Among the many cuisines in Qinghai, the traditional banquet dish Lao Bapan has both sour, spicy, sweet and salty flavors, and is known as the most delicious cuisine with Qinghai characteristics because of its combination of sour, spicy, sweet and salty flavors, and the techniques of stir-frying, steaming, roasting, braising and frying are complete.
Among the people of Hehuang, there is a saying: "Eight plates and eight plates, festive feasts." The dishes are refined, and etiquette comes first. The statement reflects the cultural connotation of the old eight plates.
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<h1>The product of cultural exchange</h1>
As a traditional banquet dish in Qinghai, it is unknown when the old eight plates were formed, and there is no relevant record in various history books in Qinghai that have been handed down to this day.
Mr. Ren Yugui, a local historian in our province, has heard his father tell him about the scene of them eating the old eight plates since he was a child. "Listening to my fathers, the old eight plates of the Han nationality may have been formed in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The number 'eight' is taken because in traditional Chinese culture, the meaning of 'eight' is auspicious. Mr. Ren Yugui said.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Qinghai ushered in another upsurge of immigration, when Han immigrants from all over the country, especially from the Jianghuai region and the Shanshan region, came to Qinghai, and among these immigrants were soldiers and their families in Tunbian, the people of Mintun, merchants and craftsmen.
"During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Qinghai shiju ethnic group has been formed, they have a unique style of food culture, the food culture brought by immigrants and the food culture of the shiju ethnic group are integrated with each other, and the old eight plates of eclectic people have been formed. Therefore, in the old eight plates, there are both southern rice and beef and mutton with Qinghai characteristics. Mr. Ren Yugui said.
Regarding the origin of the old eight plates, there is still such a story in some places in Qinghai. It is said that during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, the northwest general Nian Qianyao fought for many years and made great achievements in battle. The emperor rewarded him with eight dishes.
The ancient diet of our country had a very strict hierarchical system. The Book of Rites records that "Wang Jiuding, Qing Qiding, Shifu Wuding, Shi Yi San Ding". The "Qing Shilu" records that there were 108 dishes of the Qing emperor and 96 dishes of the empress, and the number of dishes eaten by different levels decreased step by step.
At that time, the people of Qinghai believed that if Nian Tangyao ate eight dishes, then the standard of the people's meals naturally could not exceed eight dishes, so it became a habit to use eight dishes to feast on noble guests. The old eight plates were thus formed.
<h1>The old eight plates are served in an orderly manner</h1>
In fact, the old eight plates of dishes are far more than eight dishes.
The old eight-plate banquet of the Han people in Qinghai began with the whole plate. The whole is also called ten kinds of brocade, which means that the whole family is rich and comprehensive. The whole dish is a cold dish, which requires the plate to be large and the ingredients to be sufficient.
The whole dish resembles a cone, and the center of the cone is a vegetarian dish cold mixed with spinach, vermicelli, kelp, bean sprouts and other ingredients. It is radiatively arranged with slices of meat, tofu, cucumber and so on. The top of the cone is decorated with "flowers" made of hard-boiled eggs. The whole dish is rich in content and is a good appetizer.
If you do not put the whole disk, you can also use four platters instead, and families with good conditions can also put six platters, eight platters, and even twelve platters. The platter is usually filled with a variety of cold dishes, such as marinated beef, stone cauliflower, staghorn grass and so on.
Before the whole plate is served, the table will be placed on the table, which is usually filled with dried fruits such as peanuts, melon seeds, and red dates, which symbolize auspiciousness. "The old eight plates mean auspicious, so it is originally a festive dish, which only appears in the wedding feast." Mr. Ren Yugui said.
The whole plate kicked off the prelude to the old eight plates in Qinghai, followed by the main dish of the old eight plates. Eight dishes also have a beautiful meaning.
The first dish is tenderloin, which is homophonous with "Liji" and is made by taking the muscles on both sides of the animal's vertebrae and frying them. Its flesh is crispy and very delicious.
The second course is three-burn, and it is served with buns. Sanyaki is also known as chowder, and there is an interesting legend about this dish. According to legend, the famous Southern Song Dynasty general Yue Fei died because of Qin Juniper's framing, and a chef developed this dish for Yue Fei's fight against the uneven, which means to burn Qin Juniper to death. "One of the most important ingredients in the three yaki is lamb tendon, which is different from the southern chowder. This dish is the product of a perfect combination of southern cooking techniques and Qinghai products. Mr. Ren Yugui said.
Elbow is a hard dish in the old eight plates of the Hehuang Han people. Its approach is very similar to the famous Jiangnan dish Dongpo elbow. According to legend, Dongpo elbow is a traditional dish made by Su Shi, a famous literary artist of the Song Dynasty.
After eating the elbows, the mutton and roast chicken nuggets were successively served on the table. Sheep is an important product of Qinghai, mutton is warm but not dry, has always been the qinghai people love to eat food. The chicken harmonic sound "auspicious" is a symbol of auspiciousness.
After eating these two dishes and using the boiling water in the large bowl on the table to rinse the spoon chopsticks, it is time to eat glutinous rice eight treasure rice or crispy pills, accompanied by "sweet water" and sugar packets. Glutinous rice eight treasure rice, also known as stuffed rice, is a dessert. Qinghai does not produce rice, and the stuffed rice carries the food memories of Qinghai immigrants in Jiangnan. "Sweet water" is actually pear water. The fifth course is all dessert, which means sweet and sweet. In today's eight plates, the "sweet water" is basically replaced by mashed soup.
There is also a fish in the old eight plates of Qinghai. In the old days, the fish in the old eight plates were generally put in two, which means that both pairs are paired. Most of today's eight plates have only one.
"The last dish depends on the owner's economic situation and can be stir-fried or stewed. Such as lamb paste eggplant, diced mushrooms stir-fried meat and so on. Mr. Ren Yugui said.
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<h1>The beautiful meaning of "the last four bowls"</h1>
Qinghai Laobapan also has a tail dish, commonly known as "the last four bowls", "the last four bowls" pay attention to meat and vegetarian collocation. It is usually a two-meat and two-vegetarian stir-fry dish, served in a bowl. The "last four bowls" means the prosperity of the four seasons, and when it is on the table, it means that the feast is over. In some places, the "last four bowls" in the old eight plates have been replaced by Qinghai clay hot pot. In ancient times, Qinghai's economy was backward, traffic jams, and the people's lives were difficult. Therefore, eating a table is a happy thing for many people. "The dishes of Qinghai Laobapan were mainly meat dishes, which was a rare blessing for people who were living in difficulty at that time." Mr. Ren Yugui said. The dishes of Qinghai Laobapan are basically fixed, but some families will adjust slightly according to economic conditions. In addition to the standard of one cold, eight hot plus "last four bowls", qinghai old eight plates have a higher level of presentation, that is, sea eight plates. "If you add valuable ingredients such as sea cucumbers and abalone, it is called sea eight plates." When I was a child, I heard my father tell me that when Li Yaoting, the richest man in Huangyuan, died, my father once ate a sea eight plates at the Li family, which contained squid, crabs, abalone and so on. Father said that many things at the banquet had not been seen, and everyone did not know how to eat. Mr. Ren Yugui said.
<h1>Table manners for Qinghai people</h1>
Qinghai, when eating eight plates, can not ignore the etiquette at the banquet. You can't sit casually when eating the old eight plates. The host family will ask a "Daito" (the head of the banquet) to arrange the table according to the generation and identity of relatives and friends. Under normal circumstances, father and son have different tables, nephews do not have tables, and sons-in-law and father-in-law have different tables. Usually, there is a table of eight people, and the seat will be seated by the longest person on the table or the person with the highest rank. Seven of the eight were guests, and one was a confidant (also known as a retainer, the one who used to help the owner entertain guests at a wedding or funeral). The main job of the zhike is to toast, and his task is to make the other seven guests eat and drink well. After the whole plate is served, the eggs on the table will be given to the elders at the table, and the elders will not officially open the table after eating the eggs. At this time, the acquaintance should hold up the wine dish with both hands or toast from the old man or according to the size of the generation, and guess the fist order after the toast. After each dish is served, the elderly must first be allowed to rub the dishes before the others can put down chopsticks. After the three burns are served, the owner will go to the kitchen and perform a ritual. "The owner will toast to the chef with both hands, one is to thank the chef for his hard work, and the other is to hope that the future chefs can do better." If the dish is a little salty, the owner will also say vaguely, a good cook a handful of salt. In this way, the chef will understand the meaning of the owner. After toasting, the owner will also send a towel and a red envelope. The towel is for the chef who has worked hard all day to wipe the sweat, and the red envelope chats to express gratitude. The amount of the red packet depends on the specific situation of the owner, and can be more or less. Mr. Ren Yugui said. When the old eight plates reached the dessert, the person who ate the table knew that it was time for the new person to toast. At this time, everyone will consciously prepare red envelopes, or peanuts and dates, and put them in the tray of the newcomer's toast, implying that they hope that the newcomer will give birth to a noble son early. When eating the "last four bowls", the owner will go to each table and ask everyone: "Have your relatives eaten well and drunk well?" "At the end of the feast, the owner will come over and make a move, and after making sure that everyone is well fed and drunk, send everyone away from the table." Although Qinghai is remote, traditional Chinese culture has been preserved intact in many parts of Qinghai. The etiquette in Qinghai food culture embodies the etiquette of respecting the elder and the young, respecting the teacher, and respecting the morality, and is the manifestation of the idea of "etiquette from food, food etiquette is the same way" in traditional Chinese food culture.
Reporter/Wang Shimei