Appears on camera today
Non-hereditary heir Song Erwei and his colleagues
Interview motivation
On the eve of the Spring Festival, the "Eight Bowls" of Zhengding continued to be hot, and non-hereditary heir Song Erwei and colleagues welcomed the New Year in a busy way.
January 25, waxing moon twenty-third, small year. At about 10:00 a.m., the reporter came to a long-established restaurant located near Chengde South Street in Zhengding County, the Eight Bowls of Zhending Song Ji. When it comes to the "eight bowls" of Zhengding, it is necessary to mention the eight bowls of the provincial intangible cultural heritage Song Ji.
In the back kitchen of this restaurant, there is a busy scene. Chef Jin, 55, who has been in the chef's business for more than 30 years, is cutting pork belly quickly. "This meat is mainly used to make the button meat in the 'eight bowls.'" Master Jin introduced the meat sharply as he sliced the meat. On the other side, the young master Wu is cutting tofu, and the triangular tofu pieces of almost the same size are mainly used to make the vegetarian tofu in the "eight bowls".
Amid the aroma of meat, Song Erwei, a 36-year-old inheritor of "intangible cultural heritage", is boiling elbows. Song Erwei, who has been making the "Eight Bowls" for nearly 20 years, said he studied under his father, Song Xiuhai, who previously worked here. "My father is the head of the Eight Bowls of Song Ji and the fourth generation of the 'Eight Bowls.'" Song Erwei introduced that the traditional Zhengding "eight bowls" mainly include four meats, four vegetarians and eight dishes. The four meats are: button elbow, crispy meat, button meat, square meat; the four vegetarians are: radish, kelp, vermicelli, tofu. Nowadays, the types of "eight bowls" have far exceeded the eight kinds, reaching dozens of kinds. Song Xiuhai, who has been making the "Eight Bowls" for decades, has also made the production skills of the Eight Bowls of Song Ji the second batch of intangible cultural heritage in Hebei Province.
In order to truly make the "eight bowls" of authentic hometown taste, each process must be refined. For example, when making elbows, you should first cook the elbows for an hour, then smear the noodles on the top, control the water, let it dry for half an hour, pass the oil, put the bowl, and then dry steam for one hour to steam the oil out of the grate. When steaming for the second time, add secret spices and steam for an hour, slowly into the taste. After so many processes, the taste of hometown really spreads.
Song Erwei and his colleagues felt the atmosphere of the New Year in the busyness. "We're busier now than usual. Let more people taste the real 'eight bowls', feel the taste of home, feel the traditional culture, no matter how tired it is. Saying, Song Erwei and his colleagues put a large drawer of "eight bowls" steadily and steamed.
As soon as 11 o'clock on the same day passed, some citizens began to enter the store one after another. Some people taste the "eight bowls" in the store, and some buy them and take them home. The smell of meat and the smell of the year are getting stronger day by day.
Text/Chief reporter of this newspaper Liu Chenmin
Photo/ Reporter Li Qing
Editor Wang Xiaohu Editor-in-charge Lao Ke