The Paper's reporter Qian Chengxi
The ups and downs of the epidemic have made many people choose to celebrate the New Year in situ. Those lively reunions during the New Year, the unique food with the taste of the New Year, as well as the visits to relatives and friends that people love and hate, and the red tape, are all stained with a faint nostalgia at this time. Which New Year flavor do you miss most in your hometown, how do you spend the Spring Festival in a foreign land, have you received a package from your hometown?
With these questions in mind, The Paper-Private Geography found three friends and listened to their answers.
Ouyang Ting's family is in Urumqi and now lives in Beijing
"We're all sending packages to the poor!"
Our family New Year, in fact, is relatively simple, because my father is more capable, basically every year in the first or two months of the year he began to reserve food, buy lamb, beef, chicken, frozen sea fish, etc., almost after the small year, began to make some food, such as our favorite meat, balls, etc., the meat filling of the dumplings is also prepared in advance.
These are very solid meats, because I am afraid that I will not have the appetite to eat so much meat at once during the New Year, so we all say that we should make the New Year routine, and we will start to eat one after another before the New Year.
Our family's Chinese New Year's Eve rice, there will be some fixed dishes, such as braised lamb chops, large plates of chicken, wild fish from the Altay Irtysh River Basin "five black" (river bass), pike and the like, as well as some brine products, relatives from outside the home sometimes send their own horse intestines, horse meat is coarse, very chewy. My father is a Hunan native, his taste is still nostalgic, love to eat spring new shoots, loach in the river, stir-fried with green peppers, red peppers, smoked sausages, dried fish, etc., but in Xinjiang for many years, our diet has also been northwestern.
Smoked horse intestines are the special food of herders in Xinjiang Infographic
One of the most memorable snacks in my memory is the cold noodles my dad made: buy good quality sweet potato noodles, cook them, blanch the shredded carrots and spinach that are finely sliced, then mince the onion, ginger and garlic, add dried red pepper shreds and peppercorns, pour them in hot oil, pour them on the prepared ingredients, pour in soy sauce, vinegar and sugar, mix well, rich in color, pleasing to the eye and appetizing. This very simple cold dish, usually do not seem to think about making much, only the New Year is like a reserved dish, we go year after year, from snacks to large.
Chinese New Year's Eve day, our family began to prepare slowly from the morning. Dad Chef, we all take the handle. Sometimes when there is plenty of time, we will go out to buy. I remember one year Chinese New Year's Eve, and early in the morning we went out skiing. Urumqi snows a lot in winter, so you can find a wild field in the suburbs, as long as there is a steep slope, it is a natural small ski resort.
I remember that day vividly. We were close to the outskirts of a mountainous area, the snow fog was thick, the shadows of the mountains could not be seen clearly, some people flew drones in the wilderness, even if the weather was so cold, the snowy mountains had begun to have meltwater, the snow water coming down from the mountain was rushing in the river, the sound of the water was clear, and there were cattle and sheep eating hay next to the villagers' huts. On the way back, we also saw herders selling freshly slaughtered cattle directly on the side of the road, so we stopped the car, and then my father directly got started, cut a few large pieces of beef with their big axe, and brought them home, very fresh. Such a sight is also rare to see.
However, I haven't been home for the New Year in three years. The first year was when my family came to Beijing for the New Year, and last year and this year, because of the epidemic, I couldn't go home. This year, the family said to send me something, asked me what I wanted, I am actually not a very enthusiastic or persistent person for eating, it is funny to say, the only thing I still worry about is our Xinjiang bread. I sent me a dozen at home, I now freeze them in the refrigerator, freezing can be stored for a long time, take them out for a while and then turn them into room temperature or bake them slightly in the oven, it is delicious, with the aroma of sesame seeds, or soft. It's authentic local bread, and the bread I can buy in places like The Malan Ramen Restaurant in Beijing is nothing compared to it.
But there are still some foods that modern logistics can't deliver no matter how convenient they are. What I miss most is our fried rice noodles in Xinjiang.
The most memorable fried rice noodles infographic
This fast food is amazing, it can stand for decades without falling, so many years once I go back to eat it most or it, repeatedly eat it. It is actually a kind of Guizhou fried rice noodles, the streets are ordinary small shops, a few people can operate up, divided into beef fried rice noodles, chicken fried rice noodles, mixed rice noodles, and now updated more diverse types, wild mushroom fried rice noodles, sauerkraut fried rice noodles, etc., using relatively coarse rice noodles, with watercress sauce, dried red peppers, and chopped celery cubes, hot stir-frying, the roar of the kitchen's high-power range hood, the collision of the kitchen spoon and the wok, the oil smoke began to spread out, and then, a bowl of steaming, The fried rice noodles of the red tong are in front of your eyes, the whole process is as smooth as the clouds and the water, I feel that it is like a combination of sound and light, without this smoky process and taste blessing, I can't eat the soul of the fried rice noodles. I don't think there's any way to reproduce that taste. Although in Beijing, I have met one or two families that have our kind of Xinjiang fried rice noodles, and I often eat them.
I also sent some things to my family a few years ago. I bought clothes for my family, bought a few books for my children at home, including Spanish writer Jimenez's "Little Silver and Me", and a copy of "The Wind in the Willows", all of which are books that I like very much, and children who have just started elementary school may not be able to fully understand them, but I think such books can be read for many years.
"The Sound of the Willow Forest" sent to the children at home
Interestingly, a while ago, my family sent me some food, afraid of delays on the road to send SF Express, and the courier fee is more expensive than eating. I rushed to send something to my home a few years ago, and SF could not send ordinary couriers, but could only choose the more expensive air express. At least better than last year, when express deliveries were stopped last year because of the pandemic. When I was sending a courier, I suddenly thought that Zhang Ailing wrote in "Revisiting the Border City" that the second landlady who lived in Hong Kong broke through the siege to send things to the mother-in-law's family in the mainland, which was particularly vivid, "We are all sending parcels to the poor!" ”
The New Year in Beijing also has the advantage that it is very simple and free, and it does not have to spend a lot of time on cooking and relatives walking around. Chinese New Year's Eve I'll spend time with friends, and I want to go for a walk in the mountains in the first year of junior high. I do have a regular ritual every year on New Year's Day, which is to go out and walk for a long time, so this year I also want to walk again on new year's Day.
This year's New Year's Day to go on a wild walk, Beijing's winter is also very beautiful, the air is clear, the tree shadow is clear Figure Ouyang Ting
Winter is about to pass, and as soon as the Spring Festival arrives, I feel that spring is approaching, which makes me even more obsessed with winter. This winter I also went out as many times as possible, more than in previous years, in the north of the cold to observe nature, feel the essence of winter, the cold wind blows through the body, in the woods of The depression there are so many flocks of birds rising and falling, such a feeling, I want to experience a few more times, only in this way, our experience and memory of the season can be complete.
Mr. Gao is home in Foshan and currently lives in Hong Kong
"I most want to eat Foshan's unique fried heap."
For Cantonese people, a big thing in the New Year is to buy flowers. Our dedication to buying flowers for the New Year is a bit like buying roses on Valentine's Day, which is very ritualistic. In the past, at home for the New Year, we had to take leave in advance, just to buy flowers.
Guangzhou's large and small Spring Flower Market opens around the 28th of the Year until the early morning of the first day of the new year, each district has its own flower market, the most distinctive of which is the water flower market of Lychee Bay Chung in Laoxiguan, where flowers are sold on boats, and both sides of the Chung are traditional buildings in Lingnan, along the road there are guangzhou's traditional snacks, as well as Cantonese opera performances and folk song exhibitions. Buying flowers is to go to the "Xinghua Street", but also to buy windmills, because Guangzhou people believe that windmills drive the air flow, and the next year will bring good luck.
Guangzhou's New Year Flower Market Figure Oriental IC
The elders of the family will prepare the plants for the New Year long in advance, all in order to please a good head, and even the nepenthes has the good intention of "gathering wealth". Food should be more flattering, such as lettuce, celery and green onions, which mean fierceness and diligence and cleverness, while pig hands and pig tendons (pig tongues) bless the family with wealth and smooth luck. All kinds of pastries, such as horseshoe cake, rice cake, etc., all mean "step by step" and "thriving".
In a country home, going to worship God at night is a top priority. Chinese New Year's Eve prepare the tribute before eating, and after the wine and food are full, they will go to the temple at the mouth of the village to worship the gods. After that, it was the supper I was most looking forward to.
At home for the New Year, although it is lively, there are many such processes. Because of the epidemic, I haven't been home for the New Year for two years. The New Year in Hong Kong is much simpler, but I have a sense of relief.
In previous years, Hong Kong has flower markets, that is, markets that specialize in selling flowers, the price is quite reasonable, this year because the epidemic was cancelled, so flower farmers are scattered to temporary short-term rental shops to buy, especially very expensive, I feel that there are almost two to three times the price of previous years, really like Valentine's Day roses. So this year we only bought a pot of oranges, which is a must for the New Year, in previous years we will buy daffodils and peach blossoms, but this year we have not bought them.
The rest is nothing, Hong Kong's annual taste is much lighter than Guangdong and the entire mainland. Because Hong Kong doesn't have a long holiday, and its population movement is not too much. And just after Christmas at the end of December, it was a big holiday, and it wasn't long before it was the Spring Festival, and there was no eager mood in the mainland to wait for the Spring Festival, wait to go home, and enjoy the long holiday. Even in Hong Kong, even if it is the first year of junior high school, there are many shops that will open as usual, and the whole atmosphere is very different.
In terms of eating, we prepared some radish cakes, horseshoe cakes, and rice cakes, which Chinese New Year's Eve fried in the evening. My wife is a northerner, she is ready to make dumplings with noodles, then I will give her a hand, this is my first time to make dumplings, and I am looking forward to it. Of course, there will also be videos with the family, and the big Chinese New Year's Eve has been open at night, even if it is a cloud reunion.
This New Year,I was going to ask my mom to send me some fried heaps, which were a very greasy New Year's food, but it was very tasty. Although there are frying piles in many places in Guangzhou, there are also fried piles in Hong Kong, but the fried piles in Hong Kong are fried with glutinous rice flour and noodles into balls, and the filling is sesame seeds or bean paste, but the fried piles in Foshan are sweet poppy valleys, the skin is very thin and hard, when eating it, it should be steamed soft, eaten with pine cakes, and then drink Pu'er tea to relieve the grease.
The fried pile at home is what Mr. Gao misses most
For me, eating fried piles and muffins every year is the New Year. Unfortunately, when my mother went to send it this year, she found that SF would not let her send food, so she had to give up. Yesterday, I heard that there is a Foshan fried pile in Sham Shui Po, so I went to look for it and didn't buy it. It seems that this year is going to have another year without frying piles.
Mr. Gu, whose home is in Tianjin, now lives in Shanghai
"I want to sing a play to my family and talk about a cross-talk."
We Tianjin people new year, from the beginning of Lapa Ba, La ba day in addition to eat La ba porridge, but also with vinegar soaked la ba garlic. When it comes to eating dumplings in the New Year, the garlic and vinegar come from Lapa Garlic.
The purchase before the New Year was the most interesting. The place where everyone is fixed is Gongnangong North Street, which is the area of Ancient Culture Street. Buy New Year goods there, as well as hanging money (a traditional paper cut on the lintel and eaves of the northern New Year), spring strips, and Fuzier, which are the decorations of the Spring Festival. I remember that there was the smell of paper, the smell of sulfur, the smell of oranges on the north street of Gongnangong at that time, and now I don't let firecrackers go, there is no sulfur smell, but those two flavors have always existed.
Tianjin citizens who buy couplets, window flowers, and stickers Figure Oriental IC
Like many Tianjin people, our family's Chinese New Year's Eve must have seafood, such as flat fish and yellow croaker, but there will never be fish, because the dishes eaten Chinese New Year's Eve rice must have a beginning and a tail. Chinese New Year's Eve my favorite is the small crispy fish, which is steamed after the crucian carp is fried, and then cooked at the end, which is a cold dish, a sweet and sour dish. I didn't like to eat fish because I thought it had a lot of spines, but the bones of this fish were crispy, and I didn't have to spit anything to eat.
Dumplings are of course a must, and the dumplings that my family wraps for the New Year are generally two kinds of fillings: pork prawns and leeks of meat three fresh dumplings, and Tianjin's unique vegetarian dumplings. Vegetarian dumplings are actually particularly exquisite, using red pink skin, coriander, curd milk, and dried incense. It is also particularly troublesome to wrap up, especially suitable for the New Year when a large family sits down to divide the work and chat together. We will eat vegetarian dumplings after 12 o'clock, which means that the next year is vegetarian and pure.
Vegetarian dumplings are dumplings unique to Tianjin
Many people will put a coin in the dumplings, and the people who eat it will be blessed in the next year, and my family will discuss whether to put it every year, but the final conclusion is never to put it, because I am afraid that the child will accidentally eat it into the stomach.
Because of the epidemic, I stayed in Shanghai for the Chinese New Year this year. On the second day of the eighth year, I went to Wang Jiasha on Nanjing West Road with my partner to buy New Year's snacks, such as Eight Treasure Rice and Chinese Cabbage Broth Dumplings, and I especially loved muffins and bought a small piece. Wang Jiashali was shoulder to shoulder, crowded, and there was a long queue in front of the stall selling soup dumplings.
In the past, I hate queuing, but at this time, the queue has a very New Year's atmosphere, which reminds me of Gongnangong North Street in Tianjin, and the scene where my family goes to Guishunzhai to queue up to buy lanterns.
As a halal old-fashioned brand, Gui Shunzhai's Lantern is more special, there is only one kind of filling, that is, dried fruit filling. In addition to selling ready-made Lanterns, it also sells stuffing, and my mother sometimes buys them, and does not make them into Lanterns, but puts them into black rice porridge to cook fruit porridge, which is also very delicious.
Although there is no fruit porridge this year, my mother has already sent me dumplings and lanterns in advance. Interestingly, at the end of last year, I found a Tianjin master chef who opened a live broadcast on Douyin, and his cooking was very traditional and exquisite. Because Tianjin people must have elbows and sixi balls for the New Year, it is not easy to do at home, for example, the meat minced meat that makes sixi balls cannot be bought ready-made, and you have to chop yourself. So in December last year, I ordered the New Year gift box with him early, and before the Tianjin epidemic, he expressed it to Shanghai, where several Tianjin Chinese New Year's Eve rice dishes were readily available, and my Chinese New Year's Eve meal was not worried.
Sixi balls are a must-have dish on Chinese New Year's Eve meal Infographic
As a lover of music and art, after eating Chinese New Year's Eve meal at home, it is my performance time, I will sing a Piece of Beijing Opera to my family, or talk about a cross-talk, of course, whether they love to listen to it or not is another matter.
In addition, when I was in Tianjin for the New Year, I usually had to go to the China Grand Theater to listen to the box opera, which was also a reserved program of the Peking Opera Troupe at the end of the year, which was the embodiment of the comprehensive quality of the actors, which was worth watching. At the end of the year, the cross-talk actors in the tea house will also arrange cross-talk dramas, such as singing Peking Opera, and they will also be lively for a while. This year's Box Sealing Drama of the Shanghai Peking Opera House was performed on the New Year's Day of the Solar Calendar, and I did not catch up, but I may also go to see a few plays during the Spring Festival.
Editor-in-Charge: Ying Xu
Proofreader: Ding Xiao