The cold wind is gradually rising, the cold winter is quietly coming, and in the slightly bleak street, accompanied by the slowly rising fireworks, there is the sweetness of sweet potatoes to stop in the heart, which is the warm human flavor of winter.
© Photogram.com
To be honest, sweet potatoes have a bit of a lot of aliases. Shandong Liaoning is called sweet potato, Beijing and Tianjin are called sweet potato, Henan people are called sweet potato, Hebei people are called yam, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are called sweet potato, Jiangxi Fujian is called sweet potato, Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou are called red moss, in addition to vermilion potatoes, sweet potatoes, geese, golden potatoes, sweet reserves, etc. The variety of aliases also reflects the regional differences and historical origins of sweet potatoes to a certain extent.
Among the names, "sweet potato" points to the mystery of its origin imported from abroad. Since 1963, Guo Moruo published the poem "Commemorating the 370th Anniversary of the Introduction of Sweet Potatoes to China", the origin of sweet potatoes seems to have been "stamped and certified", and its "fact" of being introduced to China from Luzon by Chen Zhenlong of Fuzhou in the late Ming Dynasty is widely accepted.
After sweet potatoes were introduced to Fujian, the locals used them as ingredients to make a variety of local cuisine, the picture shows Changting pearl pill © Longyan Longyan, photography / Liu Yanhui
However, long before "sweet potato" was introduced into China, there were records of "sweet potato" in ancient Chinese documents, and many scholars still insist that "sweet potato" and "sweet potato" are sweet potatoes, and China has had sweet potatoes since ancient times. Therefore, whether these "potato" brothers in the four seas are different surnames or their own families, from ancient times to the present, there is no agreement.
"The sweet potato is like taro, and there are also giant kui. Peel off the skin, the muscles are as white as fat; Nanren dangmi valley. ”
——Eastern Han Dynasty Yang Fu "Foreign Matter History"
"Sweet potatoes, covered potatoes (yams) and the like, or taro and the like, roots and leaves are also like taro. It is like a fist, as big as an urn, with purple skin and white flesh. Steamed food, the taste is like potatoes, and the sex is not very cold. ...... Steamed and cut like rice grains... It is a grain store. ”
——Jin Dynasty Ji Han "Southern Grass and Trees"
In the eyes of many people, these two records of "sweet potatoes" indicate that sweet potatoes were cultivated in the Han and Jin dynasties in China. Sweet potatoes that resemble yam and taro, with white potato flesh, are grains comparable to rice grains. However, such sweet potatoes have a slightly "inferior" taste, "there is this thing in Middle-earth, its origin is old, and it is not very valuable and planted less." In fact, there is another reason why sweet potatoes are less planted, that is, according to the planting conditions at that time, only places located south of the Tropic of Cancer meet their growth conditions, and in China, only Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other places have this requirement, and these places and the geographical conditions of Central and South America, where sweet potatoes originate, are also similar.
Some areas are located in Guangdong, south of the Tropic of Cancer, and meet the conditions © for sweet potato cultivation
The word "sweet potato" first appeared around 1600, Xu Guangqi said in "Sweet Potato Shu": "There are two kinds of Fujian Guang potato, one mountain potato, so there are others, and one sweet potato, some people get this kind from overseas." Wang Xiangjin also said in "Qunfang Spectrum": "Sweet potato, a vermilion potato, a sweet potato", which shows that these scholars see the difference between native sweet potatoes and imported sweet potatoes, but they think that they are both "potatoes".
However, at first, people regarded sweet potatoes as "vegetables" rather than "grains", for example, "Qunfang Spectrum" included "sweet potatoes" in the "vegetable recipe". But sweet potatoes are higher than ordinary grain yields, even in the year of drought can have a harvest, so it can not only reduce the population decline caused by famine, but also help the population growth after the famine, Lu Yao said in the "Sweet Potato Record", sweet potatoes "harvest ten stones per acre, several families, stop planting one mu, even disasters, and draw wells for irrigation, once ripe, enough food all year round." It is precisely because its own strength cannot be underestimated, after the introduction of famine-ridden Fujian during the Wanli years, sweet potatoes really brushed a wave of existence.
A thriving sweet potato field © Photogram Network
The sweet potato, which attracted attention, began his journey to China. It looks thick and productive, can be eaten raw or cooked, can fill hunger and quench thirst, and even sweet potato leaves can be used as a dish, so it is becoming more and more important in people's diet, in addition to being simply cooked, it is also processed into noodles, shochu and other foods, and later agricultural books and Fangzhi also classified it as "the genus of the valley". In addition, people also believe that it has a health care effect, and the "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that it can "replenish deficiency, strengthen strength, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and strengthen kidney yin".
Lianjiang Lian sweet potato roasting brewing process, non-genetic inheritor Lin Zhuohua is making sweet potato roast © Fuzhou Daily
Sweet potatoes love temperature, are afraid of cold, and are not hardy, and when they first came to China, they could not travel long distances to the north to survive, but Xu Guangqi proposed the "cellar method", which solved the difficulty of its inability to grow and plant in the cold north, and farmers everywhere also summed up their planting experience in practice, and officials vigorously appealed, even the Qianlong Emperor became the "number one fan" and personally ordered to promote planting. Of course, sweet potatoes also lived up to expectations, actively serving as the rations of the common people, maintaining their basic survival, so Kang Qian's prosperous era was once called "sweet potato prosperous".
In less than two hundred years, sweet potatoes have "crossed the mountains and over Huai" and spread widely in China. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, its cultivation area could reach as far north as Beijing and Tianjin, and now sweet potatoes are fragrant in most parts of China, except for the cold Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Tianmu Mountain small sweet potato © photo network
Sweet potatoes that grow up wrapped in dirt, with their own earthy atmosphere, whether it is a round "big fat potato" or a cute "cute potato", they are all in the simplicity with a sense of intimacy, even if they have a thin willow-like model body, they will not resist people thousands of miles away with a high-end face, sweet potatoes always have a magic power to let you get closer.
Although it is called "sweet potato", "red" is not its only appearance, yellow, white, purple and even colorful flower heart sweet potatoes are not uncommon. Whether it is a red heart sweet potato or a yellow heart sweet potato, red and yellow are from carotene, the higher the carotene content, the more yellow the color, this sweet potato usually has a large water content, high sweetness, is the preferred ingredient for baked sweet potatoes.
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Selected by the sweet potato research of Yantai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, "Tobacco Potato No. 25" is a very representative sweet potato, it is moderate in size, sufficient moisture, high sugar content, is a "baking type" sweet potato, after roasting honey direct flow, almost occupy half of the roasted sweet potato industry, widely planted in Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Jilin and other places.
Tobacco Potato No. © 25 Nanguo Micro Life
When it comes to yellow heart sweet potatoes, Tianmu Mountain sweet potatoes must not be missed. Although there is no six-ao sweet potato "quenching thirst", it is dry and not choking, soft and dense, melts in the mouth, thin as cicada wings under the skin of the potato, the potato flesh is as powdery as chestnut. No special cooking methods are required, and you can taste the most authentic sweetness of sweet potatoes after simply steaming. Like Tianmu Mountain sweet potatoes with a powdery taste, there is also "chestnut sweet potato" from Shaanxi, Qin potato No. 5 is the most representative variety, its potato flesh is light yellow, dry flour glutinous, no gluten, can be described as a potato entrance, ten thousand potatoes invincible.
Chestnut sweet potatoes © Hunting Qin season
White sweet potatoes have little water content, low sweetness, high starch content, and are usually used to make sweet potato vermicelli, pulled sweet potatoes, pan-fried sweet potato shreds and other dishes that need to be seasoned again. Dahua white jade potato planted in Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Hechi, Guangxi, when just picked, the potato cubes are white skin and white heart-shaped, under natural conditions, the skin will turn light yellow, the potato flesh is as pure as white jade, the juice leached when just cut is like milk, the taste is tender and sweet, and the noodles made are smooth and strong.
Dahua White Jade Potato © Network
The purple to dark purple flesh of the potato is the purple potato, also called the black potato, the purple color is actually caused by anthocyanins, not the result of genetically modified or dyeing. Most of the common purple potatoes are black and purple, but there are also some varieties of potato flesh that are flower-hearted, such as the flower-hearted purple potato called "ice cream sweet potato". This girly dreamy sweet potato, spindle-shaped in appearance, purple and white potato flesh, not only looks like ice cream, but also tastes as sweet and silky as ice cream, melts in the mouth, and is grown in Guangdong and Guangxi.
Purple sweet potato © Impression Nansha
In Nansha, this sweet potato with the taste and appearance of ice cream, because of its purple-red potato core, is called "a little sweet potato", which can be described as the leader of Southern Saudi Arabia. Located in the tropical monsoon marine climate zone of South Asia, Nansha has abundant sunshine and rainfall, coupled with high-quality sandy soil, and the unique brackish water resources at the mouth of the Pearl River, the sweet potatoes grown are not only quite good-looking, but also have a superb taste.
As a coarse grain crop with strong adaptability and high yield, sweet potatoes are widely planted all over China, from the bold and warm northwest to the exquisite and romantic southeast, from the rich and vast northeast to the sour and spicy addicted southwest. Every July, when the summer breeze is still carrying a continuous heat wave, the early ripening sweet potatoes are successively on the market, until the autumn breeze rises and the cold and cool November, seasonal fresh potatoes are on the market.
Chinese sweet potato incomplete map © Chinese style
Shandong Tobacco Potato No. 25, Zhejiang Tianmu Mountain Small Sweet Potato, Fujian Liuao Sweet Potato, Hainan Chengmai Qiaotou sweet potato, Shanxi Qingdepu sweet potato, etc. are all local specialties with excellent taste. In order to maximize the sweetness of sweet potatoes, people have created a variety of sweet potato dishes with regional flavors. In addition to the simple steaming, which preserves the original flavor of sweet potatoes, there are also various delicacies made from sweet potato puree and sweet potato flour, and even sweet potato leaves are popular ingredients.
Taiwanese sweet potato is a perfect combination of carb and oil, fried until golden brown and crispy sweet potato strips are wrapped in sour plum powder, take a bite, you can feel the rich taste dancing on the tip of the tongue. Jiangxi Ganzhou potato flour dumplings, with sweet potato flour and noodles, look crystal clear, and taste tender and fragrant. In Hubei, the kimchi powder made from sweet potatoes and stir-fried with kimchi, shredded meat and chili pepper are authentic Hubei flavors.
Sweet potato food map © Chinese style
As a representative of sweet potatoes in Northeast China, Liaoning sweet potatoes have a wide variety of varieties, including Kangping sweet potatoes, Wafangdian Yandian sweet potatoes, Zhangwu sweet potatoes, and black mountain sweet potatoes. Located in Kangping County, on the southeast edge of the Horqin Sandy Land, with abundant water resources and sufficient sunshine, the sweet potatoes grown have smooth skin and sweet sand glutinous, which is a national geographical indication product of China. Wafangdian by the mountains and the sea, the territory is rich in landform types, day and night temperature difference is large, the soil is mainly sandy, the soil is fertile, the growing sweet potato skin is thin noodles, sweet and delicious, raw and cooked food can be used.
Dalian Wafangdian Dongfeng Reservoir © photo network
When it comes to the largest deli sweet potato, you can't avoid the sweet potato in the northeast. In the hardcore northeast where you eat meat and eat stuffy rice in large bowls, every dish is so magnificent, and when this atmosphere and sweetness are integrated, it is the home of sweet potatoes. Choose sweet potatoes with yellow or red hearts, peel them and cut them into uniform pieces, wrap them in starch and fry until they are charred on the outside and soft on the inside, so that each piece of sweet potatoes can be stained with freshly boiled sugar liquid, under the golden and translucent sugar coating, the happiness brought by soft sweet potatoes is simple and direct, even the rough Northeast Han can be subservient by this sweetness.
Sweet potato © photogram net
In Henan, a major grain-producing province, there is hardly a piece of land that refuses to allow sweet potatoes to arrive. The sweet potatoes here are not only widely distributed, but also of excellent quality, just with the title of "landmark product" sweet potatoes are less than a dozen kinds, garden mouth sweet potatoes, Ruyang sweet potatoes, Tanghe sweet potatoes, Xiangcheng sweet potatoes, Chatinggou sweet potatoes, etc. are all local famous specialties.
© Photogram.com
At the mouth of the garden through which the main stream of the Yellow River flows, the groundwater reserves are abundant, and the water quality is clear, pure and pollution-free, providing sufficient irrigation water for agricultural production. In addition, the local soil is mainly silt sandy loam, with thick soil layer and good soil quality, which is very suitable for the growth of sweet potato crops. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the local drought was serious, and the sweet potatoes introduced from Fujian, with their "very resistant to hunger" characteristics, took root in the local area and became the staple food on people's tables, until today, there is still a saying that "sweet potatoes for half a year, sweet potatoes are the protection king of farmers".
The dining table in Henan is definitely a stage for sweet potatoes to show their strength. Steamed is a staple food for hunger, and porridge cooked with rice, millet, corn grits and grits is a breakfast with side dishes. However, in many cases, sweet potatoes satisfy people's appetites as fans. Processed into round or flat, coarse or fine vermicelli, no matter what ingredients you partner with, they are never pretentious and have a high degree of cooperation. When chopped, it is the filling of buns, boxes, dumplings, and pies, and when stewing, it is the "master Hua Dan" of stewed dishes, and even the famous spicy soup and braised noodles of Yu cuisine are inseparable from fans. When the fresh aroma of seasonings and side dishes is soaked with crystal clear "golden thread", the smooth and strong vermicelli is more fragrant than meat.
Sweet potato noodles © Photogram
As the earliest place where sweet potatoes were introduced, Fujian has a great say in the matter of sweet potatoes. During the Wanli years of the Ming Dynasty, foreign trade developed day by day, land annexation was intense, landless peasants increased, and frequent natural disasters made it very difficult for peasant households to survive. Chen Zhenxuan, who was doing business in Luzon at that time, saw that the local sweet potatoes "have six benefits and eight benefits, merit and five grains, and are the treasures of the country of Yi, and the livelihood depends", he considered that his hometown was "a mountain and a sea, and the soil was barren and poor", and once a disaster occurred, the peasants would have nothing to eat, so he "donated money to buy it" and introduced sweet potatoes to his hometown of Fuzhou.
A corner of © Fujian Photogram Network
In Fujian, the Liuao red heart sweet potato from the Liuao Peninsula in Zhangpu County can simply be crowned as the lord of the martial arts alliance. It grows on the Liuao Peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, where there is not only plenty of sunshine and humid air, but also the sandy seaside that absorbs the natural salt in the sea, so the sweet potatoes grown are much sweeter than ordinary sweet potatoes, and people also call this sweet potato "sweet potato". Sweet potatoes have thin skin and soft flesh, sweet and juicy, which is a sweet gift brought to people by the sea and sunshine.
Six-Ao Red Heart Sweet Potato © Network
If you want to taste the original sweetness and tenderness of sweet potatoes, Fujian Liancheng sweet potato dried is the first choice. It was once given the name "Golden Slice" by the Qianlong Emperor, the first of the "Eight Great Trunks of Western Fujian", don't look at it is a dried sweet potato, but the production process is not simple. After the first steaming and drying, it is necessary to carry out two more re-steaming processes, so it is also called "inverted steamed sweet potatoes", so the sweet potatoes are dry yellow and red, soft and chewy, and very sweet.
Dried sweet potatoes © network
But more often, sweet potatoes are invisible, but they have their flavor. The sticky sweet potato flour is not only the coat of Changting pearl pills, but also the "binder" of fried oysters and paste, without the participation of sweet potato flour, sea oyster frying can not be fried into pieces, and the noodle batter is just a bowl of clear noodle soup. When the sweet potatoes are steamed and pressed into puree, molded into cups, and steamed with minced meat, they become a Fujian snack "sweet potato cup", the golden cup is full of fragrant meat filling, delicious, beautiful and fun. And sweet potato leaves are not only the "vegetables" on people's tables, but also raise piglets white and strong.
Sweet potato cup © Zhihui Yongfeng
Sichuan has a long history of sweet potato cultivation, and Liu Hong, a native of Xichong County during the reign of the Qing Tongzhi, said in "Xichong Bamboo Branch Words": "By asking the usual subsistence plan, poor Dunton is red moss", which shows how important sweet potatoes are in people's daily lives. But then again, "Dunton is red moss" may not be really "pitiful", after all, sweet potatoes can be hungry and delicious, especially the Xichong red moss described in this poem, which has become a "landmark product" today because of its high quality.
Xichong Huangxinyuan Xichong © County People's Government
Located in Xichong, north of Sichuan, because of the abundance of red moss, known as the "country of Huangxin", there is a deep purple soil layer, containing a variety of trace elements, and the local sunshine hours are long, the air is humid, especially suitable for the growth of yellow heart moss. When the sweet potatoes are cut into thin slices, fried in a boiling oil pan until golden and transparent, mixed with peppercorns, salt, monosodium glutamate, chili oil, sesame oil and other condiments, the spicy and crispy, inhaled slag lamp shadow slices are ready, thin moss, golden and translucent, can transmit light and shadow.
Lamp Shadow Slice © Vegetable Food Diary
When sweet potatoes are made into sweet potato flour, the bottom of sour and hot powder, and red amaranth powder is there, and in Sichuan red oil hot pot, sweet potato flour is also an indispensable side dish. Smooth and chewy sweet potato flour, under the blessing of chili peppers and peppercorns, sucking up the spiciness of the soup base, no matter where you eat, eat a bite of such noodles, you can dream back to Sichuan at the moment the noodles enter your throat.
"Sweet potato seeds come from Fanbang, and the average grain is also wonderful; The islanders are full of food and wine, and they look at yam and taro. Roots, stems and leaves can be eaten, and the fierceness of the years can save natural disasters." Although today's sweet potatoes have long been relieved of the heavy responsibility of "life-saving food", they are still countless table stars because of their sweet taste and rich nutrition. The weather is getting cooler, and it's time to get rid of the cold with a roasted sweet potato.
© Photogram.com
Bibliography:
[1] Zhou Yuanhe, "The Historical Geography of Sweet Potato: Birth, Introduction, Spread and Population of Sweet Potato", Chinese Agricultural History, 1983.10.01.
[2] Li Xinsheng and Cui Sipeng, "Re-exploration of the Multiple Paths of Sweet Potato into China in the Ming Dynasty", Historical Archives, 2022.02.15.
[3] Huang Fuming, "Research on the Introduction of Sweet Potato into China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties", Master Thesis, Shandong Normal University, 2011.05.10.
Wen 丨 Chen Manfei
Encyclopedia editor丨Shi Dantong, Xie Zhihang
Photo editor丨Brother Xue
Cover picture丨Picture worm creativity
This article is original by Huaxia Fengwu, unauthorized reproduction is refused