In the Chinese gastronomic world, there are often various "struggles", such as the dispute over the saltiness and sweetness of rice dumplings, the salty and sweet dispute of tofu brain... There is no struggle, and it is often a local delicacy in a quiet corner.
However, there is such a food, although there are also genres and all over the country, but like an indisputable master, it has achieved a great harmony of food, that is, fried buns.
01 | Pan-fried buns
The economically prosperous Northern Song Dynasty gave birth to many cuisines that had a far-reaching impact on future generations, and fried buns were one of them. This kind of food, which is both fried, steamed and boiled, must be invented when the economy is developed and the people have money and leisure.
Most of the fried buns are bun-shaped, but there are also dumpling-shaped ones, so some people will be unable to distinguish between the fried bun and the pot sticker, and even think that it is the same thing. In fact, the point is that the fried bun is made of hair noodles, so the skin is very soft.
Another feature of the pan is that it is traditional to pour a thin batter before the final dish, forming a thin layer of puff pastry in the pan, so that the bottom of the pan is all connected together to form the so-called "ice flower".
The filling of the fried bun is rich and diverse, and there are pork fillings, beef fillings, leek pork fillings, leek noodles, vegan fillings and so on in Henan, Shandong and other places. Heading south, Guangdong fried buns add dried scallops and shrimp, Taiwanese fried buns add cabbage, etc. Different places have chosen local specialties as fillings according to local conditions.
Gongyi and Pingdingshan in Henan, Shan County and Jimo in Shandong, fried buns are all famous local snacks. Many Henan people start their morning with a fried bun with a spicy soup.
The freshly panned pan is golden in color and the puff pastry on the bottom is thin and translucent. Take a soft bite, first the ear hears the crispy sound, then the nose smells of oil, the mouth feels the fluffy softness of the dough, and then the tongue tastes the filling with a little juice. This simple and straightforward delicacy is no wonder it can spread throughout the country.
02 | Raw fried buns
Although there is no large-scale struggle for fried buns, if there is "small-scale friction" in fried buns, it can still be there. This small-scale friction occurred in the Jiangnan region and concentrated in Shanghai.
In Shanghai, you say "raw fried buns", and middle-aged and elderly people will most likely correct them as "raw fried steamed buns". The reason is that in ancient times, whether the steamed bun had or not the filling, it was uniformly called "steamed bun".
The term "bun" did not appear until the Song Dynasty and was popular in northern China, while the Wu-speaking region followed the ancient language tradition, resulting in the absence of the word "bun" in the entire dialect of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.
The old-school Shanghai raw fried steamed buns refer to the method of kaifeng fried buns to some extent, using full-hair noodles. But unlike some water frying buns that fry on both sides, raw fried steamed buns are definitely fried on one side, and the old school is fried at the bottom.
The "raw frying" of the raw fried steamed bun points out that it is directly wrapped and fried in oil, and then a small amount of water is added to the final stage to simmer. And there will be no final "frying ice flower" step.
To make it easier to cook, raw fried buns are also smaller than fried buns. At the same time, because more parts of the raw fried bun are immersed in the oil, the golden crispy part at the bottom will be slightly higher than the fried bun.
Since the "old derivative fried steamed buns" are mentioned, there must be "new derivative fried steamed buns". This is also an important point of contention in the occurrence of small-scale frictions.
The new raw fried steamed bun was inspired by Xiaolong and changed the full hair noodles to half hair noodles. And add meat jelly to the filling, so that the raw fried bun becomes thin and juicy. In order to prevent the thin skin from breaking during the frying process, the newly derived fried bun has changed from a frying base to a fried pleat.
This series of changes broadened the acceptance of raw fried steamed buns in the eyes of supporters, and in the eyes of opponents, turned raw fried steamed steamed buns into fried cages.
But as someone who has lived in Shanghai for nearly three decades, I think this is just a momentary cacophony. Many people around me shout that the old-school big pot spring is authentic, but the new school of xiaoyang sheng fried also eats with relish.
Shanghai's Haipai spirit has a wide tolerance for food, so the mouth is noisy, the chopsticks in the hand have not stopped, and every Shanghainese may have taken sides in their hearts, but few completely reject the other side.
As Shen Hongfei, general counsel of "China on the Tip of the Tongue", said: "It doesn't matter whether it is right or wrong. Everything is for the big living people to eat, and the taste is in the present, not subject to the will of man. ”
03 | Beef fried buns
There are actually many small branches of fried buns, such as open (unsealed) fried buns, fried buns fried with green onions in a casserole dish, and so on. Among them, I think can be taken out separately as a third genre, which should be beef fried buns.
Although both the fried bun and the raw fried bun have beef filling, the beef pan-fried bun is taken out separately because many beef fried buns are made by Muslims. The Hui people have their own set of beef and sheep dishes, so the beef fried buns made by the Hui people are widely loved by people of all nationalities in many places.
In many cities, as long as there are Muslim areas, the best beef fried buns are often there. Even in Shanghai, many people think that there should be raw fried steamed buns everywhere, and there is no place to eat fried buns. But when you walk into the time-honored halal brands such as Yixin Zhai and Hong Changxing, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that there are not only beef fried buns, but also delicious taste.
Beef pancakes are often not very rich in juice, but the meat is overflowing with aroma and the crust is crunchy with a burnt aroma. The filling is generally a solid pure beef filling, and at most there will be some green onions or a small amount of cabbage to enrich the taste, and one or two with a small appetite can be eaten.
Beef pancakes are also made with beef curry. When filling, a certain amount of curry powder is added, the curry is originally a combination of a variety of spices, and adding to the filling also plays the same fishy role as the green onion, and also enriches the taste.
Eating fried buns should be accompanied by a soup, as if it were the consensus of everyone. With peppery soup, with lamb soup, with curry beef soup... Simple wet and dry combinations have a rustic taste, as a national cuisine to start a vibrant day for millions of people every day.
What delicious fried buns have you eaten? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section and tell the station.
Text | taro
Figure | Liu Siyu, Zhong Heng
Partial graph source network