Most of the bun shops and dumpling restaurants in Tianjin have a kind of filling, called "Jinwei Vegetarian". Its biggest feature is that there is sesame sauce and soy sauce tofu in the filling, so the taste is unique. "Jinwei Vegetarian" must have originated in Tianjin, but when did it first appear, and who came up with it? I'm afraid it's not very clear. Based on the analysis of history, customs and eating habits, there are only three sources: one is that Tianjin People's Congress is accustomed to eating vegetarian dumplings on the morning of the first day of the New Year, hoping that this year will be pure and pure; second, the vegetarian fast near the temple; and the third is the vegetarian bun stuffing represented by the "stone gate".
The original name of the "Stone Gate" Subao was called Zhensu Garden, located on Gongnan Street (now Ancient Culture Street), because of the low-lying terrain, the water entered the house under heavy rain, so a stone embankment was built at the door, resembling a gate. Tianjin people love to give the shop name nickname, such as "dog ignore", "ear and eye" and "eighteenth street", are nicknames, for a long time "True Vegetarian Garden" and no one remembers, "Stone Gate" is famous.
Stone threshold
The characteristics of the "stone gate" vegetarian bun are mainly in the production of bun filling. First use gluten, green sauce, large ingredients, dough flour to make gluten paste, and then cut the white powder skin into small cubes, add dried incense, mushrooms, fungus, cauliflower, mung bean vegetables (mung bean vegetables should be boiled in boiling water, squeeze out the soup), sesame oil, salt, and gluten batter together and stir well. Steamed vegetarian buns, the smell is fragrant, refreshing to eat, easy to digest. The most important thing here is gluten batter. Judging from the earliest recipes, the "Stone Gate" vegetarian bun does not have sesame sauce and soy sauce tofu.
Gongnan Avenue, where the "stone gate" is located, is close to the Tianhou Temple, the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the Tianhou Temple incense is flourishing, and the people who enter the incense show their sincerity with Rusu, so all those who come to the Tianhou Temple must buy vegetarian bags and cannot eat meat, so the "stone gate" business is very prosperous.
In addition to making vegetarian bags, Zhensu Garden can also make vegetarian mats, and many dishes on the meat mat can be made with vegetarian ingredients, such as vegetarian fish, vegetarian duck, vegetarian elbows, vegetarian shark fins, placed on the table, it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity. Yan Xiu and Hua Shikui, two top cultural figures in Tianjin at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, respectively, wrote inscriptions in Zhensu Garden: "Who can know the true taste, come here and do not forget vegetarian food." "True sweetness sees true virtue, and Su Chenxi has a vegetarian heart."
Stone Door Kansu Bag
During the Japanese occupation of Tianjin, the common people did not have a good life, did not have the heart to worship the Queen of Heaven, and did not have time to visit the North Street of Gongnangong, the business of "Stone Gate" plummeted, and by 1943, the business of ZhensuYuan declined, and only by frying some vegetarian gluten and vegetarian hats, it was barely maintained. In the 1950s, the public-private partnership, the merger of the stores, the "Stone Gate" moved to the "East Fang Lou" in Bird City, Hebei Province, because of the prosperity of the business, and opened a semicolon in the northwest corner of Wenchang Palace.
The first generation of "Stone Gate Kan" Subao founder can not be examined, the second generation of people called Zhan Huating, 14 years old to the Zhensu Garden apprentice, died at the age of 89, the third generation of people called Ye Zhenping. In 1985, the "Stone Gate Kan" vegetarian bag opened in Nanshi Food Street, and Ye Zhenping was the leader of the back kitchen at this time. At that time, the shop's vegetarian bags had a special feature - the gluten was fried in sesame oil.
At that time, the Li Gonglou Restaurant next to Xinkai Road in Hedong District, there was also a Shen Ji Su Bao, which was opened by Shen Enrong of the "Stone Gate", known as the "Little Stone Gate", and Shen Enrong's nephew Shen Yan restored the store in the 80s.
Tianjin Su Bao
In July 1987, Tianjin held the "Qunxing Cup" flavor snack competition, and the winners included: "Stone Gate Kan" vegetarian buns and Jianwu Street Huimin Morning Pancake Dumplings, Dafu Lai Pan Ba Cuisine, National Restaurant Lu Ji Hot Noodle Fried Cake, Baodi Restaurant Rolled Meat Cake, Nanshi Du Nameqi Steamed Food, Mingshun Zhai Assorted Pancakes, Zhiwei Sai Mu Su Huang Lao Tofu, Gongqian Street Dumpling Shop Stick Dumplings, Yangcun Cake Dried, but unfortunately, in just over thirty years, half of these flavored snacks have been lost.
In 1988, at the invitation of Japan's Seibu Co., Ltd., the "Stone Gate Kan" flew across the ocean and participated in the "China Exposition" held in Tokyo, Japan. The expo also exhibited beijing's palace dairy products, Sichuan's spicy tofu and other foods. The manager of the "Stone Gate Kan" vegetarian bag shop and two employees, on the spot, wrapped buns, steamed buns, steamed and sold, the Japanese diet is light, so they love Tianjin vegetarian buns.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, in addition to the "stone gate", there were two other well-known vegetarian bags shops in Tianjin, one in the northwest corner, which was opened by Zhang Ende in 1914, without a brand name, but the business was booming, when there were literati who wrote couplets for him: "It is really six clean roots, and there is no dust." His family's vegetarian bag is made of fuqiang flour as a skin, which is similar to the "stone threshold".
In addition, there is a company, Wan Shuncheng, which also sells vegetarian bags. Duan Yuji, the founder of Wan Shuncheng, is a Jinghai duliu person who came to Tianjin earlier and walked the streets and alleys to sell hemp straw and rice. In the early 1920s, Wan Shun Cheng Restaurant was opened in Dongxing Street, Nanshi City, selling rice, eight treasure lotus seed porridge, pot vegetables, vegetarian buns, sugar buns, and bean buns.
Wan Shuncheng, the boss, is very creative and likes to do the opposite. For example, at that time, Tianjin's pot dishes were all vegetarian brine, he had to sell meat slices brine, at that time Tianjin was selling meat buns everywhere, but he had to make vegetarian buns. The method of his family's vegetarian buns is different from the "stone gate" of the true vegetarian garden, it is necessary to first beat the brine, fry the big material, fry the big material, put the coriander and ginger powder, fry out the aroma, put the noodle sauce to fry, add soy sauce, salt, order a small amount of water to make the marinade, mix the dried incense, powder skin, bean vegetables, coriander, etc., and then add the sauce tofu, noodle sauce, sesame sauce, that is, vegetarian stuffing.
Wan Shuncheng's business became better and better, and soon opened a semicolon in the French Concession. However, the "Stone Gate Kan" vegetarian bun originally did not have soy tofu, noodle sauce, and sesame sauce, and the recipe handed down by Wan Shuncheng added these three things, that is, according to the current data, "Jinwei Vegetarian" originated from Wan Shuncheng. (Text: He Yuxin)