Chaoshan is the origin of flavor
For every true "foodie", Shantou is a must-visit place. Chen Xiaoqing, the chief director who created the first and second seasons of the documentary "China on the Tip of the Tongue", said: "If a Chinese says he is a gourmet, but he has never been to Shantou, he cannot be called a gourmet." ”
Chen Xiaoqing loves Chaoshan deeply, and also specially produced the food documentary "Flavor Origin Chaoshan "Flavor Origin Chaoshan ". In his view, Shantou can be said to be an "island" in China's food scene.
The reason why Shantou is called a gastronomic island is because under the influence of unique historical and geographical factors, many traditional food cultures have been preserved.
On the one hand, Chaoshan has very favorable natural conditions and relatively developed agricultural production, but the population is large. In order to increase the output of agricultural products, Chaoshan farmers have advocated intensive farming since ancient times, and there is a saying that "cultivating the land is like embroidery".
This spirit extends to the diet, where attention to cooking processes and the perfection of cooking techniques are required. The cooking methods of Teochew cuisine include stewing, stewing, frying, cooking (steaming), stir-frying, soaking, frying, buckle, clearing, drizzling, burning, etc., and even pay attention to knife work, ingredients, side dishes, and heat are meticulous.
On the other hand, because it is located on the southeast coast of the mainland, it has been a penal colony for degraded officials since ancient times. Han Yue, a literary magnate of the Tang Dynasty, once said: "A letter plays nine heavens, and the sunset degrades Chaoyang Road eight thousand." This is the case of ancient officialdom.
Because it is far away from the politically developed areas of the Central Plains, most of the people who are relegated to Chaoshan are "undoable" and begin to pay attention to their own needs, and food has become the common pursuit of Chaoshan people.
The food is in Guangzhou, the kitchen is out of Fengcheng, and the taste is in Chaoshan . You are on the streets of Chaoshan and it is difficult to find something unpalatable. In the first season of "Tip of the Tongue", Chen Xiaoqing showed a street delicacy - sugar and scallion pancakes. A thin cake can make "eat" this thing, rich in the artistic atmosphere of life.
Ancient "tea pairing", sugar and shallot pancakes
Spread out a sheet of dough pancakes, put a rectangular snow-white shallot on top, sprinkle with crushed sesame seeds, crushed peanuts and a "finishing touch" of coriander, and finally roll up the pancake and put it in your mouth, you can immediately feel the fragrant, crunchy texture and sweet taste. This is Chaoshan classic "tea pairing" - sugar and shallot pancakes.
Chaoshan people who pursue eating and drinking, especially love to drink "kung fu tea". The tea is slightly bitter, so the "tea pairing" that degrades the bitter taste came into being.
"Tea pairing" is a variety of sweets in Chaoshan that are suitable for eating with tea, which can be pastries, such as the famous wife cake, cake and curd cake; It can also be pickled preserves, such as hawthorn pulp, honey bayberry, Shiotsu grapes, etc.
The sugar and scallion pancakes that have been served on "The Tip of the Tongue" are a Chaoshan style traditional food that is very suitable for tasting with Kung Fu tea.
The sugar onion pancake was created during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and Guo Zizhang, the prefect of Chaozhou at that time, praised: "The green onion candy of the tide is extremely white and extremely loose, and there is absolutely no scum." "Originally derived from the ancient Cold Food Festival, which is now the Qingming Festival, there is a custom in the Chaoshan area of eating sugar and onion pancakes to serve cold food and commemorate the ancestors.
It's called "sugar shallot", but there is no green onion
Sugar + green onion, suddenly sounds like a heavy taste combination. Although the name has the word "green onion", it is not actually made of green onion, but is made of sugar cubes with holes in the middle and glued into rows, like segments of green onions as white as snow, so it is named "sugar shallot".
The process of making shallots is very complicated, white sugar is mixed with a small amount of flour, steamed to remove water, and made into gluttony; Then simmer for 3 hours to make syrup;
Then while it is hot, pull it into a long strip with a green onion hole in the middle, cut the horizontal street into segments, and arrange them side by side in an orderly manner, so that the shallots with a satin-like luster on the surface are ready.
Similar to spring roll crust, the pancake crust is made with flour and water, and then blanched on a hot pan to form a translucent, thin crust.
Rolled up with a pie crust and shallots sprinkled with sesame powder, the shallots inside taste crunchy and non-sticky, the taste is sweet and delicious, and each bite retains the flavor that has been passed down for more than 400 years, which is the hometown taste missed by countless Chaoshan people who go out the most.
The homonym "cong" gives a good meaning
The "green onion" of shallot is the same as "cong", so the Chaoshan people give shallots the meaning of being smart and intelligent. In many areas of Chaoshan there is a custom of offering shallots to Confucius, and parents pray that their children will be wise and enlightened and succeed in their studies. Every exam, relatives and friends will also buy some sugar shallots to give to relatives and children at home, hoping that they can do well in the exam.
In the past, I used to buy shallot pancakes on the side of Chaoshan Street, and when packing, the shallots were packed in white plastic barrels, and the pancakes were packed in plastic bags, which was a local characteristic scenery. However, this traditional packaging method is difficult to store for a long time in summer.
Now the shallot pancake has also been re-packaged, the pancake and the shallot are sealed separately, and then put into the same box, which can preserve the shallots for a long time, and can become a good-looking, generous, and portable gift.
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