In the 1980s, a famous soy sauce factory in Japan called "Kamekoman" funded a food documentary.
This series of documentaries called "Chinese Food Culture" completes 5 episodes of photography in China, selecting four regions of Beijing, Jiangnan, Guangdong and Sichuan, and comprehensively displaying China's food culture in the 1980s.
In the 1980s, China had just moved from backwardness to opening up. Many ingredients were still relatively rich, and at that time life was simple and happy, and it was even more simple in terms of eating.
In this documentary more than 30 years ago, You can still see Zhenjiang.
At that time, Zhenjiang, the most attractive food lovers, is the river fresh and delicious.
The Zhenjiang free market in the 1980s was rich.
In this documentary, it is surprising to see the grand scene of knife fish and catfish in the Zhenjiang market.
Zhenjiang is near the Yangtze River, relying on water to draft water, eating fish is the daily life of Zhenjiang people.
The taste is in the human world, the beauty of the sea bass in the first month, the aroma of knife fish in February, the fat of mandarin fish in March, the tender anchovy in April, the white fish in May, and the umami taste of fish in different seasons is different.
Only those who have been to Zhenjiang and tasted the authentic Yangtze River Zhenjiang section of the river can appreciate what it feels like to have only fresh in the tip of the tongue.
The best season to taste river fresh is around the Qingming Festival, famous for its three fishes in Zhenjiang: knife fish, anchovy, catfish. Maybe in the 80s, anchovies were a bit hard to beat, but knife fish and catfish were definitely enough, and they were the famous high-end food in Zhenjiang.
Knifefish
The freshest in the river is knifefish.
Knifefish is a "spring food wonder". In previous years, between March and April is the breeding season of knife fish, knife fish in groups of river up the river to breed, the formation of fish flood, at this time knife fish meat tender, smooth, plump but not greasy, delicious taste, fish bones melt in the mouth.
Foodies believe that eating knife fish is a "fresh" word. "Blush new water" points out the key to the taste of knifefish. Writer Wang Zengqi wrote about the taste of Zhenjiang people making knife fish: Zhenjiang people cook knife fish until they are thin, use gauze to filter out fine thorns, to make soup, below, that is, "knife fish noodles", very beautiful.
Before the 1980s, there were many and big knife fish in the river, and my father said that when he was a child, he often saw knife fish more than a foot long when he saw the Jingkou Gate, which was like a silver knife. At that time, steaming and braised braised were ordinary people's home cooking, and now it is estimated that half a foot long will be thousands of yuan, not to mention that money can not eat.
Knife fish have many spines, and the meat is tender and delicious, but there are many thorns, and many people are daunted. Zhenjiang famous chef Pan Zhengping invented a "white fried knife fish shreds".
The practice of "white fried knife and fish shreds" has a certain degree of difficulty, the knife fish meat is soft and tender, the fish bones are fine, how can you make fish shreds?
First slice the meat on both sides of the fish body, the fish skin is down, lay flat on the cutting board, use the back of the knife to gently pound the fish meat, so that the fine spines stick to the fish skin, and when the fish becomes fine, use a knife to gently scrape it off and put it into a bowl.
Add beaten egg white, green onion ginger juice, fine salt, rice wine, water starch, etc. to mix well into a paste, pour into a funnel made of kraft paper, slowly squeeze the fish paste into a warm oil pot from a small hole, cook over low heat and fish out, cut into strips.
Green leafy vegetables, ham, water hair mushrooms, etc. are cut into silks of the same thickness as the fish shreds, and fried with the shredded fish, and in the blink of an eye, a plate of snow white shredded knife and fish is presented to everyone.
A chopstick of fish shredded entrance, fish fat delicious needless to say, after careful tasting and chewing there is a return to sweetness. This dish retains the delicious taste of knife fish, saves the trouble of deboning, the color is white, soft and tender, light and smooth, and retains the original taste of knife fish.
Catfish
Yangtze River catfish
In the spring and autumn, the Zhenjiang catfish is the most fat and tender, and the Baiji fish (catfish) at the foot of Zhenjiang Jiaoshan Mountain is the most valuable, "The pink stone head is still boneless, and the snow white pufferfish is not medicinal." Sending a message to Tiangong and Hebo, why bother begging and water spirit scales. ", this is the mandarin fish than the yellow croaker meat more and thornless, sai puffer fish delicious and non-toxic.
In the river fresh feast in Zhenjiang, the most authentic and original cooking method of catfish is steamed white juice, which better preserves the original taste of catfish.
In Zhenjiang, there is also a luxury way to eat, that is, to make lion's head with catfish, which is also a rare delicacy.
The method is to first slaughter the catfish to remove the internal organs, wash and remove the fish bones, and cut them into grains with the skin and set aside. Finely cut the pork sandwich into rice grains, place in a pot, add the catfish meat, add green onion, ginger, salt, cooking wine, shrimp seed soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, stir vigorously. Then divide into 10 portions and flip them back and forth with both hands to form a smooth meat ball. Place in the stew bowl one by one, add the white soup, drizzle with sesame oil and cover the cup.
Wash the steamer and add half a pot of water, put it on the high heat to boil, put the steamer basket on the shelf, put the Head of the Yangtze River Catfish and Lion in the cup in the steamer basket, cover the cage lid, and steam for about 30 minutes or so with the steam of the water on the high fire.
Open the food cup, only to see the soup is beautiful, can not be clamped with a spoon, a little light touch, trembling, the huge lion head has gone through water and fire, has long been like a beautiful person with a variety of styles, considerate and meticulous. The lion's head, which is well mastered by the fire, will melt in the mouth, obviously eat it in the mouth, feel its ripeness, its rottenness, like the entanglement of the tip of the tongue, but it is fleeting, and the aftertaste is infinite.
"Catfish lion head" taste type salty and fresh, white color, shaped like a lion's head, beautiful and pleasant, fish meat tender and not greasy, soup thick and mellow, original taste, the best in fish dishes. It not only maintains the flavor of "stewed crab meat lion head", but also highlights the excellent quality of catfish, which is worthy of the model work of the traditional famous dish crab powder lion head.
The Japanese team that filmed this food documentary was very professional at the time, led by the food company Tokami Wanshi Co., Ltd., which is famous for the planning party "Swastika Soy Sauce"; the Fang Yanbo Film Studio, which was good at humanities, science and education documentaries. After arriving in China, they not only received the cooperation of Chinese units and shops, but also the support of celebrity chefs from all over the world.
Therefore, these ingredients are particularly abundant.
Mandarin fish
herring
It is said that Chen Guofu invented the "first dish under the heavens" in Zhenjiang.
Delicious crab was also a signature dish in the 80s.
In addition to steaming, it can also be made into hibiscus crab buckets
After watching the film, what we marvel at is that it was really a good era for gourmets: at that time, there was no takeaway, no Internet celebrity shop, only a group of craftsmen who were close to the Tao, and diners who loved life, in the rich world, wholeheartedly pursuing the color and fragrance of life.
Even if the time changes easily, this obsession will be inseparable from you and me in the next 35 years.
Jiangnan Zhenjiang cuisine in the 80s
Isn't it quite different from what you think?
The whole documentary also tells about Beijing cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and so on
The content of the dishes is abundant
It can really make you change your mind about the material life of that era
If you're interested, check it out.