Daming Lake water conservancy, for Jinan's products add a lot of color. Lotus root, lotus seed, reed, puddle, zibai, carp, lake shrimp... In fact, this list can continue to be listed, and so on. Daming Lake is rich in products, and since ancient times, it has moisturized the livelihood of Jinan people. In the book "Jinan Hu", Mr. Niu Guodong called Daming Lake "the lake of the common people", which is not unreasonable. This is because Daming Lake is not only a scenic spot, it has always been to feed the surrounding lake people, "in order to facilitate farming, the lake at that time was not as vast as it is today, but there were crisscrossing hills separated, forming a boxy pond, the pond is planted by each family lotus, puddle and reeds, and on the ground is a tall weeping poplar." There is a public waterway between the ponds, also known locally as the river, for boats and tourists to play on the lake. ”
Photography: Chopping Cloud Sword
In the early 30s of the last century, the famous modern writer Liang Rongruo worked and lived on the shore of Daming Lake for 3 years, and in his own words, he played with the spring, summer, autumn and winter of Daming Lake, and experienced the sunny rain and night days of Daming Lake. In the article "I See Daming Lake", Liang Rongruo highlighted the differences between Daming Lake and Dongting Lake, Taihu Lake, Wuliang Suhai, West Lake and Kunming Lake, that is, Daming Lake can not only embellish the scenery, but also "moisturize the people's livelihood". He said: Daming Lake "every year will produce fish, cut reeds, and harvest fragrant rice." "That" lake field is fertile, water is sufficient, the production volume is large, and the consumer market is close, so the value is also particularly high. The white lotus flowers grow to five or six feet tall, and the large lotuses are crisp and sweet. Round lotus seeds, full and weighty. The lotus planted the land thin, and it was changed into a fish pond piece by piece, and in the spring, tens of thousands of fish seedlings were put in place, fed with grass in the lake, and in the autumn it grew to a pound. Put the pond water, the fish scales reflect the sunset, dense turns, pickpocketing and jumping, really an inch of lake water and an inch of gold. The fish farmer laughed, and the price of the fish was cheaper. Liang Rongruo also compared Daming Lake to the symbol of Shandong people, because its character is the same as that of Shandong people: "There is elegance in thickness, there is lingxiu in simplicity, and there is instrumentality in the ordinary."
According to Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks", at least before 240 AD, lotus flowers and lotuses had been planted all over Daming Lake. During the Ming Dynasty, the lotus waters of Daming Lake had passed the half of the entire lake: "In May, the lotus flowers are half pressed into the pond, and the north wind directly sends the city incense." When the bottle of wine and shrimp dishes, the southern tourists do not remember the hometown. Wang Xiangchun also bluntly praised Daming Lake for "lotus fish and vegetables, using many things" (see "Jinan Fu Zhi") ! In the Qing Dynasty, and even in the Republic of China period, it was "dozens of acres of white lotuses in Ming Lake, and there was no idle land" (see "Xiao canglang pen talk"). Kong Shangren, the author of "Peach Blossom Fan", also wrote a seven-word poem describing the life of the lake people in Daming Lake in the old days, in which he said: "Sleeping alone on the lake, the crab leaves are full of cold smoke." The inhabitants planted lotus roots with grass, and the women and breadmakers cultivated in the paddy fields." At that time, in the early autumn, the lakers began to pick strong and white lotus roots, when the weather was not too cold, the lakers stood naked in the water to pick; if they picked lotus roots in winter, they did not use their hands, but wore impermeable "jumpsuits" made of skin taller than people, and went down into the water to step on them. When you step on the lotus root, pick it up with your toes, so that the lotus root floats on the surface of the water, and then collect them and pick them up in the vegetable market to sell.
Photography: Shao Kai
The lotus flower is not only culturally profound to Jinan, but also closely related to the lives of the people. In Jinan, in addition to serving wine, lotus leaves can also be made into many unique foods. The tender turquoise lotus leaves, slightly blanched with hot water, covered on the porridge when cooking porridge, and then add sugar after the cooked porridge is cool, the color is fragrant, known as "lotus leaf porridge", is a famous Summer snack in Jinan. According to the method of making "tamales", first cut the pork, fry the rice, mix it with soy sauce, and then select the lotus leaves produced in Daming Lake, wrap up a piece of pork and an appropriate amount of fried rice, and after steaming, it will become "lotus leaf meat". Today, there is a "Huixian Lou" restaurant on Furong Street in the old city of Jinan, which specializes in flavorful dishes, and still retains delicious dishes such as lotus leaf chicken and lotus leaf crispy fish. In addition, packaging food with lotus leaves is also a unique custom in Jinan. In the past, steamed buns, pot stickers, etc. sold in shops such as "straw bags", "dog ignores", "Jufengde" and other shops were packaged with lotus leaves, which was impermeable to oil and water, and had a unique flavor. In addition, in the past, Jinan people also had the custom of eating lotus petals. Among them, "fried lotus petals" is a famous dish unique to Jinan in summer. After washing the fresh, complete and clean lotus petals, hang a thin layer of egg paste, then put it in the frying pan and fry it, fry it well, sprinkle it with sugar, and eat it in your mouth, which is fragrant and delicious, with endless aftertaste, which is very popular with people. In the 30s of the last century, Mr. Lao She, who was teaching in Jinan, went to a banquet at a friend's house, ate the fragrant fried lotus petals made by the master himself, felt extremely novel, and wrote a prose short chapter of "Eating Lotus", which he called "The Allusion of Jinan".
Photography: It was me passing by
Daming Lake's white lotus root is a must, in addition to having the function of appetizing and strengthening the spleen, nourishing and strengthening the body, clearing the dredging and rational qi, and because the meat is fat and tender, the fiber is small, it is crisp and sweet to eat, and there is no residue after chewing, and it can be eaten raw directly. Passers-by often sell it as a seasonal fruit and vegetable to tourists visiting the lake, known as "crystal lotus". When someone comes to buy, they will put a section of washed lotus melon, wrapped in fresh lotus leaves, gently patted with their hands, the lotus is crushed into pieces, and then sprinkled with white cotton sugar, tourists buy and eat it, to the mouth is broken, it is refreshing, but also with a fragrance of lotus leaves, it is really comfortable. Wu Yousong, a Qing Dynasty man, wrote about the plot of raw white lotus root in the "Moon Night Tour to Daming Lake", and particularly emphasized that the white lotus root has the effect of decanting wine and moisturizing the lungs: "The new lotus and tender lotus root are really in the belly of the boat, and when you taste it, you can analyze it; you can divide it and be willing to moisten your lungs." Tao Du, a famous music theorist who has worked and lived in Jinan for a long time, later recalled visiting Daming Lake in the 1920s: "Small wooden pots came to sell us new roots and lotuses. As the saying goes, 'moss under leeks, flowers under lotus', is the most flavorful. The peeling and peeling of the lotus root is crisp in the mouth, and the lotus seeds are also tender and delicious. "Daming Lake white lotus root is also a good dish at the banquet." It can be mixed, sweet, and stir-fried, especially the crispy "fried lotus box" and the "ginger mixed with white lotus root" with wine, which is a delicious dish that everyone in Jinan likes to make. Lotus seeds can be eaten raw, and can also be made into lotus seed soup, honey lotus seeds, rock sugar lotus seeds and other feast dishes.
Zibai is a unique aquatic vegetable of Daming Lake, which has always been praised by old Jinan as "three beautiful vegetables of Ming Lake" with pu cabbage and lotus root. Known in ancient times as "菰", it belongs to the family Poaceae and is a perennial aquatic herb. It has white creeping stems at its rhizosphere, which germinates in the spring to produce new plants. Early summer or autumn flower stems, apical large conical inflorescences, hermaphroditic plants, female flowers on the top, male flowers on the bottom. The narrow cylindrical fruit is called "rice". Zibai is not only delicious in taste, but also has certain nutritional value. According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica", Zibai has the medicinal effect of "relieving annoyance and heat, regulating the stomach and intestines", as well as detoxifying and diuretic functions.
The white texture of Daming Lake in Jinan is delicate and fragrant, and it is famous for its delicate texture. Old Jinan has a famous dish "pot collapse white", which is cooked with it as the main ingredient. The so-called "pot collapse", its technique was pioneered by the Chef of Jinan, and it has been recorded in the Literature of the Ming Dynasty as early as the Ming Dynasty. "Pot collapse" means to fry first and then collapse, and the sauce is added to the dish. The quality is yellowish and tender, and the taste is fresh and mellow. According to Mr. Ren Baozhen, the former director of Shandong Library, the practice of "pot collapse and white" is roughly as follows: take the white three or two, first peel it off, cut off the old heel, wash it, cut it into 4.5 cm segments, put it on the plate with fine salt, cooking wine, and monosodium glutamate and stir it well; secondly, it will be salted. Egg yolks, wet starch, flour, cooking wine, salt, monosodium glutamate, blend into a clear sauce and set aside; then, dip the white with flour, put it in the egg yolk paste and grasp it well, arrange it neatly on the plate in two rows, and pour the remaining paste on top. Stir-fry spoon on high heat, add cooked lard and cook until 40% hot. Push the puddle neatly into the spoon, fry until "stand up", put the oil out, turn the spoon over, continue to fry until golden brown on both sides, add the green onion and ginger shreds, pour in the juice, sprinkle with cucumber peel and ham shreds and cover it with a large plate, simmer slightly until the juice is exhausted, flip it on the plate, and a plate of fragrant and delicious pot is ready. In addition to the pot collapse of the white, the white of the russet included in the recipe, there are also cold mix of russet white, russet white fried edamame, sauce roasted russ white "vegetarian fried russ white silk, russet white egg, shiitake mushroom russ white soup, bad simmered russet white, and so on.
Pujac is a perennial herb that grows near water or in swamps. Its shape resembles a white russet and tastes like bamboo shoots. Pu cai is a beautiful vegetable in Jinan, especially the production of Daming Lake is the best, it has a tender texture, less fiber, white color, fragrant taste, has long been praised in China. Wang Xianyi, a scribe during the Qing Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties, said of Jinan's products in his "Miscellaneous Records of the Ring of Ruts": "There are four beautiful vegetables under the calendar, new leeks before spring, cold pineapples in autumn, roots in summer puzi, and moss in winter. The "Jinan Quick Tour" published in 1927 records: "The pucai of Daming Lake, which resembles a diamond and tastes like bamboo shoots, is planted all over the lake and is a treasure of plants and vegetables in northern provinces."
Every year from May to July, when it is the season when Jinan people eat pu cai. The famous modern poet Zang Kejia, who studied in Jinan in the 1920s, later wrote an article for the magazine "Chinese Cuisine" praising the famous food of Jinan cuisine that he will never forget, including the dish of "stir-fried meat with pu vegetables". He said: "In Daming Lake, in the middle of the lotus flowers, there are a lot of puddles, standing up with a tender green body. Tourists who have visited Daming Lake often go to a restaurant on the shore to eat. The restaurant is not large, but there is one famous dish, which is 'stir-fried pork with pu cai'. He fondly recalled: "I have studied stir-fried meat with pupa vegetables, and I still have good memories." When I write about the dishes of my hometown, I have another feeling in my heart, like returning to my own adolescence. In the middle of summer this year, in a Lu restaurant on Jinan's Jingqi Road, the author tasted the masterpiece of Jinan cuisine, "Pu Cai Stir-fried Meat", which was a sip to the mouth and overflowed with teeth and cheeks. Talking about feelings, all the friends here praised: one word, cool! Two words, slip!
There are also a variety of ways to eat pu cai in Jinan, such as milk soup pu cai, pot collapse pu cai (cold dish), pu cai hot noodle dumplings, pu cai flat food, etc., especially milk soup pu cai is loved by Jinan people. Milk soup pu cai is made with pu cai as the main ingredient, with moss cauliflower, shiitake mushrooms, ham, plus milk soup (that is, with fat chicken, fat duck, pork knuckle as the main ingredient, repeatedly boiled over high heat, made into a milky white broth) cooked, has always been known as Jinan's first soup dish. The method is: first peel the puddle, peel off the back tip, peel the moss cauliflower, and cut into 3 cm long, 1 cm wide, 0. 2 cm thick slices, shiitake mushrooms and ham are cut into slices. Blanch the puddle, moss flower, and shiitake mushrooms in a pot of boiling water and drain. In a wok, add shallot oil, heat to 40%, add milk soup to boil, add puddle, moss flower, shiitake mushrooms and fine salt, ginger juice, green onion pepper, rice wine, boil and put in porcelain, sprinkle with cooked ham slices and serve. This soup dish has the characteristics of milky white and elegant color, crisp and tender dish, and mellow soup taste. "The cavity of singing, the soup of the cook", everyone who has tasted this delicious dish is full of praise.
In the past, there were many restaurants around Daming Lake, and good dishes from each family came out in an endless stream. In the early Qing Dynasty, Wang Shizhen once wrote a poem "Silver Silk Fish under the Calendar", praising him for eating a silver silk pickled fish on the shore of Daming Lake, poetry cloud: "The gold plate is staggered with snowflakes flying, and the fine silver wire is wonderful." If you want to analyze the fragrant feast, the Yu family mackerel is still rare. "Mr. Shen Congwen, a famous writer, came to Jinan in October 1956 and ate the shrimp of Daming Lake. Once, at lunch, I found that "there are shrimp again." We just remembered that there are many shrimp in the lake, so the restaurant must have shrimp in every dish. ”
Nowadays, some hotel restaurants in Jinan continue to innovate, have launched some dishes based on Daming Lake products, people in the tense work, but also can taste the lotus leaf powder steamed meat, lotus fragrant chicken, pu cabbage stir-fried meat, milk soup pu cai, sweet and sour Ming Lake carp, bad simmered white and other delicious dishes, you can feast on the food. There is chic in the thickness, there is a spirit show in the simplicity, there is a tool in the ordinary, the spirit of Daming Lake lies in this, and the secret of Jinan culture and even Qilu culture probably lies in it!
Author: Zhang Jiping
Source: Ai Jinan News Client