It is said that during the Republic of China period, Tianjin had a passage of smooth words: "Mei Lanfang's appearance, Ma Lianliang's singing, Li Duokui's Cai'er, Mu Xiangzhen's dishes!" "This Mu Xiangzhen, who can be juxtaposed with Mei Lanfang, Ma Lianliang, and Li Duokui, the three Masters of Peking Opera, is actually a chef. But he is not an ordinary chef, but the chief chef of Tianjin and even Beijing. When he was young, he traveled to Shanghai to cook for Einstein, and later returned to Tianjin and made friends with Ma Lianliang and Mei Lanfang by virtue of his craft.
In 1922, Einstein was invited by the Japanese "Reform Society" to give a lecture in Japan, and his wife Elsa passed through Shanghai on the morning of November 13 on the Japanese mail ship "Kitano Maru" and landed at Huishan Wharf. At noon, Einstein and his party went to the Bund Poinsettia restaurant for dinner. YiPin Xiang Restaurant is famous for its Chinese Western cuisine, which is an improved Western restaurant that caters to the tastes of Chinese, called Fan Restaurant. Einstein praised Chinese food: "Where there is an ancient civilization, its cooking must also be developed, and this is the case in China." ”
(Einstein in Shanghai)
Tianjin chef Mu Xiangzhen, who was 20 years old, worked as a chef at Shanghai Yipinxiang Restaurant and carefully prepared this delicious meal for Einstein. Within a few years, Mu Xiangzhen went to the beach with his craftsmanship. He exclusively developed salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate three-in-one "salty noodles" seasoning, fried dishes with thick taste, good taste, long aftertaste, can be said to be a major invention of cooking techniques, exclusive secret recipe, I don't know now in the back kitchen of the restaurant, whether this "salty noodles" is still circulating.
At the age of 26, Mu Xiangzhen married a Shanghai girl, and after the marriage, the family returned to Tianjin, and Mu Xiangzhen went to HuifangLou to take charge of the stove. Huifang Lou was a famous halal restaurant in Tianjin at that time. Mr. Ma Sanli's cross-talk "The Art of Naming" mentions: "Engaging in objects, the two people have a meal after watching the movie, where to eat?" Huifang Building! Private room, cottage, two people! ”
In 1911, Shi Xiaochuan edited the "Guide to Tianjin" included four halal mutton restaurants in Hongbin Building, Changchun Building, Huifang Building and Yanbin Building; in the following years, there were eight halal mutton restaurants in Tianjin, including Xiangbin Building, Huibin Building, Tongqing Building, Daguan Building, Yingbin Building, Fugui Building, Changbin Building, and Yanchun Building, plus the first four, known as the "Twelfth Floor". It can be seen that the influence of HuifangLou in the past few decades.
(Old photo of Tianjin)
When He was in charge of the stove in Huifang Lou, Mu Xiangzhen was 30 years old and was already a master chef. He stir-fried which to hot spoon cold oil, which to cool spoon hot oil, which to cool spoon cold oil, which to hot spoon hot oil, all have their own experience summary.
Once, a master eater asked the back kitchen to make a "stir-fried ice core". Mu Xiangzhen heard that he had met a connoisseur, but this dish was difficult for him, he let the small worker find artificial ice cubes, smashed into the size of walnuts, on the ice cubes on the bread of the bean skin, hanging egg white paste, fried, out of the pot poured with the sweet and sour sauce prepared in advance on the table, the ice cubes have not yet had time to melt, the bean skins are creaky and crispy, the ice cubes are crunchy, how does the taste? It must be average, but Mu Xiangzhen's kung fu and skills have reached the realm of divinity. The eater had to obey, invited Mu Xiangzhen, toasted him with a glass of wine, and rewarded him with ten yuan heads.
Mu Xiangzhen's cooking skills are eclectic, he often asks the chefs of the Small Halal Hall and the Han Min Pavilion for advice, and there is a master Wang Chuntong who makes stew cakes in Liaoning Lu Ensheng Restaurant, which is known as a must in Tianjin, and Mu Xiangzhen has personally visited the door to ask for advice. Coming from a poor background, he loves to use low-priced ingredients to cook, he is good at a chicken spinach dish, using ordinary chicken breast and spinach, can be made into salty, delicious, soft and smooth exquisite dishes.
(Ma Lianliang)
He has a point of view that any part of the ingredient has its value, and there are subtle differences in taste. For example, stir-fried whole crab, crab should be used both male and female, and there must be large sandwich meat, thigh meat, crab body meat, crab yellow, crab oil, and less. On the basis of this concept, Mu Xiangzhen gradually developed the "whole sheep seat" in Huifang Building.
The Qing Dynasty gourmand Yuan Ming mentioned in the "Suiyuan Food List" that "there are seventy-two kinds of whole sheep methods, which can be eaten, but only eighteen or nineteen kinds... Although the plate and bowl are all lamb, the taste is different. Mu Xiangzhen was the most important promoter of the "whole sheep table" during the Republic of China, and he increased the number of whole sheep dishes from 72 to 108 kinds, plus a total of 150 kinds of refined refreshments, which competed with the Manchu and Han all seats.
The whole sheep table pursues "eating sheep does not see sheep, eating sheep does not feel sheep". The choice of ingredients is accurate to the difference between every inch of meat quality on the sheep. Huifang Lou also invited the help of the literati yashi to give various dishes an elegant and beautiful dish name.
(Ma Lianliang's favorite grilled sea sheep)
For example, you can make three dishes with sheep ears - the ear screams "welcome the fan", the middle of the ear is called "double flying cui", and the ear root is called "Dragon Gate Corner". You can make three dishes with a sheep's nose - the nose screams "Picking Lingzhi", the nose bridge is called "Wangfeng Slope", and the nose crisp bone is called "Ming Bone Fish". The dish made from the tip of the tongue of the sheep tongue is called "Falling Water Spring", the dish made of the root of the tongue is called "Yingcao Xiang", and the dish made of meat on the side of the tongue is called "Drinking Stream Terrace". Different parts of the heart from the heart to the tip of the heart can be made into six dishes, namely "Ding Furnace Cover", "Lifting Stove Top", "Crested Crown", "Stir-fried Linglong", "Seven Holes Lingtai" and "AnnanTai". The upper and lower eyelids of the sheep can also be cooked, and the name is "Ming Kai Night".
After leaving Huifang Building, Mu Xiangzhen went to the Yuezhong Gui Restaurant to take charge. Yuezhonggui is located in the southeast corner of the intersection of Jianwu Avenue and Rongji Avenue in Nanshi, with less than 200 square meters upstairs and downstairs, which is not a big hotel. But where Mu Xiangzhen went, customers followed.
When Mr. Ma Lianliang came to Tianjin to perform in the Republic of China, he always had to thank his friends by the way, and the first choice restaurant was Yuezhong Gui, the only reason, because there was Mu Xiangzhen here. Boss Ma himself is a gourmet, can eat and cook, usually he often orders four dishes: stewed bird's nest, braised shark fin, scallion fried lamb, old pop three, the rest of the dishes are arranged by other guests. Before opening the table, Boss Ma first went to the kitchen to meet Master Mu, talk about family customs, and talk about Beijing opera.
(Ma Lianliang Tianjin Former Residence Knotty Building)
Sometimes Boss Ma also invited Master Mu to his own home in the British Concession (now the Fifth Avenue Hebei Road Knotty Building) as a guest, of course, more importantly, cooking, Master Mu was willing. Mr. Ma Lianliang loves to eat the grilled sea sheep made by Mu Xiangzhen.
This is a famous dish in Shanxi. Simply put, put the shark fin in a small basin and add beef tendons, chicken wings, chicken thighs, seasonings, and broth to steam for an hour. Cut the eight pieces of sheep (water hair sheep hoof tendon, sheep spinal cord, sheep brain, sheep eye, sheep gourd, lamb tripe mushroom head, lamb tripe, sheep scatter dan) into long squares, sheep spinal cord, sheep brain with small fire, and the other six are blanched three times with high heat to remove the dirty smell and smell. Eight pieces of sheep are herded on a high fire spoon, and the top of the fire is opened, and the thick and boiled mustard is plated. Put the shark fin into the soup pot and heat it, collect the juice over high heat, simmer on the eight pieces of lamb, cover it completely, and serve. Of course, there are many details in this process, this dish is expensive and laborious, and the average person can't afford to eat it, known as "the first big dish in Halal".
Mr. Mei Lanfang came to Tianjin to perform, and also specially went to the middle of the moon to eat, which became a big news at that time, and onlookers blocked Rongji Avenue. Boss Mei loves to eat hibiscus chicken slices made by Master Mu the most.
(Mei LanFang Ma Lianliang)
In the 1950s, Hongbin Lou moved from Tianjin to Beijing, and Premier Zhou personally brought Master Mu Xiangzhen with him. Hongbin Building was originally a long-established brand founded in Tianjin in 1853, and became the first of the "Twelfth Floor" by relying on the whole sheep mat and the double freshness of the river and sea. After moving to Beijing, a large sign hung at the door of the Hongbin Building, which read, "Two fresh rivers and seas, whole sheep and big dishes." Mu Xiangzhen's big dishes such as sand pot sheep's head, chicken mushroom shark fin, white bungee fish, salt burst single, corn stew, and stewed hoof tendons were also brought to Beijing.
During this period, Mu Xiangzhen participated in the national hundred chef competition, the pre-competition lottery, he drew the No. 100, when the judges had tasted 99 dishes, Mu Xiangzhen made a "spinach mixed with fans", surprisingly won the final victory over the judges and won the championship.
Mu Xiangzhen was not accustomed to life in Beijing, threw up his sleeves and returned to Tianjin. When he returned, he did not look for a job, lived in poverty, refused to be given alms, and died in 1959 at the age of 57. After Mu Xiangzhen went to Beijing, the business of Yuezhonggui in Tianjin gradually declined, and this small restaurant, which was once praised by Ma Lianliangma's boss, eventually disappeared with the demolition and transformation of Nanshi. (Text: He Yuxin)