The history of the consumption of soy products by our people is quite long. It is said that tofu was invented during the reign of King Huainan. In the Song Dynasty, there were tofu dishes such as "Xuexia Soup", "Dongpo Tofu", "Honey Tofu", "Sipping" (five-flavored tofu strips) and so on.
The famous dishes with dried tofu as the main ingredient are mostly found in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou salt merchants, bureaucrats, and literati gathered, and tea houses came into being and competed with each other. In this way, Yangzhou chefs created "dry silk with ingredients". The Qing Dynasty residents have a poem "Wangjiangnan" that reads: "Add ingredients and thousands of silks to pile fine wisps, cooked copper cigarette bags lie on long seedlings, shochu crystal dishes." This word is simply a genre painting depicting diners smoking, drinking, eating meat and dried silk in the past, which is the predecessor of today's "big boiled dry silk", but now it is more exquisite. In the Suining and Suqian areas, the "big boiled dried silk" is also adjusted according to the taste of the northern Jiangsu people, and has its own new name "soft pocket dry silk".
Speaking of the origin of this dish, it is said that it is related to the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty under Jiangnan. Qianlong once went to Yangzhou, and the local officials in Yangzhou hired many famous chefs to make dishes for Qianlong in order to receive the holy car. Among them, "nine silk soup", is made of dried tofu and shredded ham, braised with chicken soup, its taste is delicious, especially the dried silk is finely cut, after the chicken soup is boiled, it inhales a variety of umami, and the taste is unique and delicious. Qianlong praised this dish after eating it, and the "Nine Silk Soup" has since become famous throughout the country.
Later, it gradually evolved, no longer called "nine silk soup", but replaced by boiled dry silk, made of chicken shredded, ham shredded and dried silk called "chicken fire dried silk", made of shrimp called "dried shrimp silk" and other dishes The knife work and heat requirements of this dish are particularly strict. Several flat thousand sheets (tofu skins) are rolled together, the stronger the roll, the better, slowly, one knife at a time, cut into fine silk.
Add edible alkali to a basin of hot water, put the cut dry wire into it and stir it constantly, so that the dry wire will be very refreshing and non-sticky. Dry silk in lye water is best soaked for two or three minutes, the time can not be too long, long time will soak dry silk rotten. After three minutes, the dry wire is soft and elastic without breaking, then the dry wire is fished out, placed in an empty basin, rinsed with cool water and fished out to control the dry water.
Boil the oil, the prepared green onion, ginger shredded, garlic foam, dried red pepper sautéed out of the aroma, pour into the hen soup or bone broth, put the dried silk into the pot, let the soup and the dry silk flat, the most critical step after the soup is opened, the most critical step is to count the number of hooks, the starch dilution is slowly poured into the pot, so that the starch is completely integrated into the dry wire, forming a thick sauce, while pouring while stirring, into a viscous state, the pot bubbles, you can put it out.
The hair-like filaments are dipped in the broth boiled in hens to maintain the flexibility that the dry silk should be, while maximizing the essence of the broth. Serve with sesame oil and pepper, cover with tender greens, cooked shrimp, shredded ham, etc.
The dish is brightly coloured, soft and dry, tender and delicious.
Autumn has arrived, and you can raise your stomach again! Try it yourself!