Each region has its own local specialties, and the people of all ethnic groups living in Qinghai have discovered some local agricultural and sideline products in the long-term practice of life, and constantly created unique flavor dishes with plateau characteristics, and Fa Cai is one of the unique ones.
Hair vegetables, also known as candida, are an algae of the order Cyanobacterium candida, which is widely distributed throughout the world. It is named for its black and slender color, shaped like a strand of hair. In Qinghai, its production areas are mostly in the eastern and southern regions. Because the hair vegetable grows in a low-lying and wet place, and accompanied by weeds, it is difficult to collect unless it encounters rain, so it is difficult to collect, as early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was a tribute to the imperial court. Falai is rich in nutrients, the protein content is higher than that of eggs, and contains calcium, iron, phosphorus and other elements, diuretic, sputum, cough, lung and other effects. And because of its original tasteless and soft and crisp characteristics, it gives chefs a wider cooking space when it is served. Qinghai's famous hair dishes include Mandarin duck hibiscus hair dish, three-color hair dish, goldfish hair dish, hair dish steamed egg and so on.
Mandarin duck hibiscus hair dish was created by Chef Song Fajian of Xining Restaurant to participate in the "National Celebrity Chef Performance" held in Beijing in 1983. This dish is named "Mandarin Duck Hibiscus Hair Dish" because the inner filling is hair dish, the outer rolled egg white skin, black and white, elegant and soft. Master Song Fajian's dish is elegant in color, the soup is clear and mellow, tender and delicious, and it can be said that it is a gorgeous appearance of hair dishes.
Goldfish hair dish is made by making a small ball of hair vegetables into small balls and chicken mushrooms in a spice spoon, steaming it and pouring it in the soup. After the dish is cooked, the goldfish floats in the basin, and the word "floating" requires superb cooking. The key to it is the preparation of the chicken mushroom, and the chef's skill is often also on this "floating" word.
Tri-color hair dish, also known as "three pieces of hair dish", chicken breast, pork minced into minced meat, eggs divided into egg whites, egg yolks and part of the egg whites with red vegetarian food, and then spread into red, yellow, white three-color egg skin. The three-color egg skin is spread with a layer of minced meat, a layer of hair vegetables, rolled up and steamed in a simple cage, drizzled with sesame oil when eaten, and sprinkled with coriander to attract people's mouth-watering.
Steamed eggs, widely popular in Qinghai folk banquets, also known as "Wusi Golden Egg White Cake", is made of egg whites, hair vegetables, egg yolk three things steamed. The dish is layered, with the upper layer as white as snow, the middle layer as black as ink, and the lower layer as orange and yellow as gold. The egg layer is delicate and tender, the hair dish is crunchy, it looks noble and elegant, and it is crisp and tender to eat, delicate and refreshing.
Hair dishes can be used as the main ingredient to make a variety of dishes, and can also be used as an auxiliary ingredient for high-grade decors platters. It tastes delicious, slightly seafood and adds fragrance, and because of the harmony between hair dishes and "fortune", in recent years, hair dishes have become extremely popular, and all kinds of dishes created in Qinghai under its name have maintained a high reputation.
The images in this article are from web illustrations
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