Chinese Food Culture: Sichuan Cuisine (2)

Xue Tao incense dried

Xue Tao was a female poet of the Tang Dynasty, a native of Chang'an, Shaanxi, who came to shu (present-day Sichuan) with her father at an early age and lived on the banks of Huanxi In Chengdu, she was proficient in piano, chess, books, and paintings, and was good at chanting poetry.

Regarding the origin of Xue Tao's fragrant dried, there are two theories: one is that it was created for the Tang Dynasty female poet Xue Tao to entertain her confidant, she made a flexible and long aftertaste dried tofu, the taste is similar to sun-dried beef, suitable for wine, people also called "Xue Taogan"; Another said that because the well in Xue Tao's home was known as "Xue Tao Well", there was once a businessman surnamed Shi living next to Xue Tao's former residence, who could make tofu and was skilled. He soaked soybeans in Xue Tao well water to make dried tofu, and used chicken soup, star anise, peppers, peppers, etc. to make brine to boil dried tofu, named "Xue Tao Xiang Dried Tofu". In order to make this dried more delicious, he used beef soup, added star anise, cinnamon, camellia, peppercorns, ginger together to cook, after cooking, add rice wine, sesame oil, and then slowly air-dried to become fragrant, delicious Taste Xue Tao dried.

Light Shadow Beef

Legend has it that once, the famous poet Yuan Shu of the Tang Dynasty accidentally came to a restaurant in the county to have a drink. Among the appetizers served by the owner is a slice of beef, which is rosy and shiny in color, which looks very pleasing to the eye, and tastes very good: spicy and fragrant, crisp and soft, and makes people feel endless after eating. What surprised him even more was that the beef slices were as thin as paper, crystal clear, and they were clamped with chopsticks and illuminated under the light, and the silk texture could reflect a clear shadow on the wall. He immediately remembered the "lantern shadow play" (that is, shadow puppet play) that was popular in the capital at that time, and immediately called this dish "lamp shadow beef". Since then, this beef slice in Daxian has spread around under the name of "Light Shadow Beef" and has become a famous dish.

According to historical records, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a hotel owner named Liu Guanggan on The West Street of Chengguan County who made the most famous lamp shadow beef. In 1935, the "Dengying Beef" produced by this hotel was sent to the Chengdu Qingyang Flower Association as a local specialty and was rated as a Grade A food, and the "Dengying Beef" became one of the famous local flavor specialties in Sichuan.

Du Fu and the Five Willow Fish

When Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty was nearly fifty years old, he encountered the "Anshi Rebellion". At this time, Emperor Tang Ming fled to Sichuan, and Yang Yuhuan was hanged at Ma Songpo. In order to escape the chaos of this war, Du Fu also drifted to the southwest.

When he arrived in Chengdu, he found a beautiful place in the ancient suburbs of Chengdu, called Huanhua Creek, and built a grass hall by hand and lived there. He has written many great works here. At that time, his life was very miserable, and from his own suffering and poverty, he often thought of the poor people in the world and expressed a lot of sympathy. He spent his days with vegetarian vegetables and fruits, and the local people called him "old man with vegetable belly".

According to legend, one day he invited a few friends to recite poems in the grass hall, and he was so happy that he did not realize that it was noon. He was worried, and he saw that he was going to have lunch, but he had nothing, so what would he do to entertain these guests? He was in a hurry when he suddenly saw his family catch a fish from huanhua creek and was overjoyed. I thought, let's taste this fish!

He went to the stove and cooked the fish himself. When his friends saw him going fish, they were all amazed. Some said with a skeptical eye: "Old Du, this is a new thing, you can write poetry, you can cook fish?"

Du Fu smiled and said, "Wait, I want you to see my craft today." After he opened the chamber and washed the fish, added the ingredients and steamed them in the pot. After steaming, the local sweet noodle sauce is stir-fried, add the chili, green onion, ginger and soup in the kimchi, and the starch, make a juice, pour it on the fish while it is hot, and sprinkle it with coriander.

Everyone sat together happily, and saw Du Fu bring the fish up, stretch out his chopsticks to taste, and it was delicious. The friends ate while talking, and after a while, a fish ate it all, but the fish didn't have a name yet! So everyone remembered the name of this fish. Some said, "This fish is called Raccoon Brook Fish!" Some people say, "It's only appropriate to call old Duyu." Finally, Du Fu said, "Mr. Tao Yuanming is a sage we admire, and this fish is covered with colorful silk, much like a willow leaf, so let's call it 'five willow fish.'" Everyone was very much in favor of it, and they thought the name was very interesting. "Five willow fish" was called out in this way, and became a famous dish in Sichuan, which has been passed down for more than a thousand years.

To be continued...

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