In traditional Chinese cuisine, there are many dishes named after celebrities.
For example, Zuo Zongtang chicken and Li Hongzhang miscellaneous.
Zuo Zongtang chicken is extremely well-known in the United States, and even in the famous sitcom "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory", there is a figure of Zuo Zongtang chicken. In life, many Americans eat at Chinese restaurants, and the must-order dish is Zuo Zongtang. "Delicious to cry" and "Next time you must order Zuo Zongtang chicken" are the most common evaluations of Zuo Zongtang chicken in Americans. It is no exaggeration to say that the Zuo Zong tang chicken has become a part of American culture.
However, Zuo Zongtang chicken has no direct connection with Zuo Zongtang himself. The inventor of Zuo Zongtang chicken was a Hunan native named Peng Changgui. Peng Changgui came to Taiwan in 1949 and opened a Peng Yuan restaurant.
In 1952, Admiral Arthur William Redford, commander of the U.S. Pacific Seventh Fleet, visited Taiwan and dined at PengYuan Restaurant. Peng Changgui cuts the chicken into large pieces, frys it until golden and half-brown, and then stir-frys the sauce and condiments to make a new dish. Redford was full of praise and asked what kind of dish it was. Peng Changgui immediately thought of Zuo Zongtang, a celebrity in his hometown of Hunan, and casually gave a name: "Zuo Zongtang Chicken." ”
In 1973, Peng Changgui came to the United States to develop and opened a Peng Yuan restaurant. Once, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger entertained guests in Pengyuan Garden, and after eating Zuo Zongtang chicken, he praised it one after another.
Kissinger is very fond of the dishes, that is worth it? As a result, the Washington Post, The New York Times and other media quickly reported on it, and ABC Television even made a special program about "Zuo Zongtang Chicken". Zuo Zongtang chicken became famous and gradually became one of the favorite and most familiar Chinese dishes among Americans.
Li Hongzhang also has a story.
In March 1896, Li Hongzhang, a late Qing dynasty minister, set off from Shanghai by boat to Russia to attend the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II. Subsequently, he visited Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The entire trip was 90,000 miles, spanning three oceans, and lasted 190 days.
Li Hongzhang arrived at the port of New York on August 28 on a cruise ship "St. Louis" and began his visit to the United States.
On this trip to the United States, Li Hongzhang left a lot of secret anecdotes, such as the coffin he carried with him, spitting at the National Library in Washington, D.C., and being interviewed by mainstream media such as the New York Times. Among them is this famous dish "Li Hongzhang Miscellaneous".
What is the origin of Li Hongzhang's miscellaneous pieces? According to the New York Times, "After Li Hongzhang arrived in New York, on the evening of August 29, he hosted a banquet for American guests, and Li Hongzhang tried to create good Sino-US relations, and he knew that we in the United States have a famous saying: 'If you want to win a person's heart, the best way is to first get his stomach.'" During the meal, Li Hongzhang served a dish consisting of celery, bean sprouts, meat and delicious Chinese sauce to satisfy the dual tastes of Chinese hosts and American guests. But is this legend true? We don't know. ”
As for the popularity of Li Hongzhang's miscellaneous pieces in the United States, Mr. Zhang Boju of the China Museum of Literature and History wrote in the article "Li Hongzhang Miscellaneous": "(Li Hongzhang Miscellaneous Pieces) is well-known abroad, and all Chinese restaurants in Europe and the United States have this dish. "There is a big meaning of "there is a Chinese restaurant where there is Li Hongzhang miscellaneous".
In any case, Li Hongzhang's offal has been popular in the United States for more than 100 years, longer than the history of Zuo Zongtang chicken. If you have a chance to go to the United States, be sure to try Zuo Zongtang chicken and Li Hongzhang offal, which are difficult to eat in China.
So, as a famous late Qing dynasty minister Zeng Guofan who was on a par with Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang, did he leave a dish named after him?
There really is. This dish is called "Tsang's Deer Antler Velvet".
As we all know, Zeng Guofan's life is more frugal and simple, and he rarely eats meat from the table. But that's not to say he rejects expensive dishes. In fact, when the official field was ushered in, Zeng Guofan had many opportunities to contact the taste of mountains and treasures. Eating too much, he will make some expensive dishes himself.
For example, deer antler velvet.
Deer antler velvet is a valuable Chinese medicinal herb. Zeng Guofan advocated "medicine when illness comes, and illness goes to stop", advocating spiritual nourishment and food maintenance, and often buying supplements such as deer antler velvet to boil porridge to eat. In the past, Zeng Guofan became an expert in deer antler cooking.
On August 19, 1856, Zeng Guofan recorded the practice of Zeng's deer antler in his diary:
"First remove the hair with a magnetic tile and soak the antler velvet in rice wine. Soak a white cloth with wine, put the mushrooms into a steamer basket to evaporate and slice, then add rice wine, steam again, and crush with a pestle. Korean ginseng sliced and crushed with evaporation of rice wine. One or two per mushroom, with two pairs of ginseng. Or make pills with rice wine, or with honey, republic. One method: deer antler velvet with a knife to remove the hair, soak in wine, slice, stir-fry dry, grind into a powder. Korean ginseng sliced, sautéed dried and ground. Two flavors and research, sprinkle the pills with rice wine. ”
You can refer to Zeng Guofan's approach to see if you can make a different flavor of Zeng's deer antler velvet.
[References: "Zuo ZongTang Chicken", "Li Hongzhang Miscellaneous", "Hunan Cuisine Crossing Guide How to Invite Zeng Guofan to Dinner", etc.]