Why should lion's head choose fat and lean meat?
Why can I only cut and not chop when making stuffing?
Why do you have to simmer for a few hours?
……
To tell the truth, a bowl of lion's head is much more exquisite!
When I was a child, there was a very popular TV series called "Divine Doctor Xi Laile", which told the story of the folk divine doctor Xi Laile from Cangzhou at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Xilaile has three major characteristics, one is the medical skill, the second is afraid of the wife, and the third is the iron lion head made by the beautiful female boss. The beauty boss is the eldest unmarried owner of the restaurant, Sai Xi Shi, who is beautiful and the iron lion's head is also a must. The huge lion's head was full and round, and when the chopsticks bit down, the gravy trembled slightly, calling for joy to come to mind.
Speaking of this domineering lion's head, it is actually a famous dish of Huaiyang, which is said to have been invented by the Sui Emperor. When the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty came down to Jiangnan, he brought this delicacy to the capital. Various legends suggest that the lion's head has the "appearance of an emperor". In the eyes of the common people, they like to please the "lion's head" and the auspicious meaning. Whether it is the palace of the official eunuch or the family of ordinary people, the feast of the New Year or the wedding and funeral, the lion's head is a grand finale dish that can ascend to the elegance. However, this big dish, even if it is a family cook, can be cooked according to the recipe. Take the fat and lean pork belly, cut it into pomegranate grains, add the water chestnut or lotus grains that can make the taste more crisp and tender, add the shallot and ginger foam, cooking wine, soy sauce/yellow sauce, salt to taste, beat the egg, sprinkle a little corn starch water, beat it until it is strong, and use your hands to form a meatball. The lion's head can be determined, and after that, it is either braised or stewed, each suitable.
Of course, you may also think that you understand the mystery of the lion's head: Isn't it made into large meatballs? If this is the attitude, then you must not be able to make delicious "meatballs".
Eating is an attitude, a pursuit of excellence, and an exploration of the causal relationship between ingredients and food. A bowl of lion's head that has been passed down for thousands of years, through the hands of so many chefs and women, each ingredient and step has undergone countless experiments and improvements, so that its production process is full of mysteries, and every step has a head.
Let's just say this is the meat of a lion's head. Some chefs say fat 3 skinny 7 is not woody, some chefs say fat 7 skinny 3 mouth melt, the difference between the fat and lean ratio must be around many beginners. In fact, this has a lot to do with the practice of lion heads. Generally speaking, stewing lion's head, stewing can be up to four or five hours, then it is fat and thin, and the fat of the fat meat will be dissolved into the clear soup during the long-term stewing process, so that the lion's head tastes smooth and tender, and the soup is fragrant. The braised lion's head is fat and lean, fat meat can dissolve the dry wood of lean meat, if the fat meat is too much, it is slightly greasy under the braised sauce. Want to understand the role of fat, lean meat, understand the power of time in the production process, there is no need to worry about whether the fat and lean ratio is 7:3, or 4:6, and do not necessarily use pork belly, if you understand the characteristics of various parts of pork, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that the lion's head made of shoulder blade meat is more refreshing and delicate, and has a chewy head.
The rough but delicate lion's head is also a very delicate job in the production process. Don't forget, lion's head is a famous dish in Huaiyang, and Huaiyang is known for its knife work. This lion's head pomegranate-sized meat grains are all cut out with a knife, not chopped, let alone directly to buy the meat stuffing stirred in the supermarket. The same piece of meat, different knife techniques, will there really be such a big difference? Yes, lion's head is stewed with effort. During a simmering/burning for several hours, the lean meat shrinks and tightens, while the fat melts and penetrates, enveloping the lean meat. The exact "cut" gives the meat grains a properly uniform size, well-defined edges and corners, moderate voids, and a double taste that is both firm and soft.
The loose flesh condenses into balls by a powerful beating when blending the filling. The experience of the teacher is that the water balls are stirred smoothly, the dry croquettes are carried hard, and the white/braised balls are broken into a ball. This means that different balls are used in different ways to make the meat stronger. The balls are eaten with the texture of the balls, and the meat should be constantly whipped in one direction, so that the water can be beaten out, and the meridians and stickiness inside the meat are pocketed, and the balls are chewy to eat. Croquettes, with the way of stirring, is a little lack of moisture and leads to too hard, lack of crispness, so use to carry. And braised / white boiled balls, the balls have to be stewed in the soup for a long time can not be scattered, the meat balls to the skin, then you have to ask starch to help, add a little corn starch water, repeatedly beaten, until the glue (sticky), the meat can easily form a ball, can withstand the test of stewing.
If you want to boil, you can use frying or boiling to set a shape first, when frying, you must first burn the oil to 40% or 50% hot, the meatballs can be bubbling, immediately turn off the heat, wait for the meatballs to be immersed in the oil after the part is slightly fixed, and then open the fire, gently shake the bottom of the pan, so that the meatballs are not sticky. Then sauté the spices to make the aroma, add broth, soy sauce, cooking wine, etc. to adjust the braised sauce, and simmer for more than 2 hours. If you want to stew, you should put the pot in cold water, cover and cook until high heat, then reduce the heat, open the lid, cover each lion's head with a cabbage leaf, and simmer for more than 4 hours. Cabbage has breathability, that is, it can protect the lion's head, the lion's head will not cause the top part to be dry and hard due to floating, and it can add a fresh fragrance to the soup.
These are also details, but if you say it carefully, you will find that there are so many "exquisite" in it. You will slowly understand the nuances of food in the step-by-step "exquisiteness", and the nuances of this step add up to a famous dish. Those lion heads that replace traditional water chestnuts with abalone, crab powder, shrimp roe and even autumn pears are all in the details, with the transformation of ingredients, a little bit to enrich the layers and taste of lion heads.
There is only one step away from the banal and the amazing.
The development of gastronomy to the present, the deliberate pursuit of "authentic" and "authentic" approach may be a kind of sentimentality, after all, the practice of food will change with the changes in ingredients, culture, and people's inner feelings, but there are always rules to follow. The lion's head, which has been handed down for thousands of years, has been polished by countless hands, precipitating a thick and warm taste, and now it has to pass through the hands of you and me to pass on this dense and fragrant taste.
(This article is the original kitchen lady diary su, if you reprint, please contact me first, thank you!) ）