China's food culture is broad and profound, especially some of the names of some dishes are very cultural, elegant and chic. Today, I would like to introduce you to four famous dishes related to four famous people in history. These four famous dishes are also named after them.
First, xi shi tongue
Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, after king Gou Jian of Yue borrowed Xi Shi to carry out a beauty plan to destroy Wu, he was ready to take Xi Shi back to China, and his wife, worried that Xi Shi was favored, secretly asked someone to deceive Xi Shi, tied the stone to Xi Shi's body, and then sank into the sea. Since then, in the sediment along the coast, there has been a kind of clam that resembles a human tongue (that is, a clam), which everyone says is xishi's tongue, so it is called "xishi tongue".
Stir-fried Xishi tongue is a famous dish in Fujian, the so-called Xishi tongue is a species of coastal food clam, which belongs to the petal gill mollusk and bivalve shellfish. Its meat is soft and tender, stir-fried, mixed and stewed, and its delicious taste is unforgettable. In the 1930s, when the famous writer Yu Dafu was in Fujian, he also praised Changle "Xi Shi Tongue" as the best kind of divine product in Fujian cuisine.
Liang Shiqiu once specifically described the situation of his first time eating Xi Shi tongue: "The first time I ate Xi Shi tongue was on the mat of The Shunxing Building in Qingdao, a large bowl of clear soup, floating a layer of sharp white things, at first I did not know what it was, the master knew that The West Tongue, contained in the mouth has a smooth and tender and soft feeling, trying it is indeed worthy of the name, but I feel that it is inevitable that Tang Xi Shi is not sudden. ”
The famous dish of Xi Shi tongue is not only famous in Fujian, but also quite famous in Rizhao. Rizhao Sea is rich in precious sea clams, the shell shape is handsome, the axe foot shape is flat like a tongue, white as jade, known as "Xi Shi tongue", the clam shell is plump, the flesh is tender, the taste is delicious, clean and chic, and the nutrition is extremely rich, which is beyond the reach of other shellfish. In 1959, when Chai Liqing, an official of the Arashiyama Office, went to Beijing to attend the Heroic Model Conference, he presented Xi Shizhi to the national leaders on behalf of the people of Rizhao.
2. Noble concubine chicken
"Guifei Chicken" is a famous dish in Suzhou, the dishes are full of color and fragrance, pleasing to the eye, the entrance is tender and smooth, and the fragrance is fragrant. Regarding the origin of this guifei chicken, there are also some stories circulating in the folk, which are said to be related to Yang Guifei.
It is said that after The Tang Ming Emperor Li Longji married Yang Yuhuan, he indulged in wine all day long and did not ask about political affairs. One day, the two were drinking and having fun at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and Yang Yuhuan was excited and shouted, "I want to fly to the sky!" I'm going to fly into the sky! Li Longji mistakenly thought that Yang Guifei was going to eat "fly to the sky", so he ordered the imperial chef to quickly offer this dish. The imperial chef listened to the second monk confused, and had never heard of anything "flying into the sky". But what can be done? The emperor's words were full of words, he said that there was, which dared to say the word "no". Everyone was in a hurry, and they didn't know what to do.
A chef said that eagles fly high, probably "flying into the sky"! As soon as everyone listened, they quickly made two braised eagles. But when I tasted it, I found that the eagle meat was sour! So the cooks got back on their heads. At this time, a Suzhou cook named Su Kongtou was in a hurry, and he proposed to make a dish with chicken wings, wasn't it "flying to the sky"? Everyone agreed after listening. So use a few chicken wings and simmer them with shiitake mushrooms, winter shoots, etc. As a result, the dishes are colorful, fragrant, flavorful and shaped.
When the dish was brought to the table, Yang Guifei's wine had awakened a lot, and she clipped a piece of "flying to the sky" into her mouth, not feeling refreshed, her lips and teeth were fragrant, and she exclaimed: "Delicious!" delicious! It was delicious! Li Longji also sandwiched a piece and asked the eunuch next to him: "What is the name of this dish?" The eunuch replied, "Isn't this the 'flying up to the sky' that Your Majesty ordered the imperial dining room to do?" Li Longji immediately realized that he had lost his words after drinking, and had to smile awkwardly.
At this time, Yang Guifei, who was relishing the taste of "flying to the sky", said: "This dish is colorful, tender and fragrant, all similar to my concubine, just call it 'Guifei chicken'!" When Li Longji heard it, he even claimed that it was good.
Later, Su Empty head told the old man to return to his hometown, and brought the firing method of "Guifei Chicken" back to Suzhou, and this dish was passed down from generation to generation in Suzhou.
3. Dongpo meat
There are two main theories about the origin of Dongpo meat.
It is said that Dongpo meat was personally made by Su Shi when he was degraded to Huangzhou and passed down to future generations, and it is a traditional dish unique to Chuxiang Hubei. Later, with the promotion of Su Shi, this dish spread throughout the north and south of the great river, and was successively introduced to Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places, and was highly praised by the people. In Hubei, and even in Hangzhou and Sichuan, it is a high-class famous dish. It is said that in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as some places on Hainan Island, there is also a popular custom of eating "Dongpo meat". The flourishing "Dongpo meat" has been handed down to this day and has a history of nearly a thousand years.
So, how was Huangzhou's "Dongpo meat" created? Because Huangzhou is rich in products, grain is more pigs, meat prices are cheap, and because Su Shi has always liked to eat pork, once a guest at home, he cooked pork to the guest, put the pork under the pot with water and put the seasoning, slowly simmered with the low heat, he played chess with the guests, the two were very interested, until the end of the game, Su Shi suddenly remembered the meat in the pot.
He thought that a pot of pork would be scorched, hurriedly ran into the kitchen, who knew that not only did not have a burnt paste, but the aroma was fragrant, open the pot to see, only to see the pork ruddy color, the juice is rich and mellow. Tasting its mellow and delicious, sticky but not greasy, it won high praise from guests, and Su Shi himself was inspired by it. Later, he copied it as he did, and it was equally delicious, and since then, he has often cooked this dish, with guests and no guests eating. He also summed up the experience of cooking this dish and wrote a "Pork Ode": "Wash the bell, less water, firewood head smoke stuffing can not afford." When he is self-familiar, he is not urged to urge him, and when the fire is full, he is self-beautiful. Huangzhou good pork, the price is as cheap as dirt. The nobles refuse to eat, and the poor do not cook. Get up in the morning to play two bowls, and be full of your own junmo. ”
Because the dish cooked by Su Shi is indeed delicious and delicious, coupled with the nostalgia and admiration of the people of Huangzhou, this famous poet, so he created this fragrant and soft dish - braised meat, named "Dongpo meat". Later generations of chefs also added two ingredients to dongpo meat: winter (dong) bamboo shoots and pineapple (slope) vegetables, making it more meaningful.
Second, when Su Dongpo was doing the history of thorns in Hangzhou, he governed the West Lake and did a good thing for the people. He believes that "Hangzhou has a West Lake, like people have eyebrows", which must not be abolished. He led the people of Hangzhou to dredge the West Lake, and finally returned the West Lake to youth.
After the treatment of the West Lake, the surrounding fields were not afraid of floods or drought, and this year the wind and rain were smooth, and the crops in the four townships of Hangzhou achieved a bumper harvest. The people thanked Su Dongpo for the benefits of managing the West Lake, and one after another beat gongs and drums, and carried pigs and wine to the Taishou Mansion. Su Dongpo could not resign, so he had to accept it.
In the face of piles of pork, he asked the chef to cut the meat into squares, use the method of stewing elbows in meishan, Sichuan, combined with the taste characteristics of Hangzhou people, add ginger, green onions, brown sugar, cooking wine, soy sauce, simmer it with a low flame to make it tender and crispy, and then according to the roster of migrant workers in the dredging of the West Lake, one piece per household, and distribute the meat.
Migrant workers tasted the braised meat sent by Su Taishou, the taste was unusual, the years of Taiping, every household lived a good and happy life, this Chenguang saw Su Dongpo send people to send meat, everyone was happier: the old laugh, the small jump, everyone praised Su Dongpo as a wise parent official, and called the pork he sent "Dongpo meat".
At that time, there was a big restaurant in Hangzhou, and the owner of the restaurant saw that people were praising "Dongpo meat", so he consulted with the chef, cut the pork into cubes, burned it red and crispy, hung up the brand, and also named it "Dongpo Meat".
As soon as this new dish came out, the business of that restaurant was very prosperous, from morning to night customers continued, killing ten big pigs a day was not enough to sell it, other restaurant owners looked red, but also learned to do it, for a time, regardless of the size of the restaurant, every family has "Dongpo meat". Later, after being recognized by peers, "Dongpo meat" was designated as the first famous dish in Hangzhou.
Su Dongpo was an upright man and was not afraid of power, and the traitors in the imperial court were already very jealous of him. At this time, seeing that he was loved by the common people, his heart was even more uncomfortable. One of them, Yu Shi, disguised himself and went to Hangzhou to find a fork with the intention of framing Su Dongpo.
On the first day of yushi's arrival in Hangzhou, he had lunch in a restaurant. Don handed him the menu and asked him to order. When he received the menu, his head was "Dongpo Meat"! He frowned, thought about it, and slapped the table with joy and shouted, "I want this first dish!" ”
He had eaten "Dongpo meat" and felt that the taste was really good, and asked Tang Yi about it, knowing that "Dongpo meat" was the first famous dish recognized by his peers, so he collected the menus of all the restaurants in Hangzhou and rushed back to Beijing.
Yushi returned to the capital and immediately went to see the emperor. He said, "Emperor, Su Dongpo was doing the history of assassination in Hangzhou, corrupting the law, and doing all the evil things to the extreme!" The common people were eager to eat his flesh. The emperor said, "How do you know?" Is there any evidence? Mishi presented the big greasy menu. The emperor was originally a fool, and as soon as he looked at the menu, he indiscriminately passed on the holy will, demoting Su Dongpo to a position and sending him far away to Hainan.
After Su Dongpo was demoted and sent to Hainan, the people of Hangzhou could not forget his benefits and still praised him as in the past. In this way, "Dongpo meat" has also been passed down from generation to generation, and to this day, it is still a famous dish in Hangzhou.
4. Kung Pao chicken
Many people will mistake the dish for Kung Po Chicken Cubes; some people think that this dish is Sichuan cuisine because it contains peppers. This is actually all wrong. The origin of Gongbao chicken is actually Jinan, Shandong, and Shandong Lu cuisine has always been known for its salty and fresh, not spicy, but why is there spicy Kungbao chicken?
It all starts with one person. This person was Ding Baozhen, a jinshi of the Tongzhi period, who had been appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Shandong. Although Ding Baozhen was a high-ranking official, he was upright, cared for the people, punished evil and promoted good, and every time he went to a place, the local people loved him very much. Such a clean and honest official, all he loves is food, as long as he is an official in a certain place, he will change into private clothes and go out to find special food, after arriving in Jinan, he will naturally not let go of this opportunity.
One day, after Ding Baozhen changed into private clothes, he wandered the streets. Unconsciously, it was past noon, and he felt a little hungry. He looked around and saw a nearby farmhouse with an old woman feeding chickens in the farm yard. Thinking of having a meal at this farmhouse, he went straight in with his servants. Shandong people have always been hospitable and naturally warmly received. The old woman saw that the guest's accent was not local, and the whole atmosphere was very strong, presumably not an ordinary person. When Ding Baozhen was chatting with the old woman, a sudden burst of fragrance wafted in, and it turned out that the old woman's son came in with a dish.
Most of these dishes are Jinan special snacks, Ding Baozhen has tasted in the past, but the only dish he has never seen, but it is very fragrant. He picked up the chopsticks and tried to pick up a little bit and put it in his mouth, thinking it tasted great. So I asked the man: What kind of dish is this? Hanzi said: Stir-fried chicken cubes. Ding Baozhen praised this dish while eating.
After returning to the house, Ding Baozhen was still very obsessed with this dish, so he hired this man as his cook. At this time, the name of the kung pao chicken is still fried chicken. Later, Ding Baozhen was transferred to Sichuan on the orders of the imperial court, and he wanted to take Hanzi with him, and after asking his mother's advice, Hanzi went to Sichuan with Ding Baozhen, thus bringing his fried chicken to Sichuan.
Because Sichuan people love spicy food, they have improved this dish, replacing the pepper in this dish with chili pepper, and now there is sichuan-style stir-fried chicken. In order to commemorate Ding Baozhen, later generations named this dish after Ding Baozhen's official rank (Gong Bao), that is, Gong Bao Chicken Ding.
After reading this story, don't let a Ding Baozhen just be a food-loving official. The historical Ding Baozhen is actually very accomplished, and he is also a Clean Official, and he dares to kill the eunuch An Dehai, which is very telling.
On the sixth day of July in the eighth year of Tongzhi, Empress Dowager Cixi's most favored eunuch, An Dehai, led an entourage of more than thirty people, in the name of purchasing dragon clothes, and sailed south along the canal by boat from Tongzhou. The first stop of An Dehai's party entering Shandong was Dezhou, and Zhao Xin of Dezhou Zhizhou quickly reported the situation to Ding Baozhen, who delivered the news to Beijing on July 29 with an urgent message of 400 miles.
Ding Baozhen listed Three counts of An Dehai, "impersonating Chincha", "accusing words of privateness", and "inciting and inciting". The reasons are: First, "I have been in the pilgrimage to the saints for more than two hundred years, and I have never allowed eunuchs to associate with outsiders, nor have I ever sent eunuchs to the provinces"; second, the imperial court wants to weave dragon robes, which has always been ordered by the Ming Dynasty to weave "respectful and respectful", and how to use eunuchs to involve expenses; third, in case the eunuchs are ordered to go out, they should also "ming the edict and the text" and have "passed on the cards and surveys"; fourth, the dragon robe banners and female music used by Andehai are "forbidden objects for royal use", which is obviously "illegal and arbitrary".
As soon as the recital was issued, Ding Baozhen immediately arranged for officials along the canal to arrest Andehai, and the first station was in Texas, where the governor of Texas was too timid to move. The second stop was Dongchang (present-day Liaocheng), and the prefect of Dongchang did not dare to do anything. Ding Baozhen feared that Andehai had escaped, so he ordered the general Wang Zhengqi to send troops to chase after him, and Wang Zhengqi and Tai'an Zhixian captured Andehai and his party at Tai'an Nanguan and escorted them to Jinan.
When Ding Baozhen's first letter was folded to Beijing, it happened that Cixi was ill, and after Ci'an suggested that the Tongzhi Emperor take charge of the government, the Tongzhi Emperor and Prince Gong ordered the Minister of Internal Affairs to confront him, and the Minister of internal affairs also defended Andehai, and the Tongzhi Emperor was very angry and said: "This Cao is like this, it should be killed", and then immediately summoned the Minister of Military Aircraft, and ordered them to send the governors of Zhili, Liangjiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Caoyun with a six-hundred-mile flight, asking them to "quickly send cadres to strictly investigate the eunuchs surnamed Liupin Lanling'an in their respective places, so that the entourage can correct them correctly and interrogate them without interrogation." That is, to practice the Fa-rectification on the spot. The day after the imperial court's will arrived in Jinan (August 7), Ding Baozhen put An Dehai on the right.
With empress dowager Cixi and Andehai's favor, Ding Baozhen dared to take the initiative to capture Andehai and ask the emperor to kill him, which was a tough man and a good official.
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