Herald Junyu
Having not tasted lard, not enough to talk about life
If I had to say which food is the most unfortunate thing to disappear in the world, I think lard is one of them.
Lard, once because of "health" reasons were disliked by the world, which in the eyes of Mr. Cai Lan, this is a great regret, as a super fan of lard, he even included "lard fishing rice" in the "must eat before death" list, but also described: "Among the cereals, white rice is the best, a bowl of lard fishing rice, eating gratitude and tears." What the? Don't you dare eat lard? Then die! Not saved. ”
To make Cai Lan leave such a "cruel word", lard is not simple.
Many gourmets say that many Cantonese dishes without lard are incomplete. The simplest stir-fried vegetables, stir-fried with lard or lard residue, and fried with peanut oil, taste different. In the dietary tone of the Chaoshan region, without lard, this dish is equivalent to half ruined; for example, in Hakka cuisine, such as Hakka pickled noodles, the most important thing is that there must be a spoonful of lard poured down at the end, otherwise this bowl of pickled noodles is also unsuccessful.
The best taste on earth is lard!
Why are stir-fried dishes, mixed rice, and cooked meat so fragrant?
The answer is: the melting point of lard is the temperature of the tip of your tongue!
As we all know, the aroma of lard, the moistness of lard, and the thickness of lard all benefit from its suitable melting temperature. Usually, when the lard is cooked, it will enter the food in the form of small molecules, and as the dish gradually cools, the lard will gradually solidify and lock in the surface of the food. And when it enters the human mouth, it will slowly melt with the temperature of the tongue, because it is animal oil, lard itself has an irreplaceable fragrance of vegetable oil. Therefore, when the lard is on the human tongue, the moist, fragrant and strong taste can be fully released in the taste buds at one time!
Imagine using the best rice, or silk seedling rice, or wuchang rice, to cook a bowl of rice that is steaming with the aroma of rice, a spoonful of clean and hygienic, white and flawless lard on the rice is constantly melted and infiltrated, at this time drizzled with the best of soy sauce - head pump, and then a small handful of green onions, and then stir evenly. The grainy white rice is wrapped in lard and soy sauce, glowing with crystal oil luster, but there is no greasy in the mouth, and the net in the mouth is just the right fragrance, whether it is swallowed or savored, this wonderful taste will be in the mouth, stomach a thousand times, it is difficult not to be unforgettable.
Of course, lard can not only be used to catch rice, but also can be made into "oil and salt rice" that Guangzhou people love to eat. Lard and salt are combined, in the process of "raw rice cooking mature rice", so that the moisture inside the rice oozes out, so that the density of the rice table and the rice heart is close, and at the same time, a thermal oil layer is generated on the rice table, so that the heat can be slowly and evenly cooked the rice grains, and the taste is also oily.
In addition to being added to rice, lard is also a soul-like presence in many cuisines.
Refreshing bamboo noodles or strong Hakka pickled noodles, and finally drizzled with hot lard, noodles become more gentle needless to mention, the key is that the aroma of lard and noodles in the mouth are addictive; traditional tangyuan, must be kneaded with lard, soaked in lard black sesame seeds are more dense and sticky; chaoshan sweet mud, if there is no appropriate proportion of lard, sugar, it is difficult to fry a delicate and elegant filling;
The crab cover lard package in Cantonese dim sum, which is almost lost, must have lard in it to play a big role, in order to further ignite flour, milk, otherwise it is difficult to form, the taste is difficult to loosen; the common lard cake in Guangdong, made of glutinous rice noodles, lard, white sugar, the entrance is sweet and soft, on the tea to eat, perfect match.
If eating these foods now doesn't feel right, maybe it's missing this spoonful of lard.
As the saying goes, the difference between one oil and a thousand miles.
At this time, how little lard residue is obtained!
The old gourmets who have boiled lard know that the lard is exhausted and the oil residue is present.
This scorched yellow lard residue is certainly not a "pool thing". Human beings naturally love fragrant food, after boiling lard, this lard residue full of lard aroma will be tragically "poisonous hands" of the old gourmets, people often can't care about the hot mouth, immediately throw a piece into the mouth and chew it, the world is delicious.
After draining the lard residue and sprinkling it with salt or sugar, it becomes a different kind of snack – crispy lard. You can also put this crispy lard residue into the old Cantonese love to eat sesame powder, the smooth sesame powder wafting with rice aroma, lard residue suddenly adds a meat aroma.
Although the lard residue that has been left for a long time has lost its best taste, it is sprinkled in the stir-fried vegetable hearts and sautéed kale, and returned to the pot to linger with vegetarian vegetables, and immediately becomes a feast.
However, in many places, lard residue has also been forgotten with lard and has become a rare delicacy in memory.
Lard, an alternative in the lard world!
Speaking of lard, we have to mention the alternative existence in the lard world - lard oil.
This layer of thin, cicada-like mesh grease in the pig's abdominal cavity not only has the special aroma of lard, but also has a strong and refreshing taste. Nanyue chefs often use it to wrap ingredients, which can lock in the juice and moisturizing of ingredients to add flavor.
For example, beef balls in lard oil, pheasant rolls, mesh oil waist liver rolls, net oil mud carp roll nets, fried kway teow meat, dried fried liver flowers, etc., without lard oil, vegetables cannot be made into vegetables.
However, most of these dishes are difficult to find today.
One is the so-called health problem, and the other is that the treatment of lard oil is too complicated.
In the book "The Taste of Disappearing", it is recorded:
Processing lard oil should first be carefully ripped from the pork belly and cleaned, spread out in warm water at about 30 ° C to remove adherent impurities, change the water after turbidity, repeat the action until the water is clear;
Then wash it again with cold water, drain it, put it in a large dish, and marinate it with rose dew for fifteen minutes to remove the miscellaneous smell;
Finally, the lard oil is washed and drained again, at which point the processing of the lard oil is complete.
The processing cost is so high, it is difficult for lard oil not to be eliminated by this "efficiency society"!
Lard can not only be eaten, but also coated
Lard, lard residue, lard net oil is of course delicious, and lard taste sweet, cool, has the effect of replenishing, moisturizing and detoxifying.
However, it should not be consumed in excess, and lard contains a larger proportion of saturated fatty acids than vegetable oil. Eating the same amount of lard and vegetable oil, eating lard will consume more saturated fatty acids than eating vegetable oil, which will increase the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
If you really can't eat it for health reasons, it is also a good choice to apply it to your hands and smell this wonderful aroma every day.
According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica", lard, also known as "fat cream", can "please the skin, make hand cream, not crack"; in the "Thousand Golden Fang", there is a saying that lard is placed in hot wine to wash hands, which can treat cracked hands and feet; and in the "Ten Recipes", it is said that lard will be refined, and after cooling, it can be applied to the affected area, which can treat the cleft lip of the winter moon.
Guangzhou is gradually becoming dry, and it is not impossible to spend the winter with lard!
Graphic | Gong Zhinan
Some of the image sources are | Integrated network
Edit | So-and-so