Source: Yuan Congmei
"Sichuan cold mixed chicken is my strong Sichuan flavor memory." 」
Text/Yuan Congmei
Cold mixed chicken is Sichuan home cooking, Sichuan folk households have secret skills, those who taste the best are crowned with various titles, such as: Chongzhou Catholic Church chicken slices, Leshan white chopped chicken, Wutongqiao yellow chicken, Chengdu Liao Ji stick chicken, Chongqing spit chicken, Qionglai bowl chicken and so on. Most of these cold mix chickens are made of the same ingredients and taste different due to the proportion of ingredients used in different recipes. What they all have in common is that they are all mouth-watering.
Sichuan is a gourmet tianfu, not only the major city hotels have top Sichuan cuisine, food culture is more deeply rooted in the township folk. Especially those township restaurants with strong original flavor, their taste is pure and strong, worthy of the birthplace of Sichuan cuisine.
To eat the delicious cold chicken that really qualifies, you really have to go deep into the countryside. Because the native chickens in the countryside are purely naturally fed, they eat insects in the fields and farm grains, all of which are free-range. Unlike feed chicken, hormones are fast and taste the same as chewing wax. True qualification of the native chicken, chicken fat golden, tender meat, chicken flavor, used to cold mix, natural delicious naturally. Coupled with the preparation of Kawauchi's specialties, it is the icing on the cake.
Every year from February to May, it coincides with spring, which is a good time for Sichuan people to go out and step on spring. With the popularity of the automobile, more urban families are driving on Sundays to explore the countryside and explore farmhouse cuisine. The move became so popular that even local television stations set up a column called "Spend the Weekend Together." Farmhouse chicken is naturally a delicacy that cannot be bypassed.
Photo / Visual China
Twenty years ago, I accompanied my uncle and aunt to the township of Chongzhou to eat Chicken Slices in Catholic Church. At that time, Chongzhou was still a county-level city, with small streets and alleys and wooden houses, and it was an authentic township. We walked through the bustling streets to a small restaurant under the guise of blue cloth, where a golden chicken slice was placed on the Eight Immortals table. Only to see slices into thin leaves of chicken, the skin and flesh separated, soaked in golden red chili oil, take a piece into the mouth, salty and spicy slightly sweet, the entrance is refreshing, and it is really delicious. On that day, the spring was bright, and the farmers around them who carried baskets on their shoulders and wore straw shoes to catch the market had fun with this chicken, which made people deeply feel the beauty of Sichuan's townships.
The Catholic Church Chicken Slice is named after the Catholic Church, which is characterized by sweet, salty and spicy flavor, and is said to have been created by Nie Fuxuan, a Native of Chongzhou. Later, we went to Chongzhou many times and tasted many Catholic chicken slices, and finally the one near the church tasted the most authentic.
Later, the Catholic Church chicken slices grabbed the beach in Chengdu, which was sold in my family's farmers' market, and the taste was fine, but the price was slightly more expensive, and there were not many buyers, so that the small shop was difficult to sustain, and after a while it disappeared. This year, I found a restaurant near my unit with a Sign of Chicken Slices in The Catholic Church, and I was disappointed when I tasted it occasionally.
Meishan, the hometown of Su Dongpo. A few years ago, my brother took us to Emei Mountain Baoguo Temple to burn incense, and it is said that the incense there is the most magical. Passing by the town of Meishan on the way, the air is surprisingly fresh. My brother drove around the town and finally stopped in front of a humble restaurant where we ate.
That day, my brother ordered bamboo shoots roast beef, white chopped chicken, and cold mixed with beans to fold ear roots. The three dishes are all local specialties: bamboo shoots are produced in Mount Emei, fresh and seasonal; beans and folded ear roots are spring country vegetables, fresh and tender; and white chopped chicken is a special dish of Meishan, represented by Dongpo cuisine. I remember that the chicken was delicious and tender, fragrant, not salty or light, delicious and natural. I didn't expect such a seemingly ordinary place fly restaurant, cold mix chicken to do such a stunning, remembered a word, "brilliant spirit."
Documentary "A Sage Human Touch"
The first time I ate white chopped chicken was more than twenty years ago at the Leshan Wutong Bridge. At that time, my second brother was assigned to the Leshan Wutongqiao Salt Factory at university, and during the summer vacation, my eldest brother and I went to visit. Wutong Bridge has beautiful scenery and is planted with ancient trees with yellow horns along the river.
In the early morning, the river was foggy, and the two brothers took turns riding me on their bicycles and went to the city to eat the famous white chopped chicken, laughing and laughing along the way. I saw that the red soup was soaked with tender chicken nuggets, and the soup noodles were floating with a layer of crisp sesame seeds, which had not yet been ingested, and the aroma was coming to the face, and the taste was wonderful. This is the first and most beautiful memory of the two of us to the white chopped chicken.
After the white chopped chicken settled in Chengdu, it is the best taste of cold mix chicken. It is known for its heavy red oil, monosodium glutamate soup, and when eaten, it is supplemented by bracken and dried bamboo shoots with bubble hair, which is especially popular with Chengdu people. The skin of the chicken is golden, it is not old and tender, the heat is particularly good, and although it is large, it is an authentic native chicken. Chengdu famous brand Liao Ji stick chicken, as well as Wutongqiao yellow chicken, belong to the category of Leshan white chopped chicken.
Sichuan literati are proud of their cooking, not only delicious, but also proficient in cooking. The famous gourmands in history, Su Dongpo, Lu You, Zhang Daqian, and Huang Jinlin, are all good at eating and doing things, and they are intoxicated with: a poem, a painting, and a good dish. In Sichuan, there are many literati who love traditional culture, they love cooking, and they are not ashamed of men cooking. This Spring Festival, my father specially bought 2 authentic running mountain chickens at the convention center and ordered my brother to mix one cold. When my father cooked the chicken and chopped it into chicken pieces, I went into the kitchen and learned my brother's craft.
Documentary "Falling in Love with Sichuan Cuisine"
Brother's cold chicken is heavy with soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sweet and salty flavors, supplemented by freshly chopped peppercorns, peppercorns, monosodium glutamate, and a large number of green onions. My brother said to cook the chicken on high heat for 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Cut into large pieces, mix well with the seasonings, and the taste is thick and fragrant, compared with the Chicken Slices of The Catholic Church and the White Chopped Chicken. Last year, I bought a barrel of Deyang red soy sauce at the Annual Fair, which is dedicated to cold mixed chicken and white meat, and the sauce flavor is particularly prominent. Chinese New Year's Eve rice specially mixed with cold chicken, and the brother praised: "You are on!" No problem. ”
Sichuan's daughter-in-law is spicy and capable, and is famous throughout the country. They often have excellent skills in cooking, and they are not inferior to Su Mei. For example, my cousin-in-law, whose specialty dish is cold mixed chicken spicy and fragrant, features red with salt and heavy oil, plus a little tempeh, which is a must.
Sichuan seasoning highlights different emphases due to the proportion of the blend, and Sichuan cold mix chicken also presents a variety of flavors. Common flavor types are: spicy, red oil, sweet and salty, pepper and so on. A cold mixed chicken with a strong flavor is like a small poem with a distinct mood, and the various elements are no more and no less, which is just right to present a beautiful mood, although this mood can vary widely. This is the charm of Sichuan cold mix chicken.
Documentary "China on the Tip of the Tongue"
You can eat delicious home-cooked cold mixed chicken without leaving home, which is also a common thing in the Western Sichuan Basin. And what is scarce today is no longer technology, but the fresh green ingredients that are homegrown...
Source: Yuan Congmei