I don't like Shaoxing wine, that's because I was born in the north, and the taste bud stomach bag has long been defined as summer beer skewers, winter liquor sauerkraut pork stew noodles are the authentic reason. I remember N years ago in Shanghai, also went to Shaoxing once, the only purpose is to personally go to the Xianheng Hotel, personally ask for two bowls of warm yellow wine, plus a plate of fennel beans, and then personally learn a handful of Kong Yiji, taste the old Hole's drinking method, of course, although the Xianheng Hotel is still noisy, but I did not discharge nine large sums of money, nor did I wear a long shirt, nor did I stand to drink. Without him, there are no props, and I don't want to be regarded as a contemporary fool by the old food new customers in the store.
Ham Heng Hotel
——Shaoxing wine is also called yellow wine and old wine. Yellow wine is a common local term, and the old wine is estimated to refer to the common name of Shaoxing wine that has been in the cellar for many years. However, the older wine should belong to the daughter red, which is one of the most solemn ceremonies when the ancient Yue people married their daughters. It is said that the ancient Yue people would prepare a pot of yellow wine when their daughter was born and bury it in the ground, and then take it out as a dowry when the daughter was married, which means to pray for the safety and health of the life and the prosperity of the family from then on. Different from now, in ancient times, two or eight years of Hua was married, then at least this wine has been cellared for more than 16 years, but it is old enough, Japanese supermarkets can now also buy, Chinese restaurants also have, it is estimated that the number of years in the cellar is small, the name does not match, it is not expensive. In addition to ordinary Shaoxing wine, Shaoxing rice wine is also common in Chinese restaurants opened by the Japanese, not to drink it requires rice, but to add rice wine is only three or two degrees higher than normal Shaoxing wine. Compared with sake, Shaoxing wine is like "sweet mouth" (sweet mouth), while rice wine is a bit like "spicy mouth" (spicy mouth). However, my impression of it is more that when I was a child, I would pour a few drops when I watched my mother cook, that is, in the northeast of me, the knotty Shaoxing wine existed as a "cooking wine". Also, in the northeast where the 60-degree small roast is a common drink, drinking the shaoxing wine of more than a dozen degrees of sweetness is estimated that even now it will be exchanged for a glance of contempt, and when encountering the old wives in the northeast with a hanging attitude, they will even appreciate a skimmer, a white eye, and be completely looked down upon...
Shaoxing wine, common in Japan
To put it bluntly, Shaoxing wine is more popular in China, that is, in the Jiangnan area, and its fame is not only due to the alcohol and non-strong wine itself, the delicious aromatic acid, as well as the noble amber color and the superior water quality of Jian Lake, but also a large part of the reason is also because of the fame of its place of origin, Shaoxing. The past is more than 2,500 years, to know that Shaoxing is the place where the two warring families of the Yue King and the Wu Wang Fu cha fought each other, the Yue King's lying salary taste of courage and hatred and revenge undoubtedly left a very deep and turbulent imagination space for posterity, who knows whether the Yue King's gall tasted by the yue king is not in the belly of the fennel bean and the old wine of Shaoxing? Isn't there such a thing as "Mash Master", which means "the Yue King will be ashamed of his suffering... There is sweet and fertile, not enough, and there is courage to eat; there is wine, and there is a river of flow, and it is with the people. The story of the story, it can be seen that as early as that time, Gou Jian had already drunk Shaoxing's "mash". It is said that this "mash" is the predecessor of Shaoxing wine. The past continued to move backwards, Wen Zhong, Fan Li, Xi Shi, Wang Chong, Wang Xizhi, Xie Lingyun, Lu You, Wang Mian and other historical celebrities, all of whom were born in Shaoxing; more than a hundred years ago, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Cai Yuanpei, Zhu Kezhen, Zhu Ziqing, Zhou Enlai, Qiu Jin, and so on also began to make a name for themselves in Shaoxing, and even today, Xie Jin, Chen Daoming, and six young children who are active in the film and television industry are also interpreting Shaoxing's brilliant spirit. What is important is that among these people, there are few bad winemakers, and with their prestige, Shaoxing wine cannot be famous in the world. Of course, as Lu Xun and others went abroad to study in Japan, Shaoxing wine continued to be carried forward in foreign countries. It is estimated that there are at least two bottles of wine on the tatami mat next to Lu Xun who lives in the vast "Autumn Night" of Dongying: one bottle is Shaoxing wine, and the other bottle is also Shaoxing wine. As for whether there is a third bottle, like a jujube tree, Lu Xun did not say, stop, into the role.
Two years ago, a kind of Shaoxing wine called "Guyue Longshan Chenglong" landed in Japan, after being studied by the Japanese, it is believed that this aged mellow Shaoxing wine that has been stored for more than eight years is very suitable for enjoying with cheese slices and chocolate pieces, which sounds like a bar drink, but the Japanese also recommend that Chenglong is also suitable for eating Chinese food, or two cups at home when drinking late, and no matter where it is drunk, in short, the Japanese who like to exaggerate when speaking and use words call it the "detonator" of counter-attack Shaoxing wine. It sounds a bit like Cheng Long is flickering and shouting. However, it is also this so-called "detonator" that has aroused the author's interest in exploring why japanese people like Shaoxing wine, yes, you read it right, the Japanese do like Shaoxing wine, almost certainly, all Chinese restaurants in the Japanese archipelago, are required to have Shaoxing wine, as if otherwise their own Chinese cuisine is not authentic. In addition, Japan's "Okusan" (housewives) have long learned to use Shaoxing wine as a cooking wine. Of course, what makes the author most jaw-dropping is that Shaoxing wine has been seen many times on the shelves of Western-style and Japanese-style bars, and it is not used as a cocktail, and the drinkers just drink "mash" (ice) Shaoxing wine on peanut rice and cheese strips, or "hot" (heated) Shaoxing wine. Drinking Fa'er, eating Fa'er Japanese and foreign mix-and-so, mixing does not have the kind of "Mimi, Boo" Shaoxing old wine that Mr. Lu Xun has always maintained, not to mention fennel beans, oil tofu... Fennel bean oil tofu is still just that, that "mashed" (iced) Shaoxing wine is a few meanings, and who invented this drinking method? If Lu Xun and his old man saw that the Japanese were enjoying Shaoxing old wine in this way, would they "go to the counter, stretch out their hands from their waists, full of silver and copper, throw them on the cabinet and say: 'Cash money, play wine' Ah Q wants revolution"?
Shaoxing Wine at Xianheng Hotel (Photo| Kuso)
- The Japanese studied Shaoxing sake and figured out that its composition is mainly rice (glutinous rice), wheat koji, water, and pulp water (water left over from cleaning glutinous rice), and the brewing process is similar to that of sake. Japan's national liquor is sake, and China's second national liquor is rice wine. The alcohol content of Japanese sake and Shaoxing sake is also relatively similar, with the alcohol content of sake generally about 15 degrees, and the alcohol content of Shaoxing wine is about 16 degrees. Therefore, it can be said that the wine is the same sect, and the drinking habits are connected.
In addition, China's records of Shaoxing wine brewing methods only say that the use of Jian Lake water, or Jian Lake basin such as nanchi river, Potang River, Lougong River, Lizhu River and other rivers can be, which has "draw the water of the jian lake in front of the door, brewing Shao wine Wanlixiang" can be proved, but, after the Japanese research, do not know where they got the secret recipe but said that it must be the water of the lake in winter to be the best, which adds a mysterious color to Shaoxing wine. Coupled with the black bottling of Shaoxing wine tea, the big red trademark, the magnificent amber color, especially the packaging of the altar daughter Hong's red lid red scarf and neck, it makes the curious baby-like Japanese feel that Shaoxing wine has a magical charm, that is, let the Japanese who love Shaoxing wine love to die and live. The author has a Japanese friend who is engaged in interior decoration, for him, what Japanese sake, shochu, Okinawa bubbles, Asahi refreshing, etc. are all floating clouds, he is drinking Shaoxing wine, said with peeled eggs to drink Shaoxing wine, mixed in the mouth of the kind of lubricating, greasy and sweet taste, it is simply "boiling aunt fine death to the road" (delicious and delicious to the extreme), simply do not want. Saying that he is the iron powder of Shaoxing wine is not enough to describe him, it is definitely a "steel powder" of Shaoxing old wine, and it can even be said that Shaoxing wine is his "just need". He often comes to my house to rub authentic Northeast cuisine, especially love northeast rapier and sauerkraut white meat, each time the souvenir must be two bottles of Shaoxing wine, and pay attention to the year of Shaoxing wine, each time will specifically point to the year on the trademark to show me, which is not like Shaoxing wine I am nothing more than a torture, and then I can't bear to tell him directly that he does not like Shaoxing wine, after listening to him is like a sunny day thunder like a pair of puzzled bull's eyes, look at me like looking at alien animals...
So, why is Shaoxing wine as popular in the eyes of some Japanese people as gyokuro? I think this is related to the fact that when the Japanese introduced Shaoxing liquor in the Meiji period, they tied it to Chinese cuisine, when Meiji was Westernized, and Meiji Emperor took the lead in eating beef that had been banned by his ancestors for more than a thousand years, and the people rushed to follow suit, as if they did not go to the cow pot shop to eat a few meals of "AnyuLe Pot" (beef pot) and would be scolded as stubborn. Drinking Shaoxing wine is the same, into the Chinese restaurant does not drink Shaoxing wine seems to be very un-Chinese, for a long time, the Japanese under the Chinese restaurant taste buds began to need Shaoxing wine, one of them; the Japanese who love Shaoxing wine also believe that because Shaoxing wine tastes mellow, not only suitable for Chinese cuisine, but also suitable for other strong flavor dishes, its "phase" is particularly good. The second is that the sweetness of Shaoxing wine makes Japanese people who like sweetness like it very much, and even among young people, it is popular.
In the eyes of the Japanese, Shaoxing wine has a mellow taste and is suitable for Chinese cuisine (Picture | Kuso)
It is said that there is another reason why Japanese people like Shaoxing wine, that is, because modern Shaoxing people have gone to Japan to study and work, the Shaoxing wine culture has been brought into Japan, and through the exchange with the Japanese wine table, the Japanese people's sense of identity with the Shaoxing wine culture has been deepened. Among them, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Qiu Jin and other Shaoxing people have made great contributions. In particular, Lu Xun, who is widely known by the Japanese, is a representative figure among them. Lu Xun's younger brother Zhou Zuoren once wrote in "Lu Xun's Former Home" that "Lu Xun did not drink much, but he liked to drink a few drinks, especially when he had friends to talk." The "like to drink a few cups" here refers to Shaoxing wine, of course, with Lu Xun's east crossing to study in Japan, naturally, Lu Xun's favorite Shaoxing wine can not be introduced to his Japanese friends. The new work "Lu Xun and Shaoxing Wine Reading Modern Chinese Cultural History from Wine", a Japanese Chinese literature researcher who has written such works as "Lu Xun's Chronicles", "The Scenery of Lu Xun's "Hometown", "Lu Xun and Japanese Literature From Natsume Shushi and Mori Ouwai to Matsumoto Kiyoharu and Murakami Haruki", and professor fujii Ofsagi University outside Nago Chinese ya, is said to have been inspired by Lu Xun's short story "On the Restaurant".
In addition, the most important thing is that the health-conscious Japanese have found that the health value of Shaoxing wine is very much in line with their way of maintaining their health. In other words, that is to say, contemporary Japanese people like Shaoxing wine, not only because of the above three points, but also because the Japanese have found that Shaoxing wine has high nutritional value, mild and rounded nature, and many characteristics of both culinary value and medicinal value in the history of drinking Shaoxing wine in about 150 years, which are very in line with the Japanese people's health care method. Yes, although I personally do not like it, I must admit that the nutritional value of Shaoxing wine is indeed extraordinary. For example, Shaoxing wine contains as many as 18 kinds of amino acids, which are much higher than the amino acids contained in other brewed wines, and it also includes 8 kinds of essential amino acids. It should be known that amino acids have the effect of strengthening the heart and refreshing, helping the qi and strengthening the stomach, eliminating fatigue, and promoting sleep. According to Japanese studies, the amino acid content of Shaoxing rice wine is 1.6 times that of sake, 6.8 times that of beer, and 4.25 times that of wine. It can be said that it is Shaoxing wine, which has the function of combining drinks, cooking, and medicine, and has a variety of drinking methods (hot drinks, cold drinks, etc.), which is incomparable to other liquors, so Shaoxing liquor has become a favorite alcoholic beverage in Japanese people.
Shaoxing wine has high nutritional value, mild and rounded nature, and is in line with the Japanese people's health care approach. (Photo| Cuzau)
--Not far from Roppongi Station in Tokyo, there is a shop called "Black Cat Night", which looks and sounds like a bar, but it is actually an authentic Chinese local restaurant. The shop is very good at business, guests sit down, first give three small cups of Shaoxing wine with different tastes, and so on after the guests taste it to decide which one to drink, of course, only drink the three small cups (in fact, it is three small sips) can also be, free. This method of selling alcohol is not only interesting, but also wins the praise of diners. Paired with his family's light and delicious steamed fresh fish, mountain pepper (pepper) flavor of mapo tofu, especially the sweet Shaoxing wine with peeled egg tofu, the Japanese eat one by one and constantly called "さいこう" (the top is delicious). This black cat nightclub is also full of popularity, in Roppongi like Tokyo first place, actually can rely on reservations to eat a meal, and the price is not cheap, remember the two-person set with wine to 16,000 yen (nearly 1,000 yuan), but that is it, no reservation can not drink can not eat, but do not know in the long-term new crown epidemic, "black cat night" is still alive?
Shaoxing sake in a Japanese restaurant
When it comes to the side dishes of Shaoxing wine, the Japanese are also very interesting, I don't know if it is also popular in China to pi egg tofu with Shaoxing wine, but in Japan, this way of eating and drinking can almost be said to be the consensus of Shaoxing wine iron fans. I remember also seeing a document that introduces the Shaoxing wine drinking method in a serious way, which says that the best way to drink Shaoxing wine is to empty the coconut, and then paste tin foil on the inside as a wine jug, and then heat the Shaoxing wine to be about the same as the human body temperature into this tin foil coconut wine jug, and then pour into the pot is also made of the inner wall tin foil coconut wine glass to taste, this information believes that this is the most orthodox Shaoxing wine drinking method, and the most elegant drinking method. After looking at it, I was completely ashamed and directly lay flat, not to mention whether there is such a way to drink in China, even in Japan, it is the first time I have heard of it, and the intuition is to take off the pants and fart, it is estimated that it is still coconut-flavored. The information also says that if you use this coconut wine pot wine glass to taste the hairy crab of Yangcheng Lake, it is a perfect coconut wine crab feast. However, the information does not mention that the warm Shaoxing wine when tasting crabs needs to put some ginger shreds to drive away the cold in the crabs. I guess the author doesn't know. I remember when I was in Shanghai, I went to Yangcheng Lake with the representative of a Japanese company in Shanghai to eat crabs, drank three rounds of dishes and five flavors, when he was on the hairy crab, he was curious to look at the hand sanitizer and ginger sauce that the clerk brought up first, suddenly chopsticks clipped a mouthful of ginger silk into his mouth, immediately grinned his teeth but politely quickly swallowed it, and then took a mouthful of handwashing water to dry, the whole action was like a water operation, even too late to stop, looking at his glasses pieces and secretly staring at my eyes, This time, it was the author's turn to be stunned and completely surprised by the friendly one. After waking up, I explained to this friendly person seriously, patiently, and meticulously, I finally quietly danced with my hands, and I did it, hum! Little sample, look at you guys again to pretend to be elegant...
Wanjinglu | author of Travel to Japan| author of "Japan You Don't Know" and so on
(This article is the author's original manuscript, please leave a message to obtain authorization.) Unless otherwise noted, the images in this article are from Wikipedia. ）