[Editor's note] "Chinese cuisine is immortal, thanks to the development of Chinese food culture for thousands of years. "The gourmand Ermao has been collecting old recipes for more than 30 years, and the documents he has collected spanned the Ming and Qing dynasties to the 1980s.
The "Ermao's Old Recipe" column will explore the history and changes of food culture in different eras, regions, cuisines, events, and celebrities as clues.
Character business card
Two hairs
Ermao (formerly known as Mou Zhenzhen) was born in Youyang, Chongqing in the 1960s. Famous poet, gourmet, gastronomic consultant of "China on the Tip of the Tongue", expert of the Research Group on non-genetic inheritance and protection of Chinese cuisine (Ministry of Culture and China Cuisine Association), collector of Chinese food literature. From 1987 to the present, he has successively founded cultural catering brands "Chuandong Laojia" and "Tianxia Salt" in Chongqing, Chengdu and Beijing. He is the author of "Jiangshan in the Bowl", "Mother's Firewood Stove", "The Tao of Taste", "Republic of China Eater" and other gastronomic works.
Dictation/Di mao
Finishing/Cover News Reporter Xue Weirui
This issue talks about Shanghai cuisine, my collection of 1959 mimeographed "Chinese Famous Recipes Shanghai Famous Dishes Famous Dishes" compiled by the Light Industry Publishing House, is the first draft of the ninth series of "Chinese Famous Recipes" officially published in 1960, it was typed out by an old-fashioned typewriter, when the number of mimeographs will not be too much, so it is more precious. This first draft mainly records the Shanghai gang cuisine and some important gang dishes in the country, and arranges them according to the famous dishes of famous shops, such as Dexingguan chicken bone sauce, oil removal stew, old Rongshun's Babao chicken, Dagali's Mingyue red grouse and so on.
The ninth series of "Chinese Famous Recipes" was published by Young Industry Publishing House in 1960, and the first draft of "Chinese Famous Recipes shanghai Famous Dishes" was mimeographed in 1959
The ninth series of "Chinese Famous Recipes" introduces 82 kinds of famous dishes and 45 kinds of famous snacks from more than 40 famous restaurants in Shanghai, such as Benbang, Yangbang, Ningbang, Xibang and Subang, among which such as chicken bone sauce, shrimp large black ginseng, vegetarian roast chicken, water mill rice cake, etc., are particularly famous dishes.
As can be seen from the old recipes, Shanghai covers almost all major cuisines in the country in addition to the local cuisine. Because of the historical and geographical uniqueness of the city, dishes from various places have appeared here.
Shanghai is the key point of China's north-south shipping, and it is also the gateway for the provinces of the Yangtze River Basin to communicate with the rest of the world. Shanghai is located in the temperate zone, the climate is mild and humid, the four seasons are distinct, evergreen vegetables are continuous, and the seafood resources of lotus ponds such as fish, shrimp and crabs are abundant. This special economic position and good geographical climate provided the basis for the richness of Shanghai cuisine, so that in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were both traditional dishes with local flavors and other flavors that had undergone convergence and reform.
"Chinese Snacks and Shanghai Flavors", compiled by Shanghai Catering Service Company in 1983
According to the "Chinese Famous Recipes • Shanghai Flavor", before the 17th century, Shanghai cuisine was mainly local flavor, characterized by oil, strong flavor, heavy sugar and colorful color, and the cooking methods were mainly braised, sautéed, simmered, and spoiled. At that time, specialties such as braised catfish and sautéed grass heads were cooked. In the 1680s, Shanghai developed into an economic and cultural center, and people from all over the country came to Shanghai to earn a living and seek jobs, which greatly enriched Shanghai's food culture.
By the 1840s, Shanghai had a situation of gathering dishes from all over the world, from Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, as well as halal, vegetarian cuisine, etc., Shanghai cuisine gathered nearly 20 kinds of local flavors, and even British, American, French, Italian, Russian, German and other Western cuisines and western pastries also entered Shanghai. "They borrow from each other, but are not assimilated by local Shanghai cuisine, and they are independent and of equal status... It is the social basis for the diversity and traditional characteristics of Shanghai cuisine. ”
From these old recipes in my collection, I can also see the uniqueness of Shanghai's food culture. As early as the 1930s and 1940s, there were nearly 200 publishing houses in Shanghai, and of the nearly 100 old recipes of the Republic of China in my collection, 80 or 90 percent were published in Shanghai.
"Chinese Famous Recipes • Shanghai Flavor" believes that in the rapid development of Shanghai, diet is not only a survival need, but also a cultural consumption behavior with the characteristics of socialization and enjoyment, and if each flavor emphasizes tradition unchanged, it is difficult to maintain its attractiveness for a long time.
As a result, Shanghai restaurants have been innovating, making a fuss about raw materials, spices or cooking methods, and developing into a restaurant with a variety of flavors, such as Chuanyang flavor, Jingjin flavor, Su Xijia local flavor coexistence form, emerging many dishes that are innovative in the tradition. The more famous ones are crispy duck with Shu, dried roast crucian carp from Meilong Town, oyster sauce beef from Maxim's Restaurant, crystal pork from Yangzhou Hotel, and smoked pomfret from Xinya Cantonese Restaurant.
By the 1950s, Shanghai cuisine had entered a period of summarization and improvement, taking the lead in conducting some culinary theory research, and holding two large-scale exhibitions of famous dishes, and in terms of scale and level, it belonged to the first place in the history of Chinese culinary culture.
Later, experts and scholars in the culinary world referred to Shanghai cuisine as "Haipai cuisine" according to the unique appearance of Shanghai cuisine.
Another book in my collection, "Chinese Snacks: Shanghai Flavors", was compiled by Shanghai Catering Service Company in 1983. Shanghai snacks also evolved with the city. According to the book, as early as the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhenzhi was officially established here, and the snacks at that time such as the Spring Seal Sugar Circle of the Shangyuan Festival, the Horned Water Ball on the Fifth of May, and the Chestnut Dumpling Flower Cake of Chongjiu were traditional festival snacks.
There is also the later Nanxiang small cage steamed bun, which has also been recorded very early. Judging from the opening time of the Nanxiang Mantou Shop of the City God Temple, the "Xiang-style" steamed bun was probably already popular in the late Qing Dynasty.
After Shanghai was listed as a treaty port during the Opium War, various flavors and special snacks from other places began to be introduced, and Western-style snacks also increased, which had a significant impact on the development of Shanghai snacks. Many famous shops also developed during this period, such as Nanxiang Steamed Buns and Pigeon Egg Dumplings in the City God Temple, Four Seasons Cake Dumplings and Su-style Noodles in Canglang Pavilion, Top Ten Famous Points in Qiaojiazha Restaurant, Fresh Meat Shortbread in Wangjiasha Dim Sum Shop, Yellow on Both Sides of Meat, Sugar Taro and Tangshan Yam of Wufangzhai and so on. These snacks are not only varied, but also have a north-south flavor.
attach
Famous Chinese recipes
Source: Cover News
Oral Description: Ermao (famous poet, gourmet, gastronomic consultant of "China on the Tip of the Tongue", expert of the Research Group on Non-genetic Inheritance and Protection of Chinese Cuisine, Collector of Chinese Food Literature)
Courtesy photo: Ermao
Pictured: Fang Zhi Sichuan
Finishing: Xue Weirui
Some of Fangzhi Sichuan's pictures, audio and video come from the Internet, only to disseminate more information. The copyright of the pictures, audio and video contained in the article belongs to the original author or media.
Tips
If you like this article, please share it in the circle of friends.
Please indicate: from "Fangzhi Sichuan", ID: scsdfz.
Email: Geoscience Article: [email protected]; Job Information: [email protected]; History of Bashu Magazine: [email protected]