Mirakawa Village Food List
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1. Miaochuan
Miaochuan is a small place in Tianshui, and Tianshui is a big place in Gansu, which is not a small place in China. Every place is an exact existence, the big does not contain the small, the small does not see the big, everything is silent, and it seems to hide the mystery. Between clarity and ambiguity, the personality of people can be seen the most, such as the Miaochuan people often say: wearing a long work coat, with the heart of the landlord. It can be seen that the people here are blatant, people do not bow their heads easily, and they live humbly but stubbornly.
The topography of the temple river can be summarized by one river and one temple. The river is a piece of river land that starts from the tile kiln and ends at the lazy dragon pool, and there are fifteen households distributed in three places, and the heads of the households are Wang Jianxiong, Wang Quan, and Wang Huixi in the south; Huang Xianju, Huang Conglin, Huang Xianbin, Huang Xianqi, Huang Liangsheng, Wang Zhiqiang, Li Genlai, Yu Jinbao, Xian Xiangdong, Wang Xiaoming in the north; Wu Pengfei and Yang Xiaolan in the west, and later these two also moved into the north. The number of people in each household varies, from nearly ten people to as few as one. The land on two slopes of one river allows these fifteen families to multiply and be self-sufficient.
One temple refers to the temple on the side of Wang Jianxiong, Wang Quan, and Wang Huixi on the side of the flower cliff, called the stone cliff temple, there is a sheet hanging stone on the left side of the temple, covered with a wooden stick, it is said to be a hundred years. The stone cliff temple has not been entered for many years, but the murals on the walls are as fresh as ever. It was renovated a few years ago and the murals have been preserved. Below the stone cliff temple is the Huamiao River, whose waterhole reflects the stone cliff in the water. People build two logs over the river as a bridge, which is quite convenient. There are several caves on the Huashi Cliff, and birds used to chirp in and out, and after the temple was repaired, many people came, and birds have never been seen since.
To the east of Miaochuan is the Great Temple Ditch, where the Miaochuan people dig medicinal herbs, cut bamboo, chop firewood and herd cattle. The wild vegetables eaten by the Miaochuan people are all picked from Damiaogou. Corresponding to the big temple ditch is the small temple ditch in the west, which can also dig medicinal herbs, but there is no bamboo, let alone chopping firewood. For a few years, wild boar appeared in Xiaomiaogou, when wild boar was not yet included in the scope of protection, and some people caught it and ate a few delicious wild game meat.
In the past, the drinking water of the three places was spring water, one eating well water, and the other eating the stream water of Damiaogou. After the unified implementation of tap water, Miaochuan people buried water pipes to draw water from Xiaomiaogou, which has been much more convenient since then. Whether it is spring water, well water and stream water in the past, or tap water later, the meals made are the same taste. Miaochuan people say that tap water is not good, if it breaks, do not drop a drop, we use spring water, well water and stream water for cooking, the taste is the same. Miaochuan people love face, love in stubbornness and confession of death.
People who recognize death may be related to eating habits, such as eating a type of food for a long time, which will affect perceptions and cultural psychology. The corn pasta eaten by the Miaochuan people includes steamed rice, churned balls, pot crucians, setsuki (noodles), bazi buns, etc.; Wheat pasta includes cheek noodles, noodle sheets, flat food, steamed buns, flapjacks, etc.; Commonly eaten vegetables include potatoes, cabbage, cabbage, beans, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, etc.; Seasonings include leeks, coriander, garlic, peppercorns, etc.; Wild vegetables include toon, oolong, celery, baby vegetables, wild shallots, etc. Miaochuan is mountainous, rainfall is abundant, crops and vegetables grow well, and people are never afraid of going hungry.
With such abundant food, the Miaochuan people have formed a survival concept of self-sufficiency and stubbornness, and heaven and earth let me live. For example, on a rainy day, the men of Miaochuan drank cans of tea, ate baked buns, idly talked about the people and the emperor, and tried to be comfortable. The head (housewife) in the house made a meal, let the doll come to call his man back to eat, although the man drank cans of tea, ate baked buns for a long time, but finally returned is not full, he got up and returned with the doll, waiting for him is a dinner, often a cheek noodles, or pulp noodles.
Second, eat
In Miaochuan Village, people generally do not stir-fry much, even if they are stir-fried, they are not good at stir-frying, but small dishes are quite rich, no matter any meal in the morning, noon and evening, small dishes are indispensable. Miaochuan people call eating side dishes "lower rice", which means that the next bite of eating is to eat small dishes, which are delicious and delicious.
After eating, it has become synonymous with side dishes.
Eat corn dumplings, churned balls, crucian carp, pulp water noodles, etc., the rice includes stir-fried pickles, pickled carrot sticks, cold spinach vermicelli, fried chili rings, fried shredded potatoes, fried leeks, and the small dish has garlic cloves, oil and spicy seeds, salted salt, and a small pot of balsamic vinegar. Not every meal has to have so many meals, at least two or three are enough. Some meals may not move a chopstick, but they must also be prepared, that is what life looks like. The pairing of the rice is also very important, such as cornmeal is sweet, the rice should be sour and spicy, it is rich in taste and delicious.
Miaochuan people call wheat noodles white noodles, which are used to make cheek noodles, steamed buns, flapjacks, etc. In the past, there were few white noodles, and Miaochuan people could not eat several meals a year, even if they ate a meal of cheek noodles, it was a happy thing at home, or to do something big, the man would say roll out the noodles, and the hostess would roll out the noodles with the noodles, boil out the cheek toppings, and the whole family was happy to eat. In addition to the common ones, stir-fried chili rings and sour and spicy shredded potatoes are essential, because Miaochuan people call the noodles sweet rice, and must be accompanied by the same sour and spicy rice as eating cornmeal. There are also syrup noodles, which Miaochuan people call sour rice, which is accompanied by spicy and salty rice, such as fried chili rings, stir-fried shredded pickles, and fried shredded pickles. Some people's breakfast is steamed buns and a bowl of soup with slurry water, but the next rice is cold cucumber, vinegar pickled garlic slices, oil poured pickles, etc., and the food is also delicious.
With the meal, simple meals have more flavor and a sense of ritual. People eat one or two bites of rice, and then eat another bite of rice, which is tasteful and flavorful. For example, eating cheek noodles, housewives will deliberately put less salt in cheeks, and eaters will put salt, vinegar, oil and spicy seeds according to their own taste, eating smoothly and enjoying safety.
There was a family that made noodles and served the meal, but the doll accidentally knocked over the meal, and then the meal could not be eaten anymore. The man kicked the doll in the butt and scolded the doll out. The doll's cry, mixed with the sound of rain outside the house, hit the ground hard. The anger of the Miaochuan people is heavy, and they can't suppress their temperament even if they eat. After many years, the doll will grow up and become the one who kicks the next generation of dolls.
In the past, the rice was single, Miaochuan people only clamped a little chopsticks, the beautiful name is "dan chopsticks", which means a meaning, now there are more varieties of rice, the name of playing chopsticks, is gone.
Third, eat the phase
Eating meets human quality, but also human nature, and also sees human destiny. The north is different from the south, so the people of the two places eat differently. Northerners have traditionally eaten large chunks of meat and drank wine, while Southerners have exquisite dishes and meat and vegetarian pairings. For example, drinking, there is a saying that the Northeast tiger can't kill the northwest wolf, and the northwest wolf can't do the southern sheep. Different regions, people naturally show their individuality in eating and drinking, and even get carried away.
The eating appearance of Miaochuan people is mostly fast, direct and comfortable, the same dish or bowl of rice, eaten in different places, there are different situations. For example, the person who came back from work brought him a bowl of sour water noodles, and he took the bowl and ate it in one breath, and you couldn't tell if he was eating or drinking. People who work hard and contribute are also accustomed to eating, and they can't slow down anyway.
The appearance of eating at the dinner table at home depends on the season, such as when the farm is busy, even if it is breakfast, it must be eaten quickly, and the old man will throw a sentence when slow: the sun (sun, more refers to time) does not wait for people, and after speaking, he takes the farm tools and goes out. The young man quickly stuffed the last bites of food into his mouth, got up and ran outside. If a child or young person eats quickly during the leisure of the farm, he will also be accused by the elders: there is no hurry, eat the bread well, drink the soup well, so that the crops will not be in vain and suffer so much.
There is no life in the field, and the eating is slow. After winter, when the snow is icy and the cold wind blows, people rarely go out, and eating is much slower. Miaochuan people call eating warming the body, so eat slowly and the body will naturally be warm. Even eat two meals a day after winter, eat breakfast later, you can include lunch, and after eating outside to bask in the sun for a while, feel very comfortable. Dinner was eaten a little early, and it was finished at four or five o'clock. The climate in Miaochuan is cold, and after eating, the earthen kang is burned, and the kang is warmed as soon as it gets dark. The people of Miaochuan call this a warm kang, and live a comfortable and relaxed life.
There is work in the field, and the food is very fast. It is often said that wheat yellow does not land in three or five days. Some people did not even care about eating, so they went down to the ground at dawn, ate the delivered food in the field at noon, and after eating a mouthful, they cut the wheat again, and did not return until dark. When I got home, I had dinner, which was rich and solid. This meal is generally eaten on the kang table, and the diner eats slowly and leisurely with his back to the kang cabinet. There is no need to rush to eat at this point, and because this year's harvest is good, eating looks calmly and comforting, and you can faintly feel a sense of happiness.
The Miaochuan people are northerners, and the typical inflection and humility of their northerners can be seen from eating.
Fourth, have a meal
The synonym of Miaochuan people to invite guests, in addition to "to eat, to eat" and so on, whether it is to invite in person, or to ask people to talk, it is the meaning of invitation. If you have a treat at home, it is a big thing, the guest should prepare in advance, and the invited person must solemnly attend the appointment. It is usually the case that the invitee should bring tea, eggs, etc., and do not go empty-handed.
Most of the dishes are stewed pork, stir-fried chicken, steamed buckle meat, braised tofu, scrambled eggs, braised meatballs and other meat dishes, while vegetarian dishes include braised eggplant, fried beans, fried cucumbers, stir-fried cabbage, etc. Pigs and chickens are home-raised, vegetables are homegrown, ready to use, and endless.
There were also outsiders who were catching up with a family who was eating, originally to say something, but the host quickly said that he was big, came to eat, said and stuffed a bowl of rice into the man's hand, signaling to eat first and then say something. If the man came to ask for an explanation, such as if the children of this family broke the glass of his house, or the cattle and sheep of this family ate his crops, he came to make a claim, but the people had stuffed the bowl and chopsticks into his hand, and after eating another bowl, he could not open his mouth anyway, and after a few pleasantries, he got up and left.
If the family wants to do a red and white thing, you must go to the door in advance to invite relatives, neighbors and associates (friends), and the way to invite you is to invite you to dinner one day. Those who are invited to talk to red and white will first eat a stew to pad their stomachs, and then formally eat a meal, usually thirteen flowers, or nine bowls of three rows. At this time, they were all invited to eat, so people no longer talked about crops, but had solemn expressions, looking like they were in the midst of a big event. It is no wonder that whether it is a red event or a white matter, although it is a major event of a certain family, the invitees are all relatives and friends, and they must save face. Not only that, but also to give up seats for the elderly, pick dishes for children, and eat by themselves for a while, eating a lot more elegantly and calmly.
If it is your turn to invite someone to eat a meal, you have to be busy for many days until the end of the matter, and you don't care about eating a bowl of stew with fried tofu. A few years later, someone still remembered that person did a meal, saying that you did a good job that time, and since then let Miaochuan's meal go up a notch, and the person was very happy, spending money and busy for so long, finally not in vain. But some people disagree, saying cool words on the side, isn't it just to hold a meal in such a small place as Miaochuan, how good can it be to make a big day? When the man heard this, his face turned dark again.
5. Serve rice
Serving rice is a tradition of the Miaochuan people, which means that they make delicious food at home, such as stewed pork, fried oil cakes, fried bacon, and flat food, etc., to serve a bowl to relatives and friends, lonely elderly, or elders. Housewives will choose larger bowls, compact the dishes, put two steamed buns on top, and cover them with a piece of gauze for the children to serve. Children who serve rice must have eaten first, otherwise they will not be able to help but eat a few bites halfway, some children have poor self-discipline, and they will eat all in one breath, take the empty bowl back and say that it was delivered, and they will never be known by their families.
In the former Miaochuan Village, serving rice was the best meat dish, and I usually didn't eat much, but I had to cook more when I ate everything, and try to let people in difficulty eat a bowl. The meat dishes served over will be put down together with the bowl, and those old people cherish the rice, and will divide a bowl of meals into several meals, and wash the bowl and send it back after eating.
Miagawa Village killed pigs a few years ago, and would stew a large pot and invite the whole village to eat it, a scene called eating pig-killing vegetables. No matter who kills the New Year pig, each family will be told not to cook dinner, and without exception they will be invited over for a meal. Today your family kills a pig to eat in your house, tomorrow his family kills a pig and eats it at his house, and the cycle goes on and on. Those old people who have difficulty walking around, or do not want to move, must specially bring them food.
During the Spring Festival, the dry boats, lanterns and flags that are sung two or three days in advance are usually carried out in temples, and at noon, every household prepares a meal and serves it, and everyone eats which one encounters, and no one picks. When it came time to sing the Yangge every night, there were more people, so they changed the serving of rice to the order of rice, and every household still cooked the meal, and went to call the people who sang the Yangge and watched the Yangge to eat. If you can't call someone, or if the meal you cook hasn't been eaten, you feel uneasy.
6. Serving rice
For a few years, the bamboo in Miaochuan sold well, and people went to cut bamboo after harvesting autumn grain, and they could earn a lot of money after a busy season. The bamboo in Miaochuan is different from southern bamboo, the highest is more than one meter, but it is often a dense large area, and those who are lucky can cut it for several days. A hundred pieces of bamboo cut are counted as a bundle, but the Miaochuan people are used to calling it one, some people can cut ten handfuls a day, and some people can only cut two or three handfuls a day, and the strength and dexterity of hands and feet are the key reasons.
At noon, each family prepares a meal and sends it to the family who cut the bamboo. At first, each family had one person deliver food, but later everyone felt that there were too many people who delivered food, so they chose one person to deliver it centrally every day, and each family took turns. Everyone called the people on duty to deliver meals, and the other families called them to carry rice. In those years, I had been cutting bamboo, and one of them was called down to carry rice.
Most of the rice is solid meals, such as rice, steamed buns with stir-fried meat, etc., so that the bamboo cutting family can be fed so that they can continue to work in the afternoon. The housewives served the rice in crockpots, and let the people on duty carry it in the basket. The back basket is specially used to deliver rice, and it is made by the best anxious children in the village. When he was a child, he grew to ten years old, and he was still only two or three years old, and his mother said anxiously, My anxious baby, when will you grow up? He grew a little later, but was still short, and the one who was in a hurry was called away, and few people knew his name.
Although the anxious baby has no hands and feet, he is also in the ranks of cutting bamboo, and when he cuts bamboo, he picks straight, and the curved one is never in his field of vision. Because of this, he can only cut one or two handfuls a day, and he can't earn much money after a winter. One year when the month came, he finished eating with everyone, and said in a quiet tone that he would not have to eat rice in the mountains next year, and then smiled faintly. In the past, some people said that the anxious baby would prophesy, so they felt that the bamboo had been cut for so many years, and maybe it would not grow new bamboo next year, then it really could not be cut. Unexpectedly, no one bought bamboo the following year, everyone was idle, and the term rice was no longer mentioned.
7. Change meals
Three meals a day, every meal cooked by the Zhang family is different from the Li family's, and the Li family's and the Wang family's are completely different. The good food is in other people's homes, which is psychological reasons, because they are used to eating their own meals, and occasionally eat other people's meals, so they remember the taste and miss it.
So there was a change of rice.
When his own family cooks and does not like to eat, he brings a bowl to someone else's house, claiming that the dolls in the family have no appetite, and his aunt (the customary term for the neighbor's housewife) scoops a bowl of your family's rice, and our family leaves this bowl for your dolls to eat. The housewife quickly scooped up a bowl of rice for the man, and said that she would serve it again when she had finished eating. Just one bowl of rice is enough, even if you change it again at the next meal, you can't change it frequently at the same meal, so you lose etiquette.
People who like to change rice, mainly because their own meals are either short of oil or meatless, so they can change a bowl of other people's rice to relieve their hunger. Miaochuan people have a very sensitive sense of smell, and can accurately smell whose house is cooking, and once he is moved, a bowl of food from someone else's house must be his. Some people analyze the reasons for changing meals, thinking that their sense of smell is sensitive because they cannot meet the taste supplement for a long time, just like thirst is not just the mouth wants to drink water, but the nerves in the body are affecting people. Therefore, in places like Mirakawa, changing rice is the only way to change tastes, and it becomes a habit over time.
The rice changer mentioned above is under the banner of changing food for dolls, in fact, to satisfy his own appetite, and the bowl of food in exchange was eaten by him before he got home. The family who went to change the meal the next day said that his family's bud festival (cornmeal) was delicious last night, and he ate a large bowl, and he had an uncomfortable stomach when he slept at night. Word spread that the man's change of food spread, and he was no longer embarrassed to change the meal.
Another person lives exclusively by changing meals, and he goes to someone else's house to change a little of each meal. His bowl of rice is clear and watery, but day after day, he changes more than a dozen different meals, and eats it with flavor. One person couldn't stand it and said to the man, "The way you live like this is equivalent to the whole village raising you." That person said that if there is Miaochuan Village, there will be a change of rice, there must be a person who changes the rice, what ability do you have to change? If others didn't say anything more, he still lived by changing meals until he was old.
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Wang Clan, currently living in Urumqi, has published the essay collections "Page 1", "Beast Tribe", "Book of Tuva", "Food for Heaven"; the novel collections "Thirteen Wolves" and "Wolf Death"; The novels "Wolf Sky", "Manas River", "Dabanbing", "Zero Kilometer" and so on. He has won the Chinese People's Liberation Army Literary and Art Award, Tianshan Literature and Art Award, "Chinese Writer" Award, Present Prose Award, Sanmao Prose Award, Lin Yutang Prose Award, "Shuofang" Novel Award, "Western" Prose Award, Feng Zikai Prose Award, etc. His works have been translated into English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, German and other languages and published overseas.
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