▲ Three shrimp noodles, a delicious dish in Suzhou's fresh feast. Photo/Visual China
-Fengwujun Language-
Summer for Suzhou people
Spirit is the boo of spirit
The only people who can interpret "not eating from time to time" so vividly are probably Suzhou people.
The "seven heads and one brain" in spring, the hairy crab in the autumn wind, the "one year and one winter brew" on the night of the winter solstice... Although the annoying rainy season brings sweltering heat and humidity, it also adds a lot of surprises to the summer in Suzhou .
▲ Suzhou people pay attention to eating "three fresh" in the summer, the picture shows the broad beans and red amaranth in the "three fresh in the ground", and the plum in the "tree three fresh".
Above: Photography/PAOPAOANFANG, Figure/FigureWorm Creativity; Middle Image: Photography/fxy1223, Photo/Figureworm Creative; Bottom: Photo/Visual China
Li Xia saw "three fresh"; small full of lychee sweet; plum yellow rain, greeted three shrimp noodles; Dragon Boat Five Yellow Feast; three volt boiling pot mung bean soup, plum rain stopped and then dried the scriptures... A group of fresh food, together, form a vivid And fragrant Su-style summer.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > early summer, fresh or fresh? </h1>
In late May, when the Taihu lake seed shrimp were ripe, billboards with three shrimp noodles were set up at the entrances of various noodle restaurants. Three shrimp noodles can be called suzhou people's "one phase and one meeting". For Suzhou people who are obsessed with "the freshest", a bowl of fresh and plump three-shrimp noodles is the most blessed on the tip of the heart. Even if the price can be called "Hermès in noodles", you must enter the noodle restaurant for a bowl of "luxurious brunch".
▲ Juanxiu's three shrimp noodles are in line with the Suzhou people who grew up in the water town of Jiangnan. Photography / Jory Junjun, Photo / Figureworm ・ Creative
The "three shrimps" in the three shrimp noodles refer to shrimp seeds, shrimp brains and shrimp kernels. The skillful aunts first gently peel off the shrimp seeds with their fingertips and wash them, and then squeeze the shrimp and peel the shrimp brain, and the fine splitting and cooking of each part are the key to determining the flavor of the three shrimp noodles. So that when the three shrimp noodles are on the table, for a while I don't know whether to chew slowly or eat fast.
▲ The crystal clear shrimp is not only the topping of the soul, but also the ingenuity of the artist. Photo: "Flavor of the World"
Making three shrimp noodles is a craft job. Eat three shrimp noodles, especially so. Quickly mix the noodles evenly and pour in the three shrimp toppings, try to wrap each noodle with soy sauce and shrimp seeds, and then pair them with ginger shreds, fried greens, fried soybeans, sour cowpeas and a few small dishes.
The smooth Q bullet of the shrimp, the fresh sweetness of the shrimp seeds, and the fragrance of the shrimp brain are perfectly integrated in a bowl of noodles, and the freshness of Jiangnan is wrapped into the tip of the tongue at this moment. After eating the very fresh noodles, if you drink a bowl of clear soup, it is really the original soup, and the fresh is fresh!
▲ The fragrant three-shrimp noodles are also one of the most successful masterpieces of Suzhou people in their exploration of "freshness". Photo: "Flavor of the World"
In addition to river prawns, eels are the fattest in the month before and after the small summer, no wonder Suzhou has the saying of "small summer yellow eel race ginseng". The most famous dish is "ringing oil eel paste", if you use it as a topping, a noodle may not be enough.
Stir-fry the shredded eels with various ingredients until golden brown, then serve on a plate and sprinkle with green dripped coriander and shallots, as well as minced garlic and pepper. Finally, a small cup of hot oil is poured, and the "snort" is sounded, and the deliciousness of the eel is fully stimulated, which is also the essence of the "ringing oil eel paste".
▲ Compared with other dishes with full color and flavor, the crackling oil eel paste has an attractive sound. Photo by Qibajiu789789, Photo/MarketMap
Whether it is the heart when peeling off the river prawns, or the spicy sprinkling when pouring hot oil on the eel, suzhou people's summer feast will never be absent.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="45" > midsummer, mint flavor? </h1>
Walking on the street in the hot summer, you can find: in Sichuan, everyone has a bowl of ice powder; in the northeast, everyone has a stick of ice cream; in Gansu, everyone has a cup of sweet pickled milk tea... However, in Suzhou, men, women and children are holding a huge glass, holding a thick straw while sucking and chewing, which is the exclusive summer "milk tea" of Suzhou people - Su-style mung bean soup.
▲ Mung bean soup can be filled with a beer cup, and the ingredients are rich, and even the cup is very imposing. Graph/Network
In the hearts of Suzhou people, with the clear soup, rich ingredients and "top spot" Suzhou-style mung bean soup, it can be called unparalleled in the world. With clear grains, soft but not broken mung beans on the base, plus a spoonful of snow-white sticky rice, and decorated with dates, kumquats, green and red silk, winter melon sugar and some red beans, the colorful ingredients look pleasing to the eye in the slightly bubbling mint water. Just by holding up the transparent glass to admire its "beauty", the heat has disappeared for the most part.
▲ Colorful Su-style mung bean soup, more like a bowl of "mung bean porridge". Photography/Hustle Khotan, Photo/MarketMap
The first taste of mung bean soup, the cold and refreshing mint water slides into the throat, and the double coolness spreads from the tip of the tongue to the whole body, instantly understanding what is "a mouthful of heat relief". At the same time, the abundance of ingredients is constantly giving diners new surprises. The simple green beans and soft sweet red beans are cleverly neutralized, and the sticky rice is quite chewy.
▲ Compared with the sand-soaked mung beans in other places, in Suzhou, the grained mung beans make the taste more layered. Graph/Network
Suzhou's chilled mint mung bean soup was first developed from mung bean lily soup. It is said that the ingredients are abundant, especially the mung bean soup with green and red silk, which was only enjoyed by large households at that time, and the addition of glutinous rice balls made the mung bean soup "full" after drinking. As a result, lily mung bean soup gradually evolved into an iced mint mung bean soup that is now loved by young people.
It is not an exaggeration to describe the midsummer in Suzhou with a mint flavor. Not only the mung bean soup, but even the cake dumplings are full of mint fragrance.
▲ In the soft and delicate mint cake, there is a heart that opens up the cool world. Photo: "China on the Tip of the Tongue Season 2"
The outer skin is fragrant with rice, the pine nuts are crispy, the sweet mint cake, the mint cake mixed with sweet bean paste, and the red, white and green tri-color mint cake, soft but not greasy, no wonder the Su-style banquet in summer always ends with a mint cake.
Into the ambush, a bowl of sheep soup race prescription
In the eyes of most people, mutton is warm, and it is often eaten in winter to drive away the cold. However, in Suzhou and other areas, it does the opposite, likes to "eat fu sheep" in the three-volt day, and has the courage of Chongqing people to eat hot pot in the summer and "attack poison with poison".
▲ Traditional bibliophilical lamb needs to be burned in wooden barrels from Qionglongshan, called "Potang". Photography/ms517, Photo/MarketMap
Eating fu sheep originated in the Huaihai region, and can be traced back to the Yao Shun period. Every year, as soon as it enters the ambush, Xuzhou's "Pengcheng Fuyang Festival" kicks off. In the summer, the appetite is not strong, as long as you drink a bowl of salty and delicious, steaming lamb soup, it will make people sweat, appetite, a good breath! No wonder the folk proverb often says, "Drink a bowl of soup without a divine doctor prescribing medicine." ”
▲ The most suitable tibetan lamb for white roasting, the soup color is milky white, and the fragrance is overflowing. Graph/Network
When you come to the Jiangnan area, you will naturally look for "book mutton". Located in the west of Suzhou City, adjacent to the book town on the east bank of Taihu Lake, the famous mutton shop was born more than a hundred years ago. The locally selected goat meat, nourished by winter and spring, is tender and tender, and the stewed lamb soup is light and delicate, which can be called the "shoulder handle" of the mutton industry.
▲ The skinned tibetan mutton has a jelly-like texture, and the delicate taste can easily capture people's hearts. Photography / Wu Xuewen
Bibliophiles eat mutton and pay attention to live killing, eating a "fresh" word, and the method is white-boiled, braised, cold-cut, and stewed soup. Authentic bibliophile mutton soup, not to be amazed by the first bite, but the more you drink it, the more delicious it is.
Slowly boil with lamb bones and lamb until the soup is thick and crispy, milky white soup, the aroma is rich, the taste is fresh and not greasy. If you pair it with a plate of white-cut lamb, drink soup in a big mouth, and eat meat in a big mouth, it is really "slapping and refusing to put it" (describing things as delicious)!
▲ In the summer of Suzhou, drink sheep soup and race medicine. Photography / Xiao Jun_Joanne, Picture / Figure Worm Creative
Good lamb, to make the most of it. Wait until the lamb is eaten, and then put a handful of Su-style thin noodles into the mutton soup, a bowl of fresh soup, smooth noodles white soup lamb noodles naturally made. In the morning, a bowl of steaming lamb noodle soup comes, and the bones are alive all day.
In addition to the mutton soup, of course, there is also braised lamb, braised lamb trotters, fried garlic leaves in the tripe of the daily meal, and a light and mellow, meaning "high rise" of the book sheep cake. Rao is no matter how hot the day is, it can't stop the Suzhou people from eating and not getting tired of fine ingenuity.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="92" > late summer, taste a bowl of "water nobles"</h1>
From the river fresh in early summer to the "mint" in mid-summer, the Suzhou people who exchange "confidants" with shixian come to the end of summer and look forward to a bowl of fresh chicken head rice.
▲ Chicken head rice with osmanthus flavor after boiling, sweet and white cotton, like a bowl of "chicken head broth". Photography / How beautiful life is, picture / figure worm ・ creativity
The name Chicken Head Rice may be unfamiliar to many people. For Suzhou people, it is a nostalgic existence. When Suzhou people are studying in other places, the happiest thing is that they can also eat chicken head rice when they go home during the winter vacation.
Chicken head rice, also known as Nanqishi, Nantang, Suzhou, is its only source. Therefore, chicken head rice is also called Nandang chicken head (Nantang chicken head) by the old Suzhou people.
▲ Known as the "pearl of water", the chicken head rice is plump and large, and looks like a large pomegranate when not peeled. Top: Photography / Tao Yuan; Bottom: Photography / Ma Yaoming Image from "Wind and Objects China Zhi Tongli"
Compared to the northern mustard, the authentic southern mustard is larger, and the fruit is round and smooth, with its own seductive goose yellow. In addition to the rarity of the southern mustard, it lies in its taste, soft and sticky but not powdery, tender and textured, soft and fragrant, and grainy and elastic.
In order to welcome the Buddha-figure of chicken head rice, it can really be said that "every grain is hard". Farmers open its calyx, which resembles a chicken's beak, and then take scissors and special finger sleeves to remove the outer skin little by little, just like cutting a mussel to get a bead, and you must be very careful to get a watery and smooth seed kernel.
▲ Chicken head rice and shrimp are fried together, which can be described as a big party of "double freshness in the water". Photography / shiwusuo, photo / market map network
Suzhou people, who pay the most attention to "not eating from time to time", play a "small character" in the face of chicken head rice with a tasting period of less than 50 days, preferring to put a full refrigerator (must add water to freeze it) and eat for a whole year.
Boiled water is the biggest respect of Suzhou people for fresh chicken head rice. Fresh chicken head rice is boiled in boiling water for two minutes and served with clear soup, which can be eaten directly, or it can be added with sugar osmanthus flowers to make chicken head rice sugar water.
▲ Chicken head rice with yam coix porridge adds a sense of old-fashioned health. Photography /bestview, photo/figureworm creativity
The boiled chicken head rice balls are white and lustrous, and they are soft and sticky to eat, luscious and delicate. Finally, the bowl is also drunk, and the original fragrance from the food is poured into the atrium, which makes people can't help but say "the best taste in the world".
In addition to boiling, chicken head rice also has many innovative ways to eat. Stir-fried with lotus root and diamond horn, refreshing and fresh, complementing each other; adding a few chicken head rice when cooking porridge, the simple white porridge has also become delicious and sweet; dessert is dotted with a few chicken head rice, and the red bean balls are more abundant... The chicken head rice that was made as a side dish still shone brightly.
▲ Chicken head rice can be called the "hardcore" ingredient in Suzhou's dessert industry. Photography / Photographer yoyo_yoanna, Figure / Figure Worm / Creative
Early summer products "fresh", mid-summer mint, and then to the end of summer hoarding chicken head rice, Suzhou people's "summer light" is far more than this -
Daddy cooks a plate of steaming noodles to drag June yellow (noodles drag crabs), good wife mixes fan cold noodles on lazy weekends, children sit around the pot "clumsily" peeling their lotus heads, or ice cold sour plum soup shared with friends under the hot sun...
▲ "Gardeners plant trees because of flowers, in order to sell sour pulp ice teeth", Suzhou people who taste plums in early summer continue to cool with sour plum soup in mid-summer. Photography/bbb1232, Photo/MarketMap
After eating summer, September's hairy crab is a new round of expectations. This is the gentle Suzhou people, leaving the hottest imprint of life.
- END -
Wen 丨 Yanran
Edit | Yue Ge
Covered | Visual China