With the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the four famous works widely circulated in China, people have formed a very fixed impression of the period of the Three Kingdoms struggle for hegemony: the political inclination between the princes and the feudal lords, and the brutal and tyrannical terrorist killings when attacking each other. According to the canonical history, in less than a hundred years, the population of the Central Plains slipped to one-fifth of the pre-war level, during which time, although there were reasons for the war-torn civilians to shelter the clan's strength, but the political turmoil and the cruelty of the war were beyond doubt. Nowadays, while people talk about the famous historical figures of the Three Kingdoms period, they often notice the chaotic picture of the blood and tears of the Three Kingdoms period.
However, even in such an era, it is not without the appearance of bright colors. The story behind the dish we introduce today is a little warmth that is rare in the history of the Three Kingdoms. This is the dragon yellow fish.
For many fish-loving readers, yellow croaker must be a very familiar ingredient. Yellow croaker, also known as totoaba, is named after the stone-like symbol on its head. The history of eating yellow croaker in China can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. By the time of the Han Dynasty, fishermen on the seashore had a very comprehensive understanding of the habits of this fish. Dragon yellow croaker is made with yellow croaker as the main ingredient.
First, the historical story of Hubei dragon yellow fish
Legend has it that just after the Three Kingdoms Chibi War ended. At this time, the Sun Liu Alliance was in the honeymoon period, although Sun Quan was very jealous of Liu Bei, a person, but because of the fear of being burdened with the notoriety of jealousy, Sun Quan also appeared extremely cautious in handling the relationship between Sun Liu and the alliance. After thinking about it, in order to continue to co-opt Liu Bei and further control him, Sun Quan married his sister Sun Shangxiang to Liu Bei.
It was a utilitarian political marriage. However, what he did not expect was that Mrs. Sun, that is, sun quan and Sun Shangxiang's mother, looked at her son-in-law very well. After Sun Liu's marriage, he favored Liu Bei even more. Under these circumstances, Sun Quan's plan to assassinate Liu Bei could not be carried out at all.
What Sun Quan did not expect was that his sister was even more secretly willing to Liu Beifang. Although Liu Bei was very wary of this Miss Sun family at the beginning, he was finally touched by Miss Sun's sincerity, and he was tempered into a soft finger.
However, at this time, Sun Quan became more and more jealous of Liu Bei, a relative of the Han Dynasty, for various reasons. In order to limit the development of his power, he repeatedly refused Liu Bei's request to leave Eastern Wu and return to his base camp. Under these circumstances, Liu Bei, who felt that Sun Quan was full of malice, naturally became worried.
Seeing that her husband had become increasingly depressed for the sake of his brother, Sun Shangxiang was also very anxious. In order to dispel her husband's boring mood, she specially made a dish for Liu Bei called dragon pan yellow fish. This dish is cooked with a pound of yellow croaker and accompanied by a variety of fresh mixes unique to Hubei, making the taste clear and delicious. After Liu Bei ate this yellow fish meat, he really felt very delicious. Just ask your wife the name of this dish.
Unexpectedly, Sun Shangxiang played a dumb puzzle and asked Liu Bei if he tasted anything else when he ate this dish. Liu Bei, who is not clear, naturally does not know what the meaning of this dish is. At this time, Zhao Yun, who was acting as Liu Bei's bodyguard, said the heavenly opportunity at this time: "Yellow Fish Dragon Also, this dish is called Dragon Dragon Yellow Fish, it is hoped that the lord can be like this Yellow Dragon Pan Stone, temporarily lurk in Eastern Wu, and wait until the next day to soar into the sky." ”
Zhao Yun's words made Liu Bei wake up, his anger and unfairness these days were overflowing with words, if he continued like this, once he was jealous of Sun Quan, I was afraid that he would have no place to die. And this also made Liu Bei grateful to his wife.
After this, Liu Bei finally put down the anxiety in his heart, like the hidden dragon in the yuan, and finally found the opportunity to break away from the control of Eastern Wu. And Hubei dragon yellow fish, it was after this, began to circulate. It has become a well-known dish in Hubei region.
Second, the evolution of Hubei dragon yellow fish
During the Three Kingdoms period, although the dragon yellow croaker had begun to spread, for a long time, the preparation of this dish was quite simple. In addition to the seasoning of green onions, ginger, garlic and other substances, in most cases, its taste is mainly enhanced by the umami taste of the yellow croaker itself.
In such a war-torn era, such a way naturally had its own necessity. Even the princes and nobles could hardly attain the same extreme desires as those of later generations. However, this also restricted the development of the dragon crab yellow fish for a long time. The changes in its dishes are mainly reflected in the sauce and pouring soup. In order to better match the umami taste of yellow croaker, the marinade at that time was mainly based on various flavor-enhancing ingredients.
It was not until the Song Dynasty that this dish began to change dramatically. The reason why the original dragon yellow croaker can only rely on the ingredients themselves to support is because in the Han Dynasty, kitchen utensils such as iron pots have not yet been promoted, and most of the time chefs can only use pottery to steam. After the popularity of the iron pot, frying and frying provided an opportunity for the emergence of new dishes and the improvement of old dishes. After that, in the process of making dragon crab yellow croaker, there is more frying step, and the fried yellow croaker is fried to the golden brown with powder and egg juice, and the absorption of the sauce becomes more rapid and thorough. Even some chefs are the most skilled and enthusiastic, which is the process of mixing the sauce of the dragon yellow fish.
Now, some new ingredients and auxiliary ingredients are also used as the production of dragon yellow fish, such as diced ham, seafood ingredients, chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, although many people feel that this practice is not as authentic as the original yellow fish, but for most housewives, with the help of these things, the dragon yellow fish they make is more delicious.
Third, the value of Hubei dragon yellow fish
According to modern nutrition, the average 100 grams of yellow croaker's fish meat contains 17.6 grams of protein, and its protein content is even higher than that of beef. Moreover, it also contains more than 17 amino acids, of which the essential amino acids needed by the human body are as high as 12.
And China's traditional Chinese medicine for the dietary therapeutic effect of the yellow croaker is more impressive, in addition to the spleen and appetizer, qi and tranquility and other effects, but also has the effect of filling essence, aphrodisiac, blindness, etc., moderate consumption, is conducive to maintaining the health of the human body.
The most traditional dragon yellow fish, because the cooking process does not use frying and other ways, the nutrients in the yellow fish meat are more well preserved, so for some friends who pay more attention to the body, it is actually more appropriate to cook the dragon yellow fish in a slow simmering way.
epilogue
Historically, Sun Liu's alliance eventually broke down due to the discord between the two and the competition for a place in Jingzhou, and as for Lady Sun, who had offered her husband a dragon yellow fish, she was unable to grow old with Liu Bei. The story of leaving only one dragon yellow fish has been passed down to this day, which cannot but be said to be a pity.
Today, when people taste this dish, do they still think of the Lady Sun who is blue-hearted and deliberates for her husband, but finally depressed?
bibliography:
1. Compendium of Materia Medica
2. The Book of Wu Di
3. "Yellow Croaker"