Chinese Food Culture: Lu Cuisine (4)

Pot collapsed yellow croaker

Pot yellow croaker is made with fresh yellow croaker and is a traditional dish that is widely spread in Shandong.

Legend has it that in the Ming Dynasty, there was a rich man in Fushan County, Shandong Province, who liked to eat seafood, and he specially hired a very famous local chef to cook seafood dishes for him. Once, the "fried yellow fish" cooked by the kitchen lady was almost on fire, after being served to the table, the rich man just wanted to eat, found that the yellow fish was not cooked thoroughly, extremely dissatisfied, asked the kitchen lady to re-cook, the kitchen lady had to swallow the sound and do it again. The cook thought that if it takes longer to do it again, the owner will be more angry if he is not enough, such as frying the yellow fish again, which will make the color of the fish too heavy. So the cook thought of the best way: add shallots, ginger, garlic, star anise and other ingredients to the pot, add the clear soup, and then simmer the original half-cooked fish into the pot until the juice is exhausted, and then serve it to the table. The rich man had already smelled the fish, and he couldn't wait to pick it up and eat it, and as soon as the fish was imported, he felt that it was fresh and delicious, and the taste was much better than the fish he had originally made. He asked the cook how it was made. The cook said, "Collapse the fish." (The Jiaodong region calls frying and steaming the crispy food pot back to softness as "collapse.") The dish later spread, and many people used this method of frying first and then cooking to make yellow croaker.

Huangjia grilled meat

Huangjia barbecue is a traditional flavor of Jinan, known inside and outside the province for its strong fresh flavor, crispy skin, tender meat, fat but not greasy. The ancestors of Huang Qiuzhong of Huangjiawan in Zhangqiu, in the early years of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, operated barbecue at the Dongguan Bridge in the old city of Zhangqiu, which has a history of more than 300 years, and its time-honored name was "Maoshengzhai Barbecue Shop", which was changed to "Changsheng Zhai" in the early years of the Republic of China, and still operated barbecue in the same place.

Since their ancestors ran the barbecue, the Huang family has been passed down from generation to generation, and they all practice this business to support their families. Huangjia grilled meat in the Qing Xianfeng years of fame is very high, sales are quite impressive, Huangjiawan to make barbecue family also increased, the late Qing Dynasty Xuan unification years have four or five production and operation of barbecue, the Republic of China Huangjiawan some people in Jinan city courtyard in front of the open yixiangzhai barbecue shop, commercial port area after a greater development of industry and commerce, yixiangzhai moved to jinger road weisi road operation. In April 1956, Huangjia grilled meat participated in the famous Shandong products and handicrafts exhibition as a famous food, and the Huangjia barbecue made by Huang Zhenxiang (that is, Huang Qiuzhong's grandfather) won high praise at the exhibition, and has been introduced to China and abroad as a famous food in Shandong since then, so that people at home and abroad can taste the mellow flavor of Huangjia barbecue.

Huangjia grilled meat skin crisp, yellow color, tender meat, delicious, fresh and delicious, edible and not greasy easy to store. It is used to stew cabbage and stewed bean stew with a unique flavor.

Butterfly sea cucumber

Sea cucumber is an indispensable raw material for the banquet, butterfly sea cucumber, milk soup sea cucumber, money sea cucumber, shrimp sea cucumber, etc. are all valuable dishes, and it is also the main dish at the state banquet, which has been widely praised, and the emperor in ancient times was even more fond of it.

The coast of Shandong is rich in sea cucumbers, and the thorn ginseng is the most valuable. Sea cucumber has a good health and nourishing function, and it has a more miraculous effect on "tonifying the kidneys and improving the essence", so successive emperors have regarded it as a food supplement treasure. After Ming Taizu Zhu Yuan became emperor, one of the favorite dishes was called "Three Things", which was made of sea cucumber, shark fin and pig's trotters. The famous "Full Table of Manhan" is indispensable to sea cucumbers. In addition, there is a precious "sea cucumber feast", which is more luxurious and grand, which can be called the most feast.

Sea cucumbers are so valuable that they are difficult to obtain. It grows on the reef of the seabed, breeds in the summer of each year, and sleeps in the summer after spawning. At this time, fishermen have to take great risks to dive into the seabed and catch fish one by one.

Sea cucumbers cannot be eaten fresh, and must be dried before they can be added to the dish. Fishermen cut a hole in the back of the fresh sea cucumber they caught, remove the offal and sediment, and then boil it in light salt water. After fishing out, it is mixed with grass and wood ash, and it is exposed to the sun in the sun, so dried ginseng also has a name of "gray ginseng".

"Butterfly sea cucumber" is named after the butterfly shape of the meal. It is commonly found in the festive feasts of urban and rural areas in Shandong, and it has the meaning of auspiciousness and happiness. There is also a "braised butterfly sea cucumber" of the same kind, which is often used as the "first dish" of the banquet, or the first of the soup dishes of the banquet, and its value is extraordinary.

Sauce four-nosed carp

Anyone who has seen the movie "Railway Guerrilla" must be deeply impressed by the blue waves of Weishan Lake. Legend has it that when the Qianlong Emperor descended to Jiangnan, he slowly sailed into Weishan Lake one day on a luxurious dragon boat, and he was immediately fascinated by the light and water of the lake here. Just as the emperor was greedily breathing in the fresh air on the waves, he saw the fish jumping around the dragon boat. The emperor was very happy, and he had to go to the imperial kitchen to catch a few live fish to make a good mouth.

After a while, the chefs did catch a few big fish. Qianlong looked at it carefully, but it was a carp with four nostrils, and he was very surprised. He ordered the cook not to be busy with cooking, and to summon the fishermen to come and ask for advice. An old fisherman came to the call, and after meeting the emperor, he said, "This fish is a famous 'four-nosed carp' from Weishan Lake." It is especially like having four nostrils, which is exactly what it means today that the world is rising and all people are happy. It is also a mascot that symbolizes the abundance of grain and the peace of the world. ”

The Qianlong Emperor was very happy to hear this, and sent someone to reward the old fisherman, and the imperial chef specially consulted the fisherman's cooking precautions, and after some production, he brought the "sauce four-nosed carp" delicacy to the emperor. After Qianlong tasted it, he felt that it was delicious and abnormal, and the taste was no less than that of sea cucumber shark fin, so he even claimed to be wonderful. Since then, the Weishan County government has been ordered to pay tribute to the four-nosed carp to Beijing every year, so that Banzai Grandpa can enjoy the delicious food. The name of the four-nosed carp also immediately spread throughout the north and south of the world.

Weishan Lake four-nosed carp has a red tail and a golden color. The two whiskers on the mouth are short and thick, and at first glance they look like two nostrils, plus the original two real ones, which are called "four-nosed carp". At present, the annual output of this kind of local precious fish is more than 500,000 catties.

The "sauce four-nosed carp" has also become one of the delicious dishes at the grand banquet, and is favored by gourmets.

One egg hatches two phoenixes

The name of the Confucius house is "one egg hatching double phoenix", also known as "watermelon chicken". This dish is made from watermelon and chicks, which resemble a large egg and contain two chicks, which is a double phoenix.

After the imperial meal in the Palace of the Qing Dynasty had a summer seasonal delicacy "watermelon cup" that was spread to the society, it was imitated everywhere and became popular. Confucius chefs are also famous chefs with great culinary experience and skill. They make bold innovations on the basis of the "watermelon cup". Using watermelon and chicks as the main ingredients, adding dried scallops, mushrooms and other precious ingredients to cook, finally trial production of beautiful, delicious, but also very nutritious value of the "watermelon chicken" new dish came.

When the Qianlong Emperor visited The Confucius Mansion, Kong Lingyi asked the family chef to prepare dishes that were both hearty and distinctive. The family chef said that there is a new "watermelon chicken" product, which will surely win the favor of Long Live Grandpa. Kong Lingyi asked the home cook to taste it and felt very satisfied. I just thought that the name of "watermelon chicken" was too vulgar, and I thought about it for half a day before I got a gentle and auspicious dish name "one egg hatching double phoenix". After tasting this dish, the Qianlong Emperor was really happy and asked the Confucius family chef to go to Beijing to teach the preparation skills to the imperial chef. Since then, "one egg hatching two phoenixes" has become a famous dish of the court, and it is said that the Western Empress, who prefers food, also likes to eat this dish.

To be continued...

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