In ancient times, beef was an ingredient that was somewhat embarrassing.
In the pre-Qin Dynasty, cattle were an important sacrifice, and the Sacrifice of the Son of Heaven could kill cattle; after the Western Han Dynasty, cultivating cattle became the key protection object of successive dynasties, and privately slaughtered cattle, but they had to go to jail.
Like in "Water Margin", the good men of Liangshan often cut two pounds of cooked beef, although it is possible, but such an act is more regarded as a symbol of the spirit of resistance.
So, is it really that difficult to eat beef?
Hard, not hard. There is a saying that there are policies on the top and countermeasures on the bottom.
The same goes for beef. The law stipulates that cattle cannot be slaughtered, but if there is an "accident", it must not be wasted.
For a delicious bite, people can burst out of great creativity, open noodles are not allowed to eat, but can be eaten secretly. The consequences of this are reflected in our traditional feast, where we can hardly see famous dishes related to cattle. On the contrary, in the localities, streets and alleys, market stalls, people "cook sheep and slaughter cattle and have fun", and cattle series of food abound.
Is it delicious, you ask? It was delicious.
(i)
Fujian, located in a southeast corner, backed by mountains, facing the sea, has always been far away from the traditional political center.
In the past, this was the heavenly high emperor far away, such geographical conditions, the popularity of the cattle series cuisine, it is not surprising at all.
In the Qing Dynasty, as soon as the European tea thief Robert Fuqiong arrived in Fujian, he was surprised to find: "Beef and milk are widely consumed in Fuzhou. ”
In fact, his discovery is still one-sided.
In fact, at that time, the whole of Fujian had joined the vigorous army of eating cattle, and derived different genres of cooking methods: the gentle nourishment of Fuzhou, the Nanyang style of southern Fujian, the fierce domineering spirit of northern Fujian, the various tricks of Hakka...
Each has its own recipe, each has its own flavor. But one thing is the same, no matter which genre, eating a cow clean and never wasting it is a tacit understanding of everyone.
Today, reach the beef shop on the road
In the "History of Fujian Cuisine", it is recorded that in fuzhou, there was a beef stir-fry shop with beef and beef offal as raw materials at the end of the Qing Dynasty, such as Fulu Garden and Halal Hall. At that time, the largest audience for beef was still ordinary people, especially in Taijiang City. Dadao bull slip, just at that time to start.
The so-called Dadao is once a combination of Dawenli and Xiadao, and a small pier on the Taijiang River in the past is now a street full of fireworks in the world.
On this street, you can find the three long-established brands of the old Yiqiang Beef Shop, Dadao Wuzai Beef Shop and Fuzhou Dadao Beef, which represent the most authentic Fuzhou beef slip - and what does this authentic look like?
Beef slip plus small dumplings, one of the choices for Fuzhou people for breakfast
There are old food points, this soup, must beef bone plus medicinal herbs boiled, sprinkled with green onions, drizzled with shrimp oil, mellow flavor; this meat, must be fresh, chopped after adding the best sweet potato powder, fully integrated, strong teeth without losing chewiness.
I know that in the hearts of many old Fuzhous, a bowl of hot beef soup, plus a drawer of small dumplings, is the standard for a perfect breakfast.
Many years of habit into nature, time has become a tradition in Fuzhou.
Dadao bull slip, from top to bottom are Yi Qiang, Dadao and Wuzai
Dadao is not only cattle slippery, beef offal is also a great love in the hearts of gourmets.
Originally, beef offal was a popular sewage, but under the cooking of Fuzhou chefs, the intervention of Chinese herbal medicines became the most inexpensive choice for the people. As for the steak and hoof, that is a big meal, and only on happy days can you be willing to nibble on one.
Good food is all connected, and reasonable processing methods will also accelerate the spread of delicious food.
It is not easy to say where the cow slip appeared first, but I believe that Fujian has good beef and high-quality sweet potato powder, and it is inevitable that such a type of cuisine will appear.
Touring Fujian, we can see the various forms of Fuzhou cattle slip in the province, although the taste is different, the name is different, but in the end they all have the same destination - everyone loves.
In Gutian, it is gutian county that was once The Ten Yi of Fuzhou, where the cow slip adds red rot, and there is a special wine aroma that haunts the mouth;
Fuding beef balls, one of the representatives of Mindong beef balls
In Ningde Garnet, beef slip is called beef balls, the production method is not much different from Fuzhou beef slip, but in terms of taste, there is more than one sour and spicy, appetizing rice, popular in eastern Fujian;
In Putian, everything can be stewed, and the cow slip becomes beef stew. Sweet potato powder is still important, beef is thin and strong, tasteful, tender and refreshing;
Quanzhou beef soup
Continue to the south, Quanzhou people's beef slippery is beef soup, a large amount of ginger shredded, so that the soup is refreshing and sweet, with salty rice, and then a piece of steak, is a hearty lunch;
Hakka beef soup
In the hands of the Hakka family in western Fujian, beef soup began to be popular, everywhere, and even some people ate too much soup with sweet potato powder, but pursued beef soup, pay attention to an original taste.
The food, back to its original taste, was quite interesting.
(ii)
Every time I pass by the Longyan Silla area, I will take the time to go to the Luoqiao Beef Miscellaneous Shop.
Stir-fry a plate of beef, a bowl of beef radish soup, served with rice, and eaten. Many years ago, I interned in this city, and since my classmates took me to eat it once, I have fallen in love with the taste.
Luoqiao beef offal
This stuff of cattle offal is difficult to climb the elegant hall, and strangely enough, the people who love it are eager to do it. Beef restaurants on the street, but also indispensable beef offal, mellow soup, the price is still cheap, who does not like?
I love the offal, and I love its unknowability.
Tripe, beef heart, yellow throat, etc., stewed in a pot, take a harmonious taste. Eating beef offal, a bit like drawing lottery tickets, eating your favorite part is the blessing of the tongue and the psychological pleasure.
The peak of Fujian beef miscellaneous, I think, is the "nine gate head" of Liancheng.
"Nine Doors" (九門頭), also known as "Shabu Jiu Pin (Shabu Jiu Pin), is a delicacy that usually appears in the morning. The raw materials are taken from nine crisp parts of the cow's body: beef tongue peak, cow louver, cow heart crown, tripe tip, cow peak belly, beef cardiovascular, beef loin, tripe wall and beef. These ingredients have been transformed by chefs and knife makers, and they are cooked in Hakka rice wine with Chinese herbs such as spicy potatoes and fragrant vine roots. After the pot is out of the pan, pour hot oil and ginger juice, and you can drink wine and eat meat.
"Nine Doors" can be fried or shabu-shabu, which is a great test of the chef's skill.
As soon as you miss your hand, the crispy taste will become impossible to bite. Originally invented by local boatmen to get rid of rheumatism, this dish became popular because of its good taste.
Local friends said that eating "nine doors" in the morning can make the day full of energy and greatly replenish the body and mind. I am deeply suspicious of this, after all, every time I go to Liancheng, I really love and hate, I love "Nine Doors", but I don't like to drink morning wine.
Where the beef offal is done well, there is generally a whole cow feast.
In my opinion, there are two and a half places where the whole cattle feast is done well, Fujian: The Xiayang of Yongding and Xia Mao in Shaxian County, and liancheng is counted as half. After all, a "nine-door head" can also be regarded as picking out the essence of a cow.
Beef balls from Yongding Xiayang
Yongding Xiayang, a small town on the border of Fujian and Guangdong, was originally famous for beef balls.
Walking into the town of Xiayang Market, you can see beef ball shops everywhere, and the soup is the original beef soup, which is full of beef flavor. When eating, put on a bowl, sprinkle some pepper, balls vigorously bounce teeth, and when you take a bite, the rich gravy bursts out in the mouth, which is very satisfying. If you want to buy some balls to go home, the owner will also give you a bottle of beef soup, even if the cooking is zero, you can cook the authentic taste.
The whole cattle feast in the ocean is on the food stall.
Starting from the head of the cow, beef tongue, beef, tendon, tail, blood, hooves of the cow to tripe, heart of the cow, all of which can be added to the dish. There's even cowhide, yes, cowhide.
The cowhide is not blown, but a sour and crispy and delicious wine delicacy. I went to the ocean, met my middle school classmates, was hard poured a few glasses of foreign bubble wine, that night I don't know where the wine woke up, only the sour taste of the cowhide, I have always remembered.
Compared with Xiayang, although Xia Mao of Shaxian is not famous, he also has his own unique skills.
The most bizarre thing in the Xia Mao beef series is the cornea, which is crispy and an experience like never before. However, Xia Mao is after all an important town for snacks in Shaxian County, making snacks and coming to money quickly.
The development of the cattle series may require a little fate.
(iii)
At the moment, Western-style steaks are all the rage
Truly delicious, never late.
2017, Xiamen BRICS Conference. A dish of braised beef with minnan characteristics was recommended to the world by "China on the Tip of the Tongue 3". For beef, this is the best of times, the golden age of beef.
Western-style steaks are popular, and there are more and more beef dishes in Chinese food, and even become signs and even Internet celebrities.
The bull head of Wuyishan Xingcun is an example.
The restaurant that can make a bull's head is called the Jianjun Hotel, which is open on the roadside to Xingcun, and the sign is unremarkable, but it offers food that shocks me.
I remember it was a rainy day in early spring, it was a little cold, and when I got out of the car, everyone was shaking. As soon as I entered the small shop, I smelled the rich aroma of meat, and I couldn't help but move my index finger.
The bull's head is cooked from the time of booking, using various spices and herbs, and cooked in a wood-fired stove for several hours. Eating the bull's head is also quite extravagant, the shop will carry the entire bull's head directly to the table, the knife flew over, and the pieces of bull's head meat were just right to be sliced down, dipped in Wuyishan pepper sauce to eat, quite domineering.
Northern Fujian processes beef, taking the rigid route, heavy salt and heavy spicy. Don't you beef have a taste, then suppress you with a fiercer taste. Peppers, star anise, fragrant leaves, cinnamon... It's all heavy flavor ingredients, piled up, directly paralyzing your mouth, leaving only the thick sauce aroma.
Spicy? Very spicy, but can't stop wanting.
Quanzhou Dongxing beef, I go to Quanzhou must eat
In contrast, the Minnan people handled the cattle series and took a Huairou route.
Historically, Quanzhou was once the largest port in the East, where "Shijing Shizhou people" gathered, and various religions lived in harmony. The beef in Quanzhou is infused with Southeast Asian spices such as curry and sand tea, which is fragrant and is also the favorite of "dry rice people".
Jinjiang beef in Shanghai Shangjia Center did not take long to close
In addition, the beef hot pot in Jinjiang Yuyuan Village is also famous.
This Jinjiang local cuisine, full name Zeng Chengzong beef, is headquartered in the village of Yuren, focusing on beef tendons, money belly and beef hoof tendon hot pot. The owner is also very personal, charging money per head, full of portions, and rich soup. Our group ate meat and soup, and we could also eat green vegetables and tofu, which was really enjoyable.
Later, I saw Zeng Chengzong beef once open in a high-end shopping mall in Shanghai, but unfortunately, it did not get a foothold in the end.
Although Fujian beef is good, it is difficult to adjust the mouth, and the road to go out is still long.