If the food world is regarded as the whole martial forest, then the hot pot must be the existence of the sword god Ximen Blowing Snow.
invincibility! How lonely!
Eating hot pot in China today has become a daily eating habit.
For example, if you come out on the weekend with a good friend and want to have a good meal, then the variety of hot pot restaurants on the street will definitely become the main alternative.
However, the style of hot pot varies from place to place.
The so-called "north copper pot, south bean fishing" refers to the North Beijing Lamb Shabu-shabu, the South has Chaoshan Beef Hot Pot.
But to talk about the word "hot and spicy", which sounds very tempting, you have to count Chengdu and Chongqing, two very local hot pots.
Chongqing characteristic nine palace grid
There are two common theories about the origin of Sichuan hot pot.
One is the Chongqing docks that originated in the old society.
At that time, Chongqing's water transport was prosperous, and there were a large number of dock workers working as coolies by the river, who worked hard for a day and went back to the roadside stalls to eat a good meal.
The stallholders of the roadside stalls would put their burdens on a stove with an iron basin separated by iron sheets, and then they would buy cheap cattle to put on the water and cook them on the spot.
If you boil it, the taste is estimated to fade out of a bird, so you have to accompany a bowl of spicy and spicy sauce, which is convenient and enjoyable, and it is refreshing to eat!
And this roadside stall eating method is metered, and the current rotating small hot pot is charged by the sign, how much to eat.
Even if the money on the body is not enough, you can also clip a few pieces to relieve the hunger, so it is deeply loved by the dock workers.
Another theory is that Sichuan hot pot originated in Luzhou, the river city in southern Sichuan.
At that time, boatmen running boats on the Yangtze River often stopped at the Xiaomitan wharf in Luzhou, and after stopping the boat, they would use a crock pot to make a fire to cook.
But they accidentally found that after adding a variety of vegetables, peppers and peppers, the "jar dish" was particularly delicious, so this form quickly spread along the river and evolved into the current hot pot.
The pier in the Qingming Upper River map
No matter where Sichuan hot pot originated, it has nothing to do with any dignitaries or myths and legends, but it is created by the hard-working low-level workers and peddlers on both sides of the Yangtze River, which is the most simple and down-to-earth.
Those dock workers who have worked hard for a day with their bare arms do not care whether the soup base is cooked for a long time or not, and the street vendors who make a few hard money will not fold the book to select the best ingredients, so a major feature of Sichuan hot pot culture is "casualness".
The Sichuan hot pot was really casual at the beginning - add red oil and soup to cook it.
Ingredients can not be selected, the pot is generally only hairy (beef stomach), tofu and other cheap and affordable ingredients.
Although the hot pot is "casual", fortunately, the people who eat it are also very open, whether it is pigs and cows under the water or tofu cabbage, you dare to put it in the pot, and the big guys dare to let go of the courage to eat - no need to pay attention, eat happily.
This is also one of the reasons why Sichuan hot pot can be out of the circle.
In addition to the ingredients, the dining environment of Sichuan hot pot is also very casual, although the current hot pot restaurant has a high and low grade, but senior foodies know that the real top hot pot restaurants often come from the "fly restaurant".
Taste is the most important thing.
When it comes to the taste of Sichuan hot pot, I believe that the first reaction of most people is the appearance of seemingly absent phantom pain in the back of the body.
This feeling is all due to the same pepper that is put up like no money, which makes countless people who have tasted Sichuan hot pot for the first time love and hate, and their noses are flowing, but it is also the soul of Sichuan hot pot.
In addition to the ultimate enjoyment of the sense of taste and the so-called "cold and blood circulation", another function of chili peppers may be to cover up the fishy taste of dishes such as offal with "heavy taste".
After all, Sichuan hot pot originated from the bottom of the city, and the requirements for the freshness of ingredients at the beginning were also very "casual".
In addition to spicy, there is also hemp.
The taste of "hemp" has been in Chinese food for thousands of years, and before the introduction of chili peppers, sichuan peppers were the unique "soul of Sichuan cuisine".
Therefore, it is naturally indispensable in Sichuan hot pot, and many people have experienced the wonderful feeling of lips and tongue failure at the same time.
Although the two tastes of "spicy" and "hemp" feel simple and clear in the mouth, there have been many differences within the Sichuan hot pot.
Since Chongqing became a municipality directly under the central government in 1997, the name of "King of Spicy Hot Pot" has always been the reason for Chengdu and Chongqing to stand at the "top of the Forbidden Purple" duel.
Do not admit defeat to each other, secretly compete, and so on, in addition to the two places people have become extremely spicy, I don't know how many innocent foreign diners have been affected.
Some people say that Chengdu's hot pot is more spicy than spicy, And Chongqing's hot pot is more spicy than spicy, and some people think that it is the complete opposite.
As for who can smoke on the top of your head, who can numb your tongue to knot, it is estimated that it depends on whether there is a hand shaking when the kitchen is cooked.
But then again, Chongqing hot pot and Chengdu hot pot do have some differences.
For example, Chongqing hot pot likes to use butter as the bottom of the pot, and the Mandarin duck pot is the final bottom line;
The Chengdu hot pot prefers to put clear oil, and there are few "nine palace grids".
Sprinkle chili peppers and peppercorns into the red oil, impatiently but methodically put in the hairy belly, duck blood and various beef and mutton rolls, take chopsticks into the pot, the ingredients are cooked just right, not old nor tender.
Walking up from the carefully prepared oil dish, taking a sip, it feels like "Bashi".
The first is the bottom of the pot, although there are already various flavors of the bottom of the pot, but "red oil is the mother of the hot pot", I have not tasted the bottom of the red oil pot in my life, and I am called a hero in vain?
The best red oil pot bottom, using dried chili peppers, shallots, garlic slices, etc., with authentic Pixian bean paste, with delicious bone broth, spicy but not dry, endless aftertaste.
As for whether to use butter or clear oil, it does not matter, the key is that the base must be fragrant enough, so as to taste the true meaning of Sichuan hot pot.
The second is the ingredients.
If you ask a Sichuanese what kind of ingredients must be available in the hot pot, the answer is that nine times out of ten is hairy belly.
Like Mao Belly, which has occupied the C position since the birth of Sichuan hot pot, it is crisp, tough and fresh, and it is truly invincible ace ingredient.
Determining the bottom of the pot and the ingredients, there is one more step that cannot be skipped, that is, seasoning.
In the face of all kinds of spices, the most confusing thing in life is this.
Here it is necessary to recommend the "garlic puree + sesame oil" combination of golden oil.
Any seasoning can be paired.
With the wrapping of sesame oil, the allicin in the garlic paste cannot be volatilized.
Spicy oil and spicy garlic make the concept of "no spicy and no joy" in Sichuan hot pot at a glance, and it tastes very happy.
Sichuan hot pot does not have any "authentic restaurant", nor does it pay much attention to what authentic eating method, over the years, hot pot shops across the country have been showing their magic, the Sichuan hot pot out of the flower.
There are those who focus on convenient and fast food, those who pay attention to the flavor of "old hot pot", and those who specialize in hairy belly from the ingredients.
Also because the base ingredient industry is very mature, the free seasoning of home hot pot is also quite popular.
It is precisely because this "casual" form of dining is more and more in line with the fast-paced urban life that hot pot has quickly swept the world.
But if you really want to say why Sichuan hot pot can sweep the world, we think that in addition to "Bashi", it may also be related to the increasingly developed level of proctology medical treatment!