Chinese cuisine, broad and profound. Eight major cuisines, each with its own skills.
Zhejiang cuisine, there is exquisite elegance; Lu cuisine, there is a crisp and tender; Cantonese cuisine, there is an original taste... Only the emblem dish is different, the taste and shape are sometimes very peculiar, both smelly and fragrant, both rotten and fresh.
People don't know how to put their mouths shut.
For food lovers, this is a delicacy that the average person does not know.
Zhou Zuoren said, "Being able to eat the stinky amaranth of my hometown in Beijing seems to have a feeling of old rain." "For hui people who are far away from home, being able to eat stinky mandarin fish in a different place is the connotation and happiness of the same vein."
△ Stinky mandarin fish. Figure by network
Today, Huizhou has long since become Huangshan City.
There are too many stories of legendary people and thousands of turns here. The dishes left behind are still delicious to take a special trip to taste.
Its charm goes far beyond the ingredients and taste. Associated with the magnificent Huipai architecture and humanities, it is the Huizhou charm that is shaped outside the taste in Hui cuisine.
How many people can recognize the relationship between this picture and that city? Figure by Zoe
01
The lowest-key emblem dish
Why do people only remember "stink"?
Hui cuisine, originating in ancient Huizhou, is somewhat different from Anhui cuisine.
Anhui cuisine is not a specific cuisine, but a collective name for the major cuisines in the north and south of the province (represented by southern Anhui, Anhui River, Hefei, Huainan and northern Anhui cuisine).
Southern Anhui tends to be southerner, while northern Anhui is no different from northern taste. Among them, the flavor of southern Anhui is represented by Huizhou cuisine, which is the mainstream and origin of Huizhou cuisine.
Mr. Wang Zengqi has been to Anhui many times.
In the chapter "Hui Cuisine" in "Anhui Southern Yi Arrived", he wrote clearly, "Hui cuisine refers specifically to Huizhou cuisine, not to Anhui cuisine in general." Emblem dishes have characteristics, heavy taste and oil, and stinky mandarin fish is a prominent masterpiece. ”
△ Mr. Wang Zengqi's "Anhui South One Arrives". Figure by public account "wyqxay"
Such a cuisine relationship can be seen in many places. For example, in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions next door, according to the influence of different cuisines, there are both cross-provinces and several cuisines existing within a province at the same time.
After years and years of change, the various cuisines penetrate each other, learn from each other's strengths, and in addition to the particularly significant regional characteristics, there are also more commonalities.
Nowadays, except for a small number of people in the province, as well as the areas around Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai (because of the close distance), there are almost no or few hui dishes in other places.
Although it is one of the eight major cuisines, hui cuisine is not as popular as other cuisines.
△ Huizhou Hongcun. Figure by Zoe
The story of Hui Cai also starts with a mandarin fish.
Eating fish generally pays attention to freshness, aroma, tenderness and smoothness. And mr. Wang Zengqi said in the book that the emblem dish masterpiece, stinky mandarin fish, is very different from the fish in everyone's general impression.
It was smelly, it was rotten, but at the same time it was fragrant and fresh.
△ Modified stinky mandarin fish. Figure by public number "This Party Food Chronicle"
Many people have heard of this "stink" exclusive to Huizhou, but people with heavy curiosity have long seen the "power" of this stinky mandarin fish. People who are not used to eating are completely incomprehensible to such "smell".
We all know that in the hands of Chinese, a fish has a hundred ways to make a thousand delicious. Why do Huizhou people want to let a good fish rot and eat it?
Speaking of why, maybe the People of Huizhou will tell you a story first.
More than 200 years ago, a servant named Wang Xiao'er prepared to come to Huizhou from other places to sell fish and curry favor with the Miao prefect who loved to eat fish at that time. At that time, Huizhou did not produce mandarin fish, and could only be transported in from the nearby area, but the distance was long, and it took a week to go back and forth.
Fishmongers put fresh fish into barrels, covered with a layer of fish and a thin layer of salt, and then transported to Huizhou.
△ The making of stinky mandarin fish. Figure by network
Once, the weather was very hot, and before I arrived in Huizhou, the fish in the bucket emitted an unpleasant odor. But neither can the prefect eat the fish, nor can he let himself lose his money.
So, I thought of covering the fish with a lot of salt to keep out the smell.
△ Mandarin fish that is being pickled, the scales have not been peeled off, the quality has not changed, and the cheeks have been reddened, which is one of the important processes of making the famous emblem dish "pickled fresh mandarin fish". Figure by Chinese Heritage, Issue 5, 2015
I also found a chef to cook fish in a braised way. The taste of the fish is still smelly, but it tastes so delicious that everyone present is full of praise.
△ Figure by network
Since then, the legend of this stinky mandarin fish in Huizhou has begun.
△ Figure by small fat shrimp
In Huizhou, this is a story that everyone can tell.
In the book "Chinese Heritage", we can still glimpse some of the real origins of mandarin fish becoming "stinky mandarin fish".
After 1840, Tunxi, at the confluence of the Hengjiang and Xin'an rivers, became the distribution center of the time. The flexible Huishang merchants did not want to let the boats go back empty, and were ready to bring some aquatic products from the mountains back.
Mandarin fish is fierce and has a firm flesh, making it a well-known delicacy.
Therefore, mandarin fish became their choice.
But at that time, the conditions were limited, and the only way to bring the fish back was to marinate the fish first, as in the story.
△ Figure by public number "Lower Kitchen"
In June 1988, the "Anhui Flavor" volume of "Chinese Famous Recipes" published by the Financial and Economic Publishing House read in great detail: "Pickled fresh mandarin fish, formerly known as stinky mandarin fish, originated more than 200 years ago, is a traditional famous dish in Huizhou. ”
The word "pickled fresh" is the local dialect of Huizhou, as it literally means, to marinate fresh food.
Maybe it was because the smell was too smelly, and later more people shouted "stinky mandarin fish".
From ancient times to the present, many curious people regard them as one of the delicacies they are competing to taste because of their names.
A few years ago, "China on the Tip of the Tongue", which collected the ultimate taste from all over the world, also made a special trip to shoot it.
△ Stinky mandarin fish. Figure by "China on the Tip of the Tongue 4"
In the past, Huizhou people liked to pickle mandarin fish in the waxing moon, but now they basically have to eat it all year round.
Fry first, then heavy soy sauce, ham, green onion, ginger, garlic and chili peppers, over high heat, thick oil red sauce. The soup is bright red, and it has the good meaning of "rich and noble", and it is also "smelly and persistent".
A stinky mandarin fish is either the nostalgic white moonlight of Huizhou people, or the outsiders who are looking for a taste of "China on the Tip of the Tongue".
02
It affected half of China's emblem cuisine
Anhui is located in East China, with four distinct seasons and a pleasant climate.
The richness of the products is not worse than that of the "fertile province" jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai next door, and many ingredients have also made the traditional dishes of Hui cuisine reach a thousand kinds.
In addition to the most famous stinky mandarin fish, Huangshan roast cake, sand mandarin fish, ham stewed turtle, bayberry balls, three shrimp tofu... There are so many dishes that are meticulously crafted that it is well worth a try.
△ Huangshan baked cake. Figure by public number "one"
△ Huizhou round son. Figure by public account "The other half of the planet"
△ Emblem-style braised pork. Figure by public account "The other half of the planet"
Because of the emphasis on craftsmanship and ingredients, Hui cuisine stands out from the flavors of the mountains and villages, and becomes a unique cuisine that is appreciated by Yasong.
It was once the first of the eight major cuisines, a local dish; it was once held on the table of a state banquet and entertained envoys from various countries.
Although low-key, it has single-handedly influenced half of China.
△ "Jinhua ham in Dongyang, Dongyang ham in Huizhou." "Huizhou ham is one of the hometown dishes that Huizhou merchants must bring when they go south and north. Huishang first arrived in Jinhua, and then there was Jinhua ham. Figure by small fat shrimp
As early as the Qing Dynasty, Hui merchants set out to all parts of China with their Hui cuisine.
At that time, where there were emblem merchants, there was the shadow of hui cuisine.
In the 1998 edition of the Jixi County Chronicle, it is recorded that some Hui merchants carried forward the history of Hui cuisine in that year, "during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, they entered the town docks around Hangzhou, Jia, Hu, Su, Shanghai and Ning. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it expanded to three towns in Wuhan. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Yun, and Qian were pioneered. There are 412 Hui restaurants in 14 provinces and cities across the country, with nearly 800 practitioners. ”
The most profound impact is the Shanghai area. According to the "Old Shanghai" record, "Shanghai restaurants, the first to enter Shanghai is Anhui cuisine." According to incomplete statistics, there were more than 130 Shanghai Hui restaurants at that time.
When Chengcheng was in Shanghai before, I went to Hui Restaurant to eat this stinky mandarin fish.
It is it that makes the worldview of the city more open! At that time, a friend from Anhui who went with him said that there were really many Hui restaurants in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai areas.
The taste of stinky mandarin fish is not the same as the taste of hometown.
Mandarin fish is still the familiar mandarin fish, and it also gives off a familiar smell. Although it is not as "amazingly smelly" as the mandarin fish in my hometown, it is also the most familiar taste for Huizhou people in other places.
At the same time, he also lamented that it depends on the spread of the Internet, so that the niche taste of distant hometowns can be found in another place.
Chengcheng felt that even if the two places were far apart and the styles were not very similar, they could always produce some "associations" through some food. This is the most magical and wonderful place to live in this part of China.
On the other side, Hunan. There is Hunan cuisine here, and the more "overbearing" flavor of the eight major cuisines.
In the heavy flavor of Hunan cuisine, there are also a number of dishes made of mandarin fish, such as mandarin fish with white sauce, white water mandarin fish, five willow mandarin fish, squirrel mandarin fish, char siu Xiangjiang mandarin fish, pot paste mandarin fish fillets, sweet and sour braised mandarin fish...
△ Hunan cuisine, prefer to fry fish fragrant or fried crispy. Figure by public account "Lemon Food"
I don't know if it is influenced by Huipai cuisine, the mandarin fish in Hunan cuisine is also "smelly" on the table.
The Mandarin fish of the Hui school is pickled by applying salt to the fish and fermenting naturally; the Xiang school is fermented with stinky brine or stinky tofu. The two cuisines of stinky mandarin fish are very different in taste and form.
The stinky mandarin fish in Hunan is more smelly and spicy, mainly dry roasted. The onion is on the bottom, and a lot of chili peppers are used when cooking.
The most obvious difference is the number of fish. Huipai is generally based on large mandarin fish, eating a chopsticks of snow-white garlic cloves; Xiangpai uses better flavorful small mandarin fish as a material, mainly fried slightly charred fish skin and Xiangpai spicy taste.
From the visual to the taste, it is red and spicy that makes people's mouths burn.
△ Figureby public number "Lemon Food"
No matter which flavor you like, you can write a dish into the recipe and spread it all over the country, which must be superior.
△ Stinky mandarin fish. Figure by public number "Lower Kitchen"
03
In the emblem dish, there are more delicacies that you don't know
If Huicai has a spokesperson, it must be Mr. Hu Shi.
He has a special love for Hui cuisine, and many delicacies are discovered by him, such as this yipin pot, which is a winter delicacy often eaten by Huizhou people, which belongs to the Huipai hot pot.
△ Jixi, the hometown of Mr. Hu Shi, the birthplace of a pin pot. Figure by network
This dish is somewhat similar to the Cantonese "plate dish".
Almost all of them are in a pot, bringing together local delicacies that are considered delicious, but compared to Cantonese pot dishes, the Yipin pot of Hui cuisine is more "ordinary".
On top of the firewood, layered in an iron pot are stacked with dried bamboo shoots, chicken, duck, pork, oil tofu, egg dumplings... Open the lid and it's steaming hot and fragrant.
△ A pin pot. Figure by Chinese Heritage, Issue 5, 2015
At that time, the writer Liang Shiqiu went to Mr. Hu Shi's house as a guest and ate a pot in Huizhou.
Liang Shiqiu was full of praise after eating: "A large iron pot, with a caliber of two or three feet, is served hot, and it is still boiling inside." A layer of chicken, a layer of duck, a layer of meat, a layer of oil tofu, dotted with some egg dumplings, as well as radishes, green vegetables, the taste is very good. ”
During Hu Shi's stay in the United States, he was homesick and repeatedly entertained guests with his hometown flavor "Yipin Pot". Therefore, this one-pin pot is also crowned with the name of Hu Shi.
If the stinky mandarin fish is the first in the Hui cuisine must eat dishes, then this one-pin pot can be ranked second.
△ A pin pot. Figure by public number "Anhui Food Map"
Hui cuisine is selected with superior materials and umami taste, and there are many stewed dishes.
The biggest feature is to keep the soup fresh and fresh while keeping the ingredients soft and rotten, and each has its own flavor.
The most famous bowl of soup in the local area is "Huangshan Double Stone".
△ Huangshan Double Stone. Figure by Chinese Heritage, Issue 5, 2015
Stone chicken and stone ear are the main ingredients, and the stone chicken running all over the mountain is full of chicken flavor and less fat. The stewed chicken soup is very different from the old fire soup in the south, light enough and nourishing at the same time.
This kind of lightness is also very different from Huipai food. Maybe it's because there are a variety of cuisines in the province.
△ Stone ear is a fungus that grows on cliffs and cliffs. It is especially precious because it is difficult to pick and requires manpower and time. Figure by small fat shrimp
Huainan is the hometown of tofu.
Huizhou people in particular can make tofu, but the most famous tofu is "moldy".
There is a local delicacy called edamame tofu. It looks hairy, if you hear that this tofu is due to fermentation and rot and grow mycelium, I believe most people do not know how to bite.
△ Edamame tofu. Figure by small fat shrimp
Although it looks a little scary, the hyphae will disappear as soon as the pot is struck, turning into a layer of golden crisp semi-solid, and the aroma will follow.
The taste of single food is soft and cottony. Tasting it can be bitter, so the locals will also eat it with a plate of dipping water or stir-fry it with the seasoning.
Wonderful, this tofu is not difficult to eat, but it can make you remember for a long time.
Huizhou was once an isolated place with mountains on all sides. Although it is now the "peach blossom source" in people's hearts, in the past, it was a place where the land was barren and the people were poor.
At that time, hui merchants wanted to go out of the mountains, and they could only bring rations that were resistant to storage. Therefore, the local "stone kway" is the best choice.
△ Stone kway teow. Figure by public number "Shexian Network"
A stone kway is a kon made by pressing a special stone.
First, the well-made noodles are filled with filling, then fried, and then repeatedly pressed in a container with a black stone, and the grease of the filling is pressed out.
Nowadays, there are still many shops making this traditional snack, and it is better to try it.
△ Stone kway teow. Figure by Chinese Heritage, Issue 5, 2015
There are thousands of dishes in Huipai, and from consolidation and innovation, a total of more than 3,000 kinds have been determined.
For example, Fu Li ji roast chicken, ham stewed turtle, pickled fresh mandarin fish, ham stewed whip shoots, snow winter roasted mountain, milk fat king fish, MaoFeng smoked anchovy... These are all famous local dishes.
△ Figure by public account "Other Half of the Planet"
Unfortunately, some big dishes have long been unable to eat in the market, one is the lack of ingredients, and the other is the loss of heritage.
This is a difficult problem that time has left for hui cuisine. Fortunately, recently, there have been many new dishes in Hui cuisine, and there is no shortage of flavors from all over the province to make people feast.
04
Emblem cuisine, perhaps in the greatest crisis
Hui cuisine once ranked first among the eight major cuisines, and the smell is not a waste of time.
When people don't know how to taste Hui cuisine, these foods, which are called "biological weapons", quietly occupy the name of "Chinese stinky food" and truly "make a name for themselves with stink".
But even so, Hui cuisine is also encountering the biggest crisis, in recent years, Hui cuisine has been "troubled".
There are 16 prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province.
From southern Anhui and northern Anhui to central Anhui, the styles vary, and even the tastes of each cuisine are different.
△ How many dishes can you recognize? Figure by network
In the list of Anhui cuisine in the "Chinese Cuisine and National Provincial Classic Dishes", the "Top Ten Classic Dishes" were rated: Huizhou Stinky Mandarin Fish, Hu Shi Yi Pin Pot, Li Hongzhang Chowder, Huoshan Air-dried Sheep, Pretzel Rice Chicken, Fire Roasted Fish, Bagongshan Tofu, Old Clam Huaizhu, Bawang Bieji, honey red taro.
These ten dishes taste completely different.
△ Hui merchants have money, but Hui cuisine does not have to cost money. Figure by small fat shrimp
Don't say it's a foreigner, even the Anhui friends in the city can't tell which dishes are in which places...
If you think about it, it is also very unique.
But rather than people's curiosity about Hui cuisine, Chengcheng hopes that someone will study Hui cuisine, discover it, and change it. Just like the word "emblem" in Huizhou, we can't just understand its superficial meaning.
I don't know if the emblem dish is too niche, with a breath of life. Like Huizhou, black tiles and white walls still exist in the old system, and strolling through the streets is more interesting than many ancient streets.
There is a gap between the current Huizhou and mr. Wang Zengqi's description in the past, and some of the grand scenes of Huizhou depicted by so many families have disappeared or been blurred.
But you may wish to re-understand this place from the "emblem" of Huizhou and Hui cuisine.
· END ·
【References】
1. "One Arrival in Southern Anhui", by "Wang Zengqi"
2. Hui cuisine "mild corruption, strict (salt) heavy lust", author of "catering network"
3. Chinese Cuisine: Hui cuisine culture. Author of "Idle Reading and Hard Reading"
4. It's time to go to Anhui for a meal! Author of "The Other Half of the Planet"
【Copyright Notice】
Some of the pictures in this article are part of the source network (including the cover image), and the copyright belongs to the author