a cameo star in water such as tempeh and roasted green pepper.
▲ Simmered chili pepper is the most versatile item for Yungui dipping water
Most of the fat and plump clear soup hot pots are inseparable from this thing, such as goose meat, pork knuckles, sour soup fish hot pot and so on. A few years ago, I went to the mountains in Qiandongnan to eat sour soup fish, and the boiling red sour soup was set up with a small plate of dipping water mixed with boiled peppers, minced onions and garlic and salt. The Miao hostess dripped a few drops of wood ginger seed oil into it, dipping the water as if it had been magically cast to waft out the fragrance of lemon and mint. Before eating, take the local materials, scoop a spoonful of original soup into the dipping water, sour, spicy and salty, and the dipping fish meat can not be beautiful.
▲ The sour soup fish eaten in Qiandongnan is dipped in water, but the taste is delicious
Chili peppers and vegetarian dishes are also a match made in heaven. Yunnan miscellaneous vegetable soup, also known as vegetarian soup in Guizhou, is cooked with fresh vegetables, such as cabbage, bitter vegetables, and even wild vegetables, without adding oil and salt and boiling with water. Serve a spoonful of raw soup to boil peppers, peppercorns and salt – Guizhou people may also add tempeh and folded ear roots, or simply use tempeh as the main flavor, and simmer peppers to help add flavor. Fish out vegetables and dip them, simple and refreshing, suitable for all seasons. After eating a bowl of "vegetable soup" and drinking it, it vividly explains what is the southwest version of "original soup and original food".
▲ Tempeh can be dipped in water, which can be dipped in vegetables
04 Fruit dipped in water
Deep into the tropical and trough areas such as western Yunnan, the hot and humid climate makes people need a more vivid and straightforward dip to awaken the taste buds, the introverted chili pepper withdraws from the stage, and the "sour and spicy" blended with fresh millet spicy and sour fruit is combined to dip the water, fresh and domineering, becoming the dominant in the dipping water.
▲ Fruit did not survive a "dip"
Lemon dipping water is a good friend of Dai barbecue, lime juice plus chopped millet spicy and minced green onion and garlic, can dissolve the greasy of all foods. I would say that dissolving the grease is just a gimmick, and there is no reason for Dai people to love lemons. This version is copied in quantity, and then sprinkled with leek crushes, which is the "dipping water plus" of Dehong Prefecture - lemon skimming. Dipped in rice noodles and dried beef, people sweat profusely, but they can't stop chopsticks.
▲ Dip water plus: Lemon skimming, sour and spicy silent
Without the help of Qingmei, probably no one can resist the fierceness of the Bai "raw skin". After roasting, the skin is fragrant and strong, but the inside is still raw. Plum vinegar is mixed with soy sauce, orange peel powder and other ingredients to make a dipping water, which can not only cover up the fishiness, but also inhibit the growth of bacteria, and at the same time make the meat more tender to eat raw. A dish dipped in water, triple function. The ancient culture of eating food and the joy of today's tongue are immediately in harmony with the blend of plum vinegar dipped in water.
▲ Fermented plum vinegar
▲ Without plum vinegar, I'm afraid no one can resist the Bai tribe's "raw skin"
05 Pickle paste dipped in water
Dai flavor dipping water is also a taste can not be mentioned, the ancients called "sauce", now commonly known as pickle juice. Pickles are eaten everywhere, but there are not many places where you know how to appreciate the pickle juice. Beijing Yanqing area is a kind of brine noodles made of pickle juice, don't look at just the scraps, but there is indescribable deliciousness.
▲ Pickle paste dipped in water, with barbecue kill
The Dai people are also well versed in their delicacies. Ferment the pickle juice with radish and glutinous rice porridge for half a month, simmer in a pot until it is viscous, add millet spicy, coriander, peanut crushed, etc., and become a pickle paste dipped in water. People who eat it for the first time can never guess what this sour and sweet dipping water is made of, dipping pork belly, fried pork skin and roast beef tongue are all a must, even lemon dipping water to make it three points.
06 Halogen rot dipped in water
Eat barbecue in Yungui, and not eating grilled tofu is about the same as not eating. Guizhou's Water City Pan, Bijie Dafang Stinky Tofu and Jianshui Grilled Tofu, dipped in chili noodles are standard, but I personally prefer Jianshui's brine dipping water. Halogen rot is what northerners call curd milk, and Lu Nan and Mou Ding are preferred. Grilled tofu with marinated and dipped in water is very Chinese "tofu parent-child" style, and the delicious effect is exponentially increasing.
▲ Guizhou's roasting pots are mostly dipped in dried chili peppers
▲ Grilled tofu with marinated and dipped in water, very Chinese "tofu parent-child" style
The one-inch square tofu is roasted to the ground, swiped in half with chopsticks, dipped in dipping water made with marinade, soy sauce, minced garlic and sesame oil, and each pore is filled with delicious soup. Sitting on the barbecue stall with a sinking butt and eating for half a day is a common thing.
07 Dip in water
Among the many dips, the single mountain dip must have a name. For Yunnan people who have left their homes, stuffing a few bags of shan shan dip water into their suitcases is better than any homesickness recipe.
▲ Single mountain dip is the introductory dip for laymen
At first glance, shan shan dipping water is dried chili noodles, but in fact, it is also mixed with pepper, pepper, ginger powder and other spices, which can be used directly as a dry dip, or mixed with soy sauce, marinade, sesame oil and so on to form a wet dip. Even Yunnan people eat strawberries, pineapples and other fruits, are accustomed to using a single mountain dipped in water to mix, it sounds a bit "heartbreaking", as I have eaten myself, said that I staged a "real incense scene".
The combination of dipping water is complex and changeable, even if you track the daily meals of the Yungui people throughout the year, it may not be clear. Some people think that dipping water should not be opened and worn, otherwise it will not taste right in the mouth, and the rules of collocation will be broken.
I don't think so.
At the beginning of the birth of dipping water, in addition to solving the objective problem of lack of oil and salt, it also took care of subjective preferences with different tastes. Classic collocations extract the commonality of taste, but they cannot replace personalized choices.
One year I took a southern friend to eat shabu lamb, bitterly recommended the old Beijing combination of sesame sauce + leek flowers + sauce tofu soup, and as a result, Sichuan friends still took sesame oil and garlic sauce dish, and Guangdong friends said that dipping soy sauce was also delicious.
Among the many stubbornness of human beings, taste is the most difficult to change. Dipping water as a kind of "post-seasoning", the right to seasoning is delegated to the hands of diners: whether to eat spicy, heavy taste or health experts, you can find a harmonious and symbiotic space in a dish of dipping water.
Guizhou and Yunnan have historically been both major immigrant provinces and ethnic minority gathering places, with the most diverse ethnic culture in China. The rules on the table are actually the rules of survival in this land.
The existence of dipping water not only makes the food have the possibility of infinite extension, but also makes "the mouth no longer difficult to adjust".
In this sense, dipping in water is a great invention to keep the peace at the table. If you only know how to read the script, won't you live up to its painstaking heart?
Therefore, you don't have to worry about the dazzling dipping water combination. How you want to dip, you decide.
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Text | Western Xia
Figure | Xixia & Network