Linqing, as a thousand-year-old county, rose rapidly during the Ming and Qing dynasties with the prosperity of the Grand Canal, becoming one of the 30 largest cities in China at that time, known as "rich Jiaqi County", "prosperous pressure two capitals", "south of Suzhou and Hangzhou, north of Linzhang" reputation.
Photography 丨Yin Jianzhong, Shandong Linqing huitong river
In the accumulation of time, the prosperity of the canal is not only prosperous, but also created a variety of unique delicacies. There is still such a smooth mouth: the curd milk into Beijing is famous, the sesame oil steamed bread is crisp and fragrant, the tofu on the board is a must, the lamb's tripe is full of street incense, Yin Ge's sewage wu dekui's cake, the Li family's bean foam is spicy and hot, the small cage roasted Mai Dou family's bun, the roast cake sandwich meat Linqing soup ... How about wiping your saliva and listening to me talk in detail about these teeth-grinding snacks.
Linqing Jimei pickle: its development was also closely related to the canal. Jimei Sauce Garden was originally founded by a surnamed Wang in guxian County, Anhui Province, along the canal to Linqing. Initially small in scale, it has continued to develop, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty, it already had a thousand large cylinders. Jimei Sauce Garden was founded in the 57th year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1792), and is known as the Four Great Sauce Gardens of Jiangbei along with the "Six Must Ju" in Beijing, the "Huai Mao" in Baoding, and the "Yutang" in Jining. Linqing "Jimei Curd Milk" is one of its traditional products. During the light years of the Qing Dynasty, it was deeply appreciated by the imperial court, hence the name. Delicate texture and delicious taste of Jinjing curd milk.
Pallet tofu: It is said that Linqing's pallet tofu began in the Ming and Qing dynasties of 100,000 merchants and millions of people, and there is also a widely legendary allusion: at that time, a southerner took a boat into Beijing to catch the examination, came to Linqing Wharf, saw that it was a rich and prosperous place, and went ashore for sightseeing. When he was hungry, he bought a piece of steaming water tofu, but he had no choice but to eat it empty-handed. At this time, the tofu master made a clever move, removed the baffle at the end of the box, put the tofu on it, and then cut it into small squares with a knife and handed it to him. After eating it, he said happily, "It is the first delicious food in the world!" Later, he won the title and came to Linqing to visit and taste the tofu of the tray. Since then, pallet tofu has become popular.
In fact, it is because the tofu on the board is simple and convenient to eat, and the nutrition is relatively rich, and it is both dry and wet, and there are eating and drinking. It was particularly in line with the requirements of those river workers who were working by the canal at that time. And the price of tofu on the board is reasonable, and the people can afford to eat it. Therefore, a plate of two plates of hot, tender, nutritious tofu, it opened the hope of the people who worked on the dock for a day, and everyone leaned over and ate and left, in order to catch a good job.
In Linqing, every day from morning to night, you can see a trolley, bicycle or shoulder burden, with a large piece of shivering, watery, hot water tofu wrapped in white cloth, men, women and children rushing to buy. Especially in the morning, customers with tofu holding pallets and eating it with sweetness and relish can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys. Water tofu is made by using fine soybeans, peeled, blistered, ground into juice, filtered out soy milk with a cloth, poured into a pot and boiled, and carefully ordered with brine. Mentpan tofu is white and tender, delicate, sweet, rich in nutrients, easy for human digestion and absorption, and is a convenient and delicious fast food.
Photography 丨 Li Jian Halal Eight Bowls
Linqing Halal Eight Bowls: Commonly known as "buckle bowl", it has a history of more than 700 years. Eight bowls include eight kinds of dishes, including stewed lamb, button roast lamb, pine flowers, circle Qiao Ge, yellow braised chicken, qingyi balls, tenderloin, and mixed mix, a soup with eight flavors, full of fragrance, oil but not greasy.
The selection of halal eight bowls is also very elaborate, with beef, sheep, chicken as ingredients, usually using the "buckle bowl" form for cooking, production is more complicated, need to be cut in advance, pickled, shaped, poured and other processes, the production process is also a test of the chef's knife work, hand strength and patience. After hundreds of years of inheritance and improvement, the eight bowls of halal have been very perfect, which is the crystallization of the integration of Linqing Hui Han food culture, and is also a home-cooked dish of Linqing people.
Linqing people have a special affection for the eight bowls, whether it is a New Year's festival or entertaining friends and family, this dish is the first choice. Locally, restaurants and stalls operating eight bowls can also be found everywhere in Linqing, but Yilinju is the first choice. Since 1989, after several generations of development, the owner of Yilinju Restaurant has become the most qualified halal restaurant in the local area, and the eight bowls are also one of the must-order delicacies for guests.
Linqing water bursting belly, oil bursting belly: Linqing local special snacks. The ingredients for the popcorn are lamb tripe and beef blinds, washed and cut into thin strips, blanched in boiling water, and seasoned with green onions, minced ginger, coriander, sesame paste and tofu milk from Jimei Sauce Garden, which have a unique taste, crisp and tender. Linqing's belly is very exquisite, the lamb tripe is divided into 13 parts, there are scattered Dan, belly kernel, belly neck, mushroom tip (referring to the part of the lamb tripe), tripe is divided into hundred leaves, belly kernel, belly neck, in general, in Linqing, summer and spring to eat water burst belly, autumn and winter to eat shabu lamb. Beijing Peking Opera Troupe performed in Linqing, surprised, Linqing also has water bursting belly, do not know that the famous Beijing "bursting belly Feng" Feng Yuanjie is Linqing people, he in the last year of the Qing Dynasty, linqing this delicious to Beijing, unique, known as "bursting belly Feng".
Pounding chicken noodles Photography 丨Zhu Guowei
Linqing pounding chicken noodles: Made by beating the chicken breast with a knife back, egg whites, flour, water and a hard dough are rolled out into thin noodles. After cooking, add salt and MONOS glutamate and pour a triad soup (chicken, duck and beef). The noodles are snow white, flexible and smooth, the soup color is clear, the production is fine, tender and delicious, the taste is unique, the nutritional value is high, and there is a saying that "eating chicken does not see chicken".
Photography 丨 Yin Jianzhong Ten fragrant noodles, the sense of ceremony of eating
Shixiang noodles: As a famous food in Linqing, also known as "ten fragrant noodles", it is deeply loved by local people and tourists who come from afar. According to folklore, this noodle was enjoyed and personally given its name when the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty passed through Linqing on his southern tour. According to legend, it has become one of the most representative staple foods of Linqing canal culture.
This ten fragrant noodles, first of all, is the noodles of the tendons, the noodles are hand-rolled, and other spices such as eggs are added to the noodles, and the noodles are rolled out, especially the use of local wheat, with flour milled out of the old stone grinding without any additives as raw materials, the taste is better, and the nutrition is richer. And when cooking noodles, the ratio of water and flour is appropriate, and the heat is also moderate, so the noodles that have been carefully cooked are smooth, sucking a mouthful of noodles, especially refreshing, and the mouth is particularly easy to be satisfied by this refreshing noodles.
Then there is the sumptuous dish code, which is divided into four categories: vegetables, pickles, seasonings and brines. The aroma of all kinds of dishes is enticing, and the air is filled with the fragrance of vegetables, pickles, seasonings, brines and soups. The main vegetables of the dish code are: cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, mung bean sprouts, leeks, garlic, beans, etc., the main pickles are: sauce melon, salted carrots, salted knots, pickled leek flowers, etc., these pickles are made of pickles produced by Linqing "Jimei" Sauce Garden, one of the four major sauce gardens in Jiangbei, which is famous for "entering Beijing curd milk", accompanied by seasonings: "Jimei" balsamic vinegar, sesame salt, sesame paste, garlic paste, etc., and marinade of tomatoes and eggs and meat brine.
Put the noodles in a bowl, add vegetables, pickles, seasonings and vegetarian meat marinades according to your personal taste, and finally mix the noodles with the dish code to enjoy this delicious taste. For a time, the bowl of noodles that was originally only strong seemed to be piled up with hills, full of color and flavor, noodle strength plus complete dishes, reasonable combination of meat and vegetarian, low oil, low salt, rich in calcium, potassium and a variety of vitamins needed by the human body, delicious and nutritious. The moment you put the delicious noodles and various recipes in your mouth, your taste buds are greatly satisfied.