Zhongxiang City, a county-level city in Hubei Province, is located in the central part of Hubei Province, with the Han River running through the city, and the tributaries on both sides of the strait are abundant. In addition, the city is rich in mineral resources, known as the "Central Plains Phosphorus Capital".
Zhongxiang Ancient City has a long history, and there are many documents to tell, and the history of written records is more than 2700 years. During the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the name of the suburb of Ying and Yingzhong, built the Lantai Palace, the palace of the King of Chu, because it was different from the capital, so it was also called Chu Beiyi. During the Qin Dynasty, it belonged to Nan County, and the Han was called Ying County or Jingling County. During the Three Kingdoms period, Wu set up a yamenshu here, also known as Shicheng Shu. For more than 1600 years from the Western Jin Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, it has always been the seat of governance of Jinling County, Yingzhou, Chengtianfu, and Anlu Prefecture, and has also been named Changshou County and Anlu Prefecture. In the Ming Dynasty, three princes, King Yingjing, King Zhuang of Liangzhuang and King Xingxian, were enfeoffed here, especially the Jiajing Emperor was born here, and set up a county to longgen, becoming the prosperous capital of Xingdu.
Zhongxiang, there are many famous specialties, including cloud mist tea, Zhongxiang black rice, rice tea, dragon vegetables, wild kudzu powder, stone brand incense and so on, not only that, Zhongxiang diet is also quite local characteristics.
Crispy strips
As the saying goes, "the strip is crispy and beautiful, and the pot is ten miles fragrant.". The strip pastry is made of refined flour, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and refined salt fertilizer, and is baked by noodles, puff pastry, puff pastry, puff pastry, and cut strips, which have the characteristics of golden color, mellow crispness, and mouth digestion. It is said that since the Tang Dynasty, Zhong Xiang's strip puff pastry can not only be used as a snack and staple food, but also a good food for tea tasting and drinking, all year round, suitable for all ages. In the 10th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, Zhongxiang's specialty shortbread was listed as the imperial dish together with the dragon dish.
Shortbread
Zhangji shortbread is named after a special fat puff pastry, characterized by golden yellow, clear layers, crisp but not broken, oily but not greasy, crispy and delicious. The shortbread is made by wrapping sesame oil and noodles in sesame oil and baking over low heat.
Fish
There are thousands of kinds of open-tasted delicacies, and no matter how good it is, it is better than "Dumplings", for thousands of years, Zhongxiang people have loved to eat dumplings. According to hobbies and different material conditions, various places have formed a series of catfish fat intestines, eggplant cowpeas, catfish and so on. For the production of such foods, folk have clouds: "The main ingredient is cut into fine water and dried, half a powder is added to the seasoning and mixed, the altar is sealed and pickled for several days, and the oil is fried sour and spicy when eating."
Dragon dish
Legend has it that before Jiajing entered Beijing, the imperial family had already had a secret struggle. Forced by the political situation, Empress Zhang issued a secret edict to the three princes and said: "First to be a king, and then to be a subject." The Xingwang Mansion was the farthest away from Beijing, and in order to exceed the time, yan Song offered advice, and Zhu Houcong disguised himself as a Qin prisoner to get into a prison cart and rushed to the capital day and night. Zhu Houcong is the son of the king of the domain, and he is luxurious on weekdays, and it is easy to take a prison cart, but it is difficult to eat rough food on the way. He then ordered the chef in the house to make a dish that ate fish but did not see fish, and if he could not make it, his life would be in danger. There was a chef named Jando, who was skillful and did not make a dish that met the requirements.
One day, when Zhan's wife saw that her husband had not returned late, she brought cooked red amaranth to her husband to eat. The couple pushed each other and accidentally broke the red amaranth skin. Jando made a clever move and realized the recipe! The chefs worked together to make food that ate fish meat without seeing fish meat, which turned out to be fish, meat, and eggs to make a "red amaranth", and some people called it "carrot".
After Zhu Houcongji, he became Jiajing. Zhan Duo was ordered to go to Beijing to cook for the emperor, he improved the red amaranth and renamed it "Panlong Cuisine", that is, the dish eaten by The Dragon, Jiajing ate the new "Panlong Dish", praised it, and ordered people to record it in the palace recipe. Since then, "dragon cuisine" has become a Ming Palace delicacy. By now, it has become a traditional specialty that can be seen at every family's dinner table in The New Year' Eve
Zhong Xiang Pi Egg
Zhongxiang peel eggs are produced in 18 townships, fields, street offices and management areas of Zhongxiang City, such as Fengle, Huji and Shipai. Zhongxiang skin egg body is transparent; the egg white is translucent; the pine flowers are obvious, the pattern is wonderful, like a pine cypress bonsai; the yolk is dark green, the color layer is rich; the taste is soft and tender, the smell is fragrant, and the food is refreshing.
According to records, the word ZhongXiang first appeared in the Records of Emperor Ming Shizong, taking the meaning of "Xiangrui Zhongju". Zhongxiang was also a military stronghold in history. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the wars between the Chu state and the princes of the Central Plains were mostly based on the outskirts of Ying; in the 19th year of King Heng of Zhou (701 BC), the princes of the Chu Wu Assembly personally led a large army to cut down sui at Shenlu (in present-day Dongqiao Town); during the Western Jin Dynasty, Yang Hudu oversaw Jingzhou, and after entering Shicheng, the land west of Shicheng was all owned, and the State of Wu was frustrated; in the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao led a peasant rebel army to conquer Yingzhou and Great Zhenjunwei.
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