<h1>In the vast land of China, due to the different natural conditions, people's living habits, economic and cultural development conditions in various places, different flavors have gradually formed in terms of diet and cuisine. </h1>
One of the most famous cuisines is the recognized Sichuan, Lu, Guangdong, Suzhou, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Xiang eight provinces of cooking cuisine, that is, people often call the "eight major cuisines", and sichuan, Lu, Guangdong, Su four cuisines are known for their four major flavors.
However, in addition to this, Shaanxi, as a thousand-year-old capital and a famous historical city, has its own dining style and strong local characteristics. Qin cuisine is rich in the essence of various places, and also incorporates the flavor of national cuisine, and is known for its variety and different flavors. In addition, Shaanxi's snacks also have to be mentioned, and like Qin cuisine, Shaanxi's snacks are also very local and varied.
First, Qin cuisine
1. The origin of Qin cuisine
Shaanxi cuisine can also become Qin cuisine, and the formation and development of Qin cuisine is inextricably linked to Shaanxi's climate, products and history. Shaanxi is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the eastern part of the northwest region. It spans three climate zones, the northern Shaanxi Northern Shaanxi Plateau (which is the main component of the Loess Plateau), which has a temperate semi-arid climate and is rich in red dates, apples and sheep; southern Shaanxi is a humid subtropical climate in the north, with ginger, persimmons, chestnuts, konjac, civets, etc.; Guanzhong "Eight Hundred Li Qinchuan" is a warm temperate semi-arid or semi-humid climate, with Qinchuan cattle, Guanzhong donkeys, Weihe fish and onions, ginger, garlic peppers, etc., these colorful products have laid a solid material foundation for Qin cuisine.
Shaanxi, as the birthplace of Chinese culture, and the provincial capital Xi'an, as the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, was the political, economic, and cultural center of the dynasties at that time, enabling Qin cuisine to take the essence of local cuisine; and because Shaanxi is composed of many ethnic groups, there are mainly Han, Manchu, Hui, Mongolian, Tibetan, and other ethnic groups in the territory, which also absorb the flavors of various ethnic cuisines; and excavate and inherit the skills of court cuisines of previous dynasties. As a result, the dishes are varied and varied.
According to the "Zhou Li", "Li Ji", and "Book of Poetry", the "Eight Treasures of the Western Zhou Dynasty" that appeared as early as 3,000 years ago have already formed a variety of flavor characteristics through a wide range of materials, pay attention to knife skills, use a variety of spices, and use a variety of cooking techniques. The strict organization and scientific division of labor in culinary institutions, the feasting style, and the use of music to accompany food have had a wide and far-reaching impact on future generations.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, Qin cuisine developed to the second peak, "Lü's Spring and Autumn Taste", which comprehensively summarized the culinary achievements of the pre-Qin period, and made a systematic and scientific discussion on cooking from material selection and processing to seasoning and heating, and has been guiding the practice of Chinese cooking. By the time of the two Han Dynasties, "Hu Food" was introduced, and there was a division of labor in the red and white cases.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Qin cuisine developed to the third peak. At that time, the capital city of Chang'an had developed into one of the largest cities in the world, and not only were there many tea houses and liquor stores, but also the scale of operation was so large that "three or five hundred people could be "set up." The cooking ingredients are already "water and land Luo Eight Treasures", and there are many delicious dishes, only Wei Juyuan's "Burning Tail Banquet" has 58 famous dishes and beautiful points. It also pioneered the cold spelling of the flower color, and has cold food such as "locust leaf cold tao". During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Qin cuisine developed to the fourth peak. Beijing, Tianjin, Lu, Yu, Huaiyang, and Western restaurants have entered Xi'an one after another, and there are only 100 large and medium-sized restaurants in Xi'an, enabling Qin cuisine to inject fresh blood, be eclectic, and gradually form a unique style of comprehensive technology, many flavors, and a wide range of adaptations. Qin cuisine is also related to many historical events, characters, stories, legends, and even ancient philosophy, and has become a witness of history. For example, "Eight Treasures Fried in Fine Sand" is related to "Zhou Bashi Cremation of the King of Shang", "Family Portrait" is related to Qin Shihuang's "Book Burning Pit Confucianism", and "Bagua Fish Degree" is related to the I Ching Eight Hanging Lamps.
2. Introduction to Qin cuisine
Qin cuisine has developed so far, all aspects have been quite mature, good at using materials, fine knife work, pay attention to fire work, color and flavor are complete, but pay more attention to retaining the original color, shape, original taste of the dish, with fresh, tender, crisp and unique. Because of its circulation in court cuisine, the style is gorgeous and elegant.
Roughly speaking, its dishes can be divided into three categories: hot stir-fried dishes, cold meat and cold dishes, and noodle snacks. For the raw materials, it can be said that Qin cuisine can be used to the extreme, and it can be used in every way, and even the chicken and fish intestines that people regard as waste can become treasures on the table. However, it is extremely strict on the selection of ingredients, such as "milk soup pot fish" that is not a yellow river live carp.
In terms of knife skills, it is also extremely important to consider wine, what kind of dish to use what kind of knife method; you can slice with one hand, the meat slice is as thin as paper, you can cut the meat on the silk cloth, and the silk cloth is not damaged; you can cut the pig's ears as fine as hair; you can use the forward and backward "back and forth knife" to double cut the meat shreds, and so on, The Qin dish is like a bottle of pure flavor perfume, when the dish is served, the packaging is simple and unpretentious, the aroma that comes to the face, and when you slowly taste it in your mouth, the sour, spicy, bitter, sweet, and salty constantly stimulate your taste buds. These are just the top notes that the chef gives to them during the cooking process; after the taste of washing, what follows is the taste of the raw materials, the fresh flavor, the original taste, which is the heart of Qin cuisine, the original original taste. Finally, after you finish eating, you are both psychologically and physically satisfied, and you have a long aftertaste of this dish, which is the main theme of Qin cuisine. Give your facial features a different degree of impact.
3. The development of Qin cuisine
Today's Qin cuisine, with its variety and different flavors, is accepted and loved by more and more people. And the chefs of Qin cuisine are also working hard to promote Qin cuisine to the whole country.
Since the beginning of reform and opening up, Shaanxi Qin cuisine, which has an ancient historical tradition, has developed rapidly, with talented people, famous chefs, and gourmet cuisine. Many outstanding culinary cultural figures and Chinese culinary masters and masters have emerged, laying a solid foundation for the inheritance and development of Qin cuisine.
More importantly, while comprehensively inheriting and carrying forward the traditional and fine skills, Qin cuisine has continuously absorbed advanced experience at home and abroad and the achievements of modern science and technology, actively excavated, boldly reformed, and dared to innovate, so that it can integrate color, aroma, taste, shape, quality, nutrition, utensils, hygiene, diet therapy, artistic conception, and taste.
For example, the "Eight Scenic Feasts of Chang'an," which was awarded the "Famous Banquet of China," skillfully combined delicious and beautiful scenery and was appreciated by Chinese and foreign guests very early; another example, the successful development of "imitation Tang cuisine" has brought back the ancient delicacies that have been lost for many years to shine.
2. Pastry snacks
1. Shaanxi Noodles
People who often hear it say: Lao Shaan loves to eat noodles, and this is absolutely true. Many Shaanxi people chatted together and asked each other about their hobbies for food, and most of them would call themselves "noodle pie". Many Shaanxi people go out, if they can't eat it for three days, they feel uncomfortable, if they go out for ten and a half days, the first meal when they return home must be noodles, and they will eat several bowls in a row, and they will not give up.
However, it is not enough to say that Shaanxi people love to eat noodles, Shaanxi people love to eat Shaanxi noodles, which is exquisitely made noodles. For noodles, Shaanxi people love to eat and will eat: love, indicating that the opposite side has a deep feeling, can appreciate the charm of noodles and is good at getting the beauty of noodles to enjoy; will, indicating that the opposite side has a deep understanding, knows how to make and has the ability to make extraordinary noodles. Shaanxi's noodles are innovative and varied, and if you talk about it casually, you can list dozens of kinds.
For example, you can not bear the place name of the noodles, brine noodles, oil noodles, cheek noodles, flag flower noodles, pulp water surface, emerald noodles, dragon's beard noodles, spinach noodles, salted soup noodles, knife noodles, sour soup noodles, egg yolk noodles, over the water surface, hemp noodles, braised noodles, etc.; should be named with the name of Heyang noodles, Dali furnace tooth noodles, Hancheng big knife noodles, Yongshou longevity noodles, Hanzhong noodles, Ankang Wo Wo noodles, Dingbian buck noodles, Huxian soft noodles, Yaozhou salty soup noodles, Linyou blood noodles, Fuxian chicken blood noodles, Liquan mutton noodles, Qianzhou sour soup noodles, Tongguan a nest of silk noodles, Xi'an monkey head noodles, monkey ear noodles, oil splash noodles, Sanyuan knotty noodles, heju noodles, dried rotten noodles, Qishan noodles, cheek noodles, large knife noodles, but also related rice noodles, garlic noodles, northern Shaanxi miscellaneous noodles, sizzles, and so on, and so on.
These names either highlight their particular raw materials, or indicate their distinctive shape, or emphasize their attractive taste, each with its own exquisite and distinctive characteristics. Just listening to these names is enough to make people think and salivate. When it comes to "noodles", people generally think of "noodles". Broadly speaking, noodles are also mentioned here. However, "noodles" cannot be simply understood as "noodles", nor can "noodles" be simply understood as "thin strips of food made of flour". This interpretation of the 5 Classics of Modern Chinese Dictionaries is at least inconsistent with the habitual understanding of the Shaanxi people.
Shaanxi's "noodles" have strips, there are also non-stripes, whether strips or non-strips, there are also thin and thick, long and short, thick and thin, wide and narrow, non-striped is also square, round, triangles, irregular shapes, and so on, never the same.
Therefore, the three words "thin strips" are too simple. There is a saying that Shaanxi has "eight monsters" or "ten monsters", one of which is "noodles like trouser belts". This is about a kind of noodle that Shaanxi people love to eat: biangbiang noodles. However, Shaanxi people still love to eat noodles, and the rural women in Guanzhong are skillful and make noodles, "as thin as paper, as thin as a line, down to the pot lotus flower turn."
When it comes to cheek noodles, we have to mention Qishan noodles, that is not only good noodles, good soup, and good companions. Authentic Qishan noodles are not only refined with noodles, but also with their own delicacies, base vegetables, bleached vegetables and pouring soups. The base dish and bleach should be selected according to different seasons, such as white tofu on hot days and oil tofu when cold. The base dish is light vegetables, such as golden needles, fungus, tofu, carrots, and bleach vegetables, such as garlic and leeks.
There is also a special agreement, when a bowl of noodles is made, the bleach and the base vegetable should be the root, stem, leaf, flower, and algae of the plant, and the five ends are complete, and present red, yellow, green, black, and white, which can be regarded as authentic and refined, and the bottom dish and the bleach dish are the companions. Such a big effort in the partner of the noodles is indeed rare, and it is a must. A similar situation is also reflected in the yaozhou mushroom nest noodles.
How are noodles made? People generally think of "boiling" and think that the noodles are cooked and eaten, and most of them are eaten with soup. However, Shaanxi's "noodles" not only use the cooking method of "boiling", but also steaming, stir-frying, roasting, frying, simmering, and frying the "Eighteen Martial Arts". You can bring soup or no soup, and the brine noodles are steamed and eaten. The prepared noodles are steamed in a steamer basket and eaten, with fresh vegetables and vegetables, or with pork, beef and mutton. Vegetables can be very numerous, much more than noodles, or less. Brine noodles are frugal and casual, elegant and popular, whether they are enjoyed at home or entertained by guests, it is a good choice.
Marinated noodles should be served with a delicious soup. Liquan noodles are cooked and eaten. The preparation method is somewhat like spreading pancakes. After burning, cut into strips and pour them into cheeks to eat. It is said to originate from Tang Taizong Li Shimin. It is used as a food for migrant workers in Zhaoling, just like today's instant noodles.
Heyang noodles are also eaten with cooked cut strips. However, the flour used is a mixture of 70% soba noodles and 30% wheat noodles. Heyang noodles can be stored for ten and a half days, and can be eaten hot or cold. Xi'an people love to eat a kind of fried noodles, which is first cooked and then fried, and sometimes it is lightly oiled before frying. Using the best vegetables or meat or seafood, it is cut into silk and flakes with a delicate knife and fried with noodles.
2. Steamed buns
When it comes to Shaanxi noodles, there is one thing that is indispensable, "30 million Qin people roar in unison, and a bowl of mutton is full of joy", which is a vivid portrayal of the Shaanxi people.
The lamb bubble mentioned here is the lamb steamed bun that can be seen everywhere in Shaanxi.
There are some theories about the origin of the steamed bun, saying that in the second year of Tang Suzong's reign (757 AD), the Tang Dynasty army and the borrowed "Big Food" army collected two capitals from Liangyan, and together they quelled the "Anshi Rebellion". With the grace of Tianzi of the Tang Dynasty, some of the "Big Food" soldiers were allowed to garrison Chang'an. "Big food" soldiers often carry a kind of food called "dumpling wood" similar to "dumplings" when marching and fighting, and the "dumpling wood" carried by soldiers often becomes dry and hard and difficult to swallow, so they mix it with mutton and mutton soup to eat, which is the prototype of "steamed bun". With the increasing exchanges between the "big food" soldiers and the locals, the production method of "dumpling wood" also spread from the military camp to the city well, and over time it formed one of the staple foods of the Muslim masses in Xi'an today, "wonton dumplings".
For more than a thousand years, through the continuous development and innovation of the people in Xi'an Fang, "bubble buns" have been greatly improved and improved in terms of color, aroma, taste, shape, etc., and have become an excellent delicacy that is loved by the dignitaries and dignitaries from the top to the people of Li. "Thirty million Qin people roar in unison, and a bowl of mutton is full of joy", which is a vivid portrayal of the people of Shaanxi.
The steamed bun is divided into four types: dry bubble (no soup), mouth soup (one mouthful of soup after eating), water siege (more soup) and single walker (eating steamed bun and drinking soup). Before the meal, the "steamed bun" is broken into soybean-like pieces and cooked by the chef. Choose the direction when eating, pay attention to nibbling, and avoid stirring to maintain the umami taste and original atmosphere. Spicy sauce can be added to stimulate the appetite, and coriander can be eaten to keep the breath fresh. In order to avoid the fat of beef and lamb in the steamed bun, it can be accompanied by sugar garlic to facilitate re-fighting. Drink a bowl of refined broth after the meal, and feel more fragrant and refreshed.
In addition to beef and mutton steamed buns, Shaanxi also has famous bean blossom steamed steamed
3. Summary
Today, with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, Shaanxi cuisine is showing in front of everyone with its unique posture. Shaanxi cuisine, which inherits the 5,000-year-old culture of China, with its boldness, actively innovates on the basis of continuously inheriting and excavating traditional court cuisine, official cuisine and shangjia cuisine.
At present, Shaanxi cuisine can be said to have a variety of styles, with the character and style of the hall, generous, atmospheric, vulgar, elegant, elegant high-end dishes, antique dishes, innovative dishes; also has the ordinary low-grade dishes halal dishes, vegetarian dishes, medicinal dishes in the kitchen; the unique flavor of the noodle snacks that can be solved; and the traditional dishes that are full of stomachs.
Recently, in the list of the top ten best snack cities in Asia voted by CNNGO in the United States, China's western arrangement ranked second, becoming the only city in the mainland to be on the list, and at the same time, because of the mixed street food and snacks, CNN considered "the most local characteristics". Further ahead, Baoji was rated as the top ten food cities in China, becoming the only city in the northwest region to be listed, which can reflect the difference of Shaanxi cuisine.
10 special snacks such as lamb skewers, sesame sauce cold skin, persimmon cakes, and meat sandwich buns have been praised by international tourists as the representative of Shaanxi cuisine that is "must try". Shaanxi, which has been accumulated for thousands of years, inherits the cuisine of thousands of years, takes the essence of various places, and collects the flavors of national diets, with a wide variety and different flavors, worthy of being a dazzling pearl in the treasure house of Chinese culinary culture.