Kimchi is a well-known food in Sichuan and Chongqing, in the feast, banquet, taste each flavor of the cuisine, and finally a few colors of kimchi (called "with the meal"), not only can adjust the taste, but also have a special effect of decanting and decontaminating.
Although the techniques of pickling kimchi are different, but they generally use kohlrabi as raw materials, "Huayang Guozhi" records that Li Bing "wore Guangdu salt well Zhupi Pond" in Shu, using the salt of the artesian well to pickle kimchi, which shows that this food has a long history. In 154 AD, the Han Huan Emperor decreed: "The plague of locusts is harmful, the water changes to the ground, the grain is not ascended, and the people have no storage." It ordered all the injured counties to plant turnips to help people eat", which shows that it has been widely cultivated during the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Qingcheng kimchi is the best among Shudi kimchi. Regarding its production process, it inherits the ancient tradition of "Shu mustard and turnip making method". Quanzhen Dao (Taoist sect) advocates vegetarian food and pays more attention to the processing and refining of kimchi.
No longer limited to the use of turnips as raw materials, Qingcheng kimchi is exquisite in its selection of ingredients, with a variety of varieties, such as bright red and translucent lantern peppers, tender yellow ginger like ivory, emerald cucumbers with stalks, black oily ground dragon seeds, white as plain silk, etc., all kinds of colors.
The skills of Qingcheng kimchi are also very exquisite. First of all, the selected fresh vegetables are processed and washed, and the high-grade Sichuan salt and Qingcheng high-quality mineral water are used as kimchi water in a ratio of one to four. After a certain stage, the bubble head is put into the vegetable jar for a long time and added condiments. Generally, white wine, brown sugar, cooking wine, peppercorns, star anise, etc., according to the season, taste and length of storage period, the proportion varies. The placement is also orderly, do not fill it too full, and use the altar to isolate the air along the water after covering the altar to prevent pollution. Some kimchi need to be dried by proper sunlight during processing to remove excess water attached. Every once in a while, special personnel regularly check to prevent deterioration and bubbling, and observe the rise and contraction of salt water at any time. Such elaborate Qingcheng kimchi, even if stored for several years, is still fresh in color and crisp and tender.
The kimchi of the Qing Palace on Qingcheng Mountain is the crown of the whole mountain. The famous painter Mr. Zhang Daqian lived here in his early years and praised it. People say that in addition to the meticulous cuisine there, it also benefits from the high-quality mountain spring water. After the poet Zhao Puchu tasted Qingcheng kimchi, he wrote a lyric praising: "Qingcheng is good, kimchi crowns the whole river." Crisp mustard ginger boasts, fang sweet milk wine is better than double sage, I take the pepper plate alone! ”
Kimchi is an indispensable part of the Shu people's meals. Its taste seems to penetrate into the fabric of life, even if there are thousands of kinds of dishes, this kimchi is an indispensable taste in feasts and regular food.