Dahe Bao Yu video reporter Liu Ruichao photography Bai Zhoufeng
Pink apricot white begonia powder, flowers and flowers flying all over the sky. Time is not waiting for anyone, and the elm money is hanging all over the branches. Spring color is edible, and Yu Qian is also a dish. "Food color also" is taken from Tianye, and in the eyes of many people, Yu Qian is a good ingredient given by Heaven.
Yu qian, in the eyes of ancient poets, is poetic and romantic, in the eyes of ancient and today's people and foodies, it is tender, steamable, fried and porridge.
So, what are the interesting things about Yu Qian? Dahe Newspaper Yu video reporter with you today to explore the secret.
【Phenomenon】 Greentown Elm Money Hanging Branches Some people accidentally planted their heads
Spring is full of colors, and the beauty can be eaten. And the people take food as the sky, so they eat everything, spring grass can be eaten, spring flowers can be eaten, with a string of Yu money hanging on the branches, fat toots with the wind drifting, so, Yu money will also be on the table.
In Zhengzhou city, although the number of elm trees is not as good as that of tung trees, poplar trees, and willow trees, but sporadically distributed by the river, roadsides, and communities, the recognizable elm money will still hook the "hungry worms" in people's stomachs, and they want to pick up a few strings and eat a "spring color" to taste.
Elm money is not the flower of the elm tree, but the young fruit that appears after the first harvest of the elm flower, that is, their seed. Because they are round, the size of a button, as thin as paper, with a small bump in the middle, looking like a copper coin, they got the name "Yu Qian'er".
Elm money is delicious, but it grows on high branches. When I was a child, every time in the second month of the lunar calendar, when the yuqian was tender and green, everyone crossed the sea and showed their magic, some rubbed on the tree like a monkey, directly broke the elm branch with their hands, and some tied the sickle horizontally to the end of the bamboo pole, cutting the branches with ingenuity, and some used the hook rod (there was a hook at the end) to pull the green branch hard.
The branches fall, carry it home, take the elm money down, rinse it, or steam it, or fry it, or eat it with other ingredients, of course, the more common way is to eat it raw, and eat it with green juice in your mouth.
However, in the process of climbing high and climbing low, accidents are inevitable. Just a few days ago, March 23, in the downtown area of Zhengzhou City, the South Fourth Ring Road, a woman accidentally fell while collecting Yu Money, resulting in waist injuries and trapped on the mound of more than 10 meters. After receiving the alarm, the Zhengzhou Fire Rescue Detachment quickly deployed personnel to the scene to transfer the woman trapped on the mound.
Although Yu Qian is delicious, it still has to ensure its own life safety. The reporter of Dahe Newspaper Yu video noticed that there were several elm trees growing along the Jinshui River on the south side of Zijingshan Park, but the canopy was basically suspended above the river. Some citizens said that during this time, some people risked climbing trees to collect elm money, which looked dangerous.
In fact, every time at this time, the Zhengzhou Urban River Management Office ushered in the "troublesome things". Relevant people from the management office said that the elms in the jinshui river custody area are mainly concentrated on the north bank of the Bauhinia Mountain Road to the Huangchui Bridge, and after the "7.20" rainstorm in 2021, they have cleaned up some of the lodging elms, and there are still some elms on the slopes of the river.
In the spring season of this year, the elm trees have just grown elm money, and some citizens have disregarded safety to pick and taste the fresh. Jinshuihe custodians have repeatedly dissuaded them at the scene.
A thousand words and a word, the lessons of the past, the teacher of the future, do not regret when you fall.
【Record】Yu qian can be steamed, fried and boiled porridge To see the "riot operation" of ancient foodies
As a dish, Yu Qian conquered the stomachs of many literati inkers.
The Qing Dynasty poet Xu Ye once wrote a "Yu Qian Song", which was dedicated to eating Yu Qian. "Every family collects elm money and stir-frys them with pineapples." Tall branches are difficult to fill the basket, and they are troubled by their fingers. Grits rice is made into soup and dumplings, and the first taste of smooth beauty is good... Today's yu money, yu money is still small. Today's yu money, yu money is old. Yu Qian day is still more, Yu Qian Day veteran will be what."
It can be seen that they eat Yu Qian, not dry food, but mixed with other ingredients to eat. There are spinach or stir-fried, and there are corn grits to make soup, and the taste is creamy and delicious. However, the freshness period of Elm Money is very short, and if it is missed, they will turn yellow and dry and cannot be eaten. Therefore, Xu Ye issued a cry similar to "the flower blossoms can be folded and the beard is folded".
Xue Baochen of the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty listed several kinds of meals for Yu Qian. "Tender elm line, pick off the pedicle, soy sauce, cooking wine to burn the soup, quite clear taste." It is also preferable for those who have steamed noodles for cake bait or wheat rice. The Qin people use vegetables and dried noodles to add oil and salt to steam, known as wheat rice. Sesame oil must be added more, otherwise, it will not be beautiful. Wheat rice is based on vermilion flowers, stalks, evil artemisia, in (Yin) Chen, tong (茼) artemisia, young alfalfa, and tender fragrant alfalfa as the top, and there are many people who can sell rice, which are not as good as these several kinds. ("Chinese Culinary Ancient Books Series: Vegetarian Commentaries" (written by Xue Baochen and annotated by Wang Zihui, first edition, September 1984))
After reading it, is it that the saliva is already swirling in the mouth? Liu Shaotang, a famous Chinese vernacular literature writer, wrote, "Yang Ya'er picked tender, soaked in boiling water pot and scalded it will turn into a pot of yellow soup and green water, and cannot be eaten in the mouth; picking old, bitter and astringent, difficult to swallow", Yu Qian "only those who are not old and tender can eat ... Roll out the thin skin with corn flour and roll out the elm skin noodles, and eat them in large stuffed dumplings. But this also does not save much grain" ("Yu Qian Rice").
However, although Yu Qian is delicious, it cannot be gluttonous, and everything has a degree. Ji Kang of the Three Kingdoms period said in the "Theory of Health Maintenance", "And the beans are heavy, the elm is eye-catching; the acacia is angry, the grass is forgotten, and the foolish wisdom is also known." Often eat black soybeans, the body will become heavy, excessive use of elm skin and elm leaves (elm money), will make people sleepy... This is common sense that both stupid and intelligent people know.
[Poetic] Spring is easy to leave in a hurry The poet hopes to buy spring with Elm money
In fact, the little Elm money is not only connected to the stomach of the world, but also to the heart of the poet.
Because it resembles money, many poets joke about it. The Sheng Tang poet Cen Shan once made a poem "Drama Asking The Flower Gate Restaurant Weng". "The old man is still selling wine, a thousand pots and a hundred urns of flowers at the door. Dao Ping Yu pods are like money, pick up the wine jun ken no."
In the poem, it is written that an old man who sells wine in Huamen is already seventy years old, and he also sells wine in a large jar and a small urn. Next to the road, there happened to be a tree full of elm money, and Cen Shan asked him, plucked the elm money, if you buy your wine, will you be willing?
There is a saying called "spring neck short". Especially in the spring of Zhengzhou, "spring is like four seasons", remove the abnormal time, and the spring of the Eight Classics of Zheng'er does not have many days. Therefore, people who cherish spring are always worried that spring will return in a hurry.
"Cherish the spring and be afraid of the flowers blooming early, not to mention the countless reds", Xin Zhiyi also has such feelings. Therefore, there are poets who intend to bribe the Creator with Yu money, hoping to let the spring stay and not leave in a hurry.
The Qing Dynasty poet Wang Pengyun wrote in "Dianli Lip And RaoChun", "Throwing away all the yu money, it is still difficult to buy spring light." Yi Chun was speechless, and the intestines broke the spring to return to the road." This kind of thinking, very simple and very naïve, and many poets want to hold the sun to prevent the mountain from setting, what is reflected is actually the feeling of cherishing others.
When the swallows return, the yellow warblers cry, and the grass is green, spring is really difficult to stay. The Northern Song Dynasty poet Wan Qianyong wrote, "The walls are thousands of searches, the elm money is stacked, and it is difficult to buy spring stay." The so-called "helpless flowers fall, déjà vu swallow returns", this is just the wishful thinking of poets.
【Allusions】The disappearing "Yuhuo" culture The evening view of mulberry elm "for xia still full of heaven"
Elm trees, not only elm money can be eaten, elm leaves can also be eaten, in the famine years, elm bark can also be eaten. The elm tree itself can also be used as a board. In comparison, elms are useful trees.
Dahe Bao Yu video reporter learned that the province's 29968 ancient trees, involving a total of 3714 tree species, are basically indigenous tree species. Among them, there are 316 elm trees, which is not too many. After inventory, it was found that the age of elm trees is basically hundreds of years, unlike pine cypress, soap pod, national locust, oak trees have more than a thousand years. This also confirms from one side that the elm tree is a useful tree, because it is useful, so it is basically used, and there are not too many protections.
The folk culture of elm trees is reflected in the word elm fire. What is Elm Fire? Zhang Dai, a writer and historian of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, wrote, "The flint man holds the fire. Take the fire of elm willow in spring, the fire of jujube apricot in summer, the fire of tulip in autumn, and the fire of locust sandalwood in winter" (Night Sailing Ship, Astronomical Department, Seasonal Season, Change Fire).
During the Tang and Song dynasties, every Qingming Festival, the imperial court would take the fire of Yu Liu and reward it to the close ministers and Qi Li. "But the new fire will be given to the dawn of the imperial clothes" (Han Yu's "Cold Food Straight Back to the Rain"), "Treading green cold food to chase the horse, giving fire to the Qingming Courtiers" (Ouyang Xiu," "He Bi yi jie"), "Yu fire for new smoke, green willow vermilion eaves, the east wind blows the flowers upside down" (Li Lailao's "Waves and Sands"), and so on.
However, in the Yuan Dynasty, with the merger of the Cold Food Festival and the Qingming Festival, the custom of forbidding fire was gradually not recorded, and the word Yuhuo was gradually not mentioned.
There is an idiom called, "Lost East, Harvested Mulberry", East is the place of sunrise, Mulberry is the place of sunset, mulberry becomes a symbol of old age. But each stage of life has its own unique and wonderful features. Although Li Shangyin wrote "The sunset is infinitely good, but it is only near dusk", he also wrote "Mo Dao Sang Yu evening, for xia is still full of heaven", even in old age, it is still plump and full.
The mentality has been adjusted, and the spring colors in the garden are all gorgeous and warm.
Source: Dahe News Yu Video Editor: Wang Fenghua