■ Hainan Daily reporter Zhao You
The Year of the Ugly Cow has arrived, the people take food as the sky Chinese still can't avoid the topic of eating, Wang Wan's sentence "Brocade robe embroidery in the middle of the moon, beef coarse fat whey" more said one thing that must be done in the Year of the Ox: eat beef!
Steaming, boiling, roasting, and shabu-shabu are all complete, which is enough to see people's love for beef regardless of region. For the matter of eating "cows", Hainan people are also very "cattle". Whether it is the mellow beef brisket in the casserole pot, the tender beef on the iron plate, or the small yellow cow with the fragrance of the bamboo tube, it is a must-see food in Qiongdao.
Ding'an Xiangou beef is only for the freshness of "can dance"
Every day before dinner, the Xiangou Beef Food Street in Siyuan Road, Ding'an County, is bustling with rows of beef stalls on one side of the road, and the restaurant processing shop on the other side is also busy with upcoming business.
Ding'an Xiangou, Hainan, where the century-old bull market, is the largest existing live cattle trading market in Hainan. Today, around the Xiangou Food Station Bull Market Slaughterhouse, more than a dozen beef stalls and more than 60 beef processing restaurants have been spawned on both sides of the surrounding streets.
Xiangou beef. Photo by reporter Zhang Jie
The reason why Ding'an beef is famous is mainly because it is freshly slaughtered and eaten, and it pays attention to a freshness. After the live cattle are slaughtered, the beef is sold at a stall outside the slaughterhouse. Diners buy freshly slaughtered beef at the stalls and turn around to cook at the restaurant opposite. Because the beef is so fresh that you can see your muscles beating, it is also called "dancing beef".
Xiangou cattle louvers. Photo by reporter Zhang Jie
The reputation of Ding'an for "dancing" beef is passed down by word of mouth, attracting people from surrounding cities and counties to drive here to taste the delicious food, and when it comes to meals, the nearby streets are always full of vehicles for diners who come to buy beef.
The most popular way to eat beef in Ding'an is to use a mother-son pot, which can be fried or shabu-shabu. The middle sub-pot cooks a sweet beef stock and is used to shabu-shabu beef. The outer ring of the mother pot is covered with a layer of grill paper, which is used to fry roast beef. Because the way of eating is different, the cut beef is also different, the beef used for frying should be cut into thin slices, and the beef used to cook is slightly fatty and into a strip. The thinly sliced beef is marinated in a sauce, fried on both sides of the frying pan until it changes color, dipped in the shop's special assortment sauce, and the beef is tender in the mouth, and the feeling is two words: fresh and tender.
Fried marinated Xiangou beef. Photo by reporter Zhang Jie
In addition to shabu-shabu and pan-frying, the restaurants also offer hot dishes such as pan-fried beef liver and fried steak, which are golden on both sides and are extremely flavorful. Then there is a Ding'an dish wrapped rice, fresh leaves wrapped in flavored rice under the belly, full of happiness.
Qiong Xiaoxiao scalper one side of the water and soil side flavor
One side of the water and soil to support the other side of the life, different geographical environment, climatic conditions, natural resources, the taste of the beef produced is also different. Hainan cattle, also known as gaofeng cattle and Lei Qiong cattle, are included in the "List of China Livestock and Poultry Breed Resources Protection", mainly distributed in Wuzhishan, Qiongzhong, Dongfang, Danzhou, Chengmai, Ding'an and other places, mainly free range. Qiongzhong is a traditional cattle-raising county, and cattle breeding has always been the main support of the rural economy and one of the main sources of farmers' family income.
Among the various delicacies in Qiongzhong, the first small yellow beef is promoted. Farmers will put the calves on the mountain and play with them all over the mountain, these cattle are very picky, eat only the dewy grass leaves in the sun, and only drink the spring water flowing in the mountains, so the beef has a different flavor. This cow is also jokingly called the "little scalper who doesn't go home".
Braised chicks with skin in the middle of the cone. (File photo)
Here, farmers used to herd their calves on barren slopes above 700 meters above sea level, allowing them to grow freely all year round and eat leaves for a living. Every other week or even a month, the owner will go up the mountain, summon the head of the cow in the unique method of each family, and lead the herd to a fixed place to eat salt. Why eat salt? It is said that this can help the cow stomach and help digestion, and the second can supplement the trace elements needed daily for cowboy growth.
Because of its wild range and tender and delicious meat, locals like to call yellow beef "venison" and "wild beef". Beef brisket casserole made with small yellow beef is popular with diners, and many gourmets even go to Qiongzhong on holidays to take a bite of the food.
The locals are very proficient in beef practices, and the flavors of stir-frying, frying, sautéing, and grilling are all unique. Such as dry sautéing, due to the good quality of the meat, do not need too much seasoning and processing, stir-fry add Hainan grapefruit oil, sprinkle some sesame seeds and coriander, the meat taste delicious. If you enjoy beef hot pot, the taste is more delicious, and you should also eat it with the skin, because the skin of this little scalp is crisp and refreshing. The tradition of the Li people is to grill beef on charcoal on a skewer, which is also unique to eat.
Nowadays, hotels and restaurants in Qiongzhong, Wuzhishan, Baoting and other cities and counties have introduced new methods for scalpers. For example, the bamboo tube beef that has been upgraded in the traditional practice is to chop the beef into the bamboo tube, add black pepper, curry powder, lemongrass powder, etc. as a seasoning, roast for 15 to 20 minutes, and when the moisture is just dry, the fragrant bamboo tube beef will be cooked successfully.
Five Finger Mountain Fried Steak. Plum Brothers photo
Haikou beef brisket rice is the most human fireworks
As for the first bite of beef in winter, it must be a tender but tender beef brisket in the mouth. However, cooking beef brisket is not an easy task, although the brisket is thin but densely packed, if it can not be carefully cooked, it will turn into dry and woody old meat.
Beef brisket, which is the fat meat on the belly of the cow, is not as valuable as the beef in other parts, so it is loved by the common people and has become a street market. It is difficult to verify when beef brisket rice became popular in Hainan, but it should be one of the earliest "packages" in Hainan.
Although there are many brisket rice throughout the country, Haikou beef brisket rice has its own characteristics: light, fresh and sweet, simple and simple. In Haikou, beef brisket rice is a ubiquitous gourmet fast food, and in the popular area, even every dozen meters you can see the signs of such restaurants. Usually the façade of these stores is very small, most of them are old street shops, many of which do not even have storefronts, directly put on the street, support a few steaming large casseroles, put on a few seat benches, you can open the stall. At the front of the shop must be a few casseroles, simmered at the bottom of the fire, the ingredients are simmered in them unhurriedly, and the seductive aroma drifts in the street with the wind, gathering diners who smell the incense in pairs.
Brine brisket rice. Plum Brothers photo
This brisket usually takes two days to make, and the store uses the finest beef brisket meat to cut into pieces, add the appropriate ingredients and Chinese herbs and slowly simmer. When she sat down in the store, as long as she told the little sister of the store that she wanted beef brisket rice, she would take out a shallow bowl, scoop out the fragrant, soft and delicious beef brisket, and then pour a rich soup. Then, add a bowl of clear soup and white rice, and a set of beef brisket rice is ready. Compared to the fat and plump brisket, the broth looks very simple: a thin layer of oil stars floating on it, dotted with a few green onions or local sauerkraut, is light and delicate. Rice must also be made from local Hainan rice. When the rice is served, the grains are separated and slightly salty to eat. Beef brisket does not have a trace of odor when it is ingested, and the mouth is full of the fragrance of beef and the rich flavor of brisket, so that the rice and beef brisket together are a perfect match.
Such small shops often also deal in pork offal, beef offal, pork belly, taro stems, sour bamboo shoots, fried hollow cabbage, fried bean sprouts, watermelon peels, sauerkraut and other home-cooked dishes, all of which have been cooked in advance, and it is not too much to say that it is fast food. But don't be dismissive because of its simple casualness, it is precisely this most rustic taste of the city that can truly cater to the picky tongue buds of Haikou people, snare the stomach of Haikou people, and carry the most soothing city fireworks.
Hainanese flavor in beef jerky
When it comes to beef delicacies, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is chewy beef jerky. Depending on the region, beef jerky practices in Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and other places have their own characteristics. In Hainan, some timeless beef jerky brands also let people taste different Hainanese.
Jinshan beef jerky
Records of Jinshan beef jerky begin in the early years of the Republic of China. The industrious Wenchang Jinshan people went to Nanyang to make a living, all the way by boat across the sea, after dozens of days or even months to reach the destination, in order to facilitate the carrying of rations, they made a light and durable beef jerky, with the taste of their hometown "into the South Sea".
Ancient techniques have been passed down from generation to generation, and beef jerky is made by selecting meat, cutting into pieces, toppings, curing meat, frying, drying, baking and other processes. To make Jinshan beef jerky, beef leg meat must be selected. First, the beef is boiled in water until it is seven or eight minutes, cut into small pieces, then marinated in sauce and simmered in a pot. Once out of the pan, stir-fry the stewed beef nuggets with peanut oil and ingredients. After stir-frying, dry moderately, put it back in the pan and bake it over low heat. The Kumyama beef jerky is made by slow simmering and repeatedly drying, and is suitable for dipping vinegar and chili peppers to make it taste delicious.
Ruixi beef jerky
There is a saying in Chengmai that if you want to distinguish which kind of powder is Chengmai flavor, you must see if there is beef jerky in it. Beef jerky production in Ruixi Town has a history of hundreds of years and is known for its crisp and delicious flavor and long aftertaste.
Beef jerky made in Ruixi is fine with water beef or yellow beef, but it is necessary to buy the lean meat of fat old cattle. Ingredients are peanut oil, soy sauce, spices, ginger, garlic, sugar, wine, pepper, etc. In the process of making Ruixi beef jerky, the slicing knife work is very exquisite, after the slice is completed, the beef is sliced into thin slices and in the shape of a "Z", which is crisp and delicious to eat, sweet and delicious, and it is more enjoyable to chew slowly.
Chengmai Ruixi Town beef jerky and sausage production has a history of hundreds of years, the two specialties are famous for their unique craftsmanship and taste, Ruixi beef jerky, Ruixi rice dumplings and Ruixi sausage are also known as Ruixi "three treasures".
The most cattle food in China
With the advent of the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, all parts of life are filled with the elements of cattle, implying that the new year is full of bulls. In China, the beef cuisine in different regions is different, Lanzhou beef noodles, Xi'an bacon beef, Changsha small stir-fried yellow beef, Chaoshan beef hot pot, Leshan stilted beef... The anecdotal stories of beef cuisine contain the profundity of Chinese cuisine, which one do you plan to choose?
Lanzhou beef noodles
Lanzhou beef noodles are well known, and there are Lanzhou ramen restaurants almost all over the country. However, in Lanzhou, there is no such thing as ramen noodles, and this dish is called beef noodles in the local area. There are many types of noodles in Lanzhou beef noodles, including large width, two width, leek leaves, a nest of silk, buckwheat ridges, and there are also two fine, three fine, fine, hairy, etc., diners can choose according to their hobbies. In addition, it also has the characteristics of "one clear (soup), two white (radish), three green (coriander garlic seedlings), four red (spicy seeds), five yellow (noodles yellow and bright)", the aroma is fragrant, tempting appetite.
Chaoshan beef hot pot
As long as You mention Chaoshan, it is easy for everyone to think of the "Chaoshan Beef Hot Pot" restaurant that has opened all over the country. Chaoshan people's preference for beef is unquestionable, beef hot pot is all over the streets, hanging dragons, spoon handles and other parts of the beef served, highlighting the Chaoshan people's ultimate pursuit of flavor. In addition to the very exquisite Chaoshan beef parts, beef hot pot must also be associated with the famous beef balls. The refreshing, flexible, tender and delicious beef balls are definitely fragrant and have a long aftertaste.
Leshan stilted beef
Sichuan Leshan is famous for many national delicacies, such as sweet-skinned duck, stilted beef, bowl chicken, tofu brain, leaf ercang and so on. Among them, stilted beef is the most typical. Originally a delicacy for peddlers, the restaurant was in very rudimentary condition, with only a square table and no stool for guests to sit on, but there was a horizontal tree under the table for guests to rest on their feet, and later this delicacy was named stilted beef. Nowadays, the practice of stilted beef is endless, and after improvement, the beef offal is more flavorful and fragrant, and the soup base is becoming more and more healthy. Stilt-foot beef is slightly better than Suji's stilt-foot beef, which has only 40,000 people, and there are about 100 stilt-foot beef stores.
Original title: Hainan beef taste Which bite do you love