Resonate with the Tang Dynasty across thousands of years, drinking a river of water and eating a river of fish
The Yellow River carp and Songjiang perch mentioned last time are among the four famous fish in China. There are also two famous fish, Xingkai Lake Bream and Songhua River Mandarin, the former grows in the Dense Mountains of Heilongjiang, the latter lives between freshwater rivers, and then I will take you to understand the genus of the remaining two famous fish, as well as other freshwater fish species commonly found in Tang dynasty food cases.
Four famous fish of Xingkai Lake
First of all, mandarin fish, commonly known as cinnamon fish, its flesh is tender and white, delicious and fragrant, and it is one of the most valuable fish species in China. Mandarin fish production is also mostly along the Yangtze River. Let's take a look at the example of mandarin fish cameoing in Tang poetry, the famous Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Zhihe described in "Fishing Songzi": "The egret flies in front of Xisai Mountain, and the peach blossom flows with mandarin fish fat." "The Xisai Mountains here are now located on the south bank of the Yangtze River in the east of Huangshi City, Hubei Province, and the poem says that the mandarin fish here are fat and fat. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty official Yuan Jie led his people to take refuge in Theodong (present-day Daye, Hubei), and wrote the poem "Huai Meng Wuchang in the Snow", "Burning wood for warm wine, boiling mandarin for Shen." "It can be known that its fish-eating place is in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Four famous fish of the pine flower river mandarin
In tortoise Meng's "One Hundred Rhymes of Bitter Rain in Wuzhong, the Ancestor of the United States", it is written that "the basket is full of coriander, and the perch is boiled in a full kettle", Han Wei once stayed at the Jiangdong boat house because of the strong wind, and wrote a poem: "Fat mandarin incense japonica small beard, broken intestines taste when the wind is blocked." "Not to mention how it feels to stay here, it is also a comfort to be able to taste this delicious fat mandarin fish." Mandarin fish in the tortoise Meng cauldron, mandarin fish in the dishes of the Jiangdong boat family to entertain Han Wei, and mandarin fish can often be seen on the tables of ordinary people in Wuzhong (present-day Jiangsu), reflecting from the side of how abundant mandarin fish production is here.
Steamed mandarin fish
Mandarin fish, known as the "White Dragon" in the Tang Dynasty, appeared in the roast tail feast, and is the twenty-ninth strange dish, named White Dragon Boat, which is the Name of Wen Zou Zou of Mandarin Fish Meat Soup. The Burning Tail Banquet was popular in Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty for a period of time, and was a special banquet used to entertain relatives and friends who came to Hexi, and "Burning Tail" refers to the appointment of a new official or the promotion of an official. The reason why it is called burning tail is that there are three legendary sources, one is that when the tiger transforms into a human, it must burn off its tail; the second is that the sheep enters a new flock and burns the old tail to be accepted; the third is that after the carp jumps over the dragon gate, it must be burned by the heavenly fire to burn its tail before it can become a dragon.
Raw material for mandarin fish soup
According to historical records, in the third year of Emperor Jinglong of Tang Dynasty (709 AD), Wei Juyuan promoted the official Bai Shangshu Zuo Shu, and at the same time burned a large amount of money, because it was customary to set up a burning tail banquet at home to feast on the emperor. The Song Dynasty Tao Gu's "Qing YiLu" records an incomplete list of this roasted tail feast, which records 58 dishes. There are cold cuts, such as Wuxing with fish, mixed with glutinous rice noodles and cold vegetables with pickled fish; there are hot soups, such as soups, which are made of rabbit meat by name; there are grilled, such as Guangming shrimp and Shengping, the former is grilled prawns, the latter is roasted lamb tongue and deer tongue; in addition, rice, pastry, desserts are available. Mountain treasures and seafood, all-encompassing, can be described as extremely luxurious.
Tang Dynasty burned tail feast
Then there is the appearance of white fish unique to our country. Whitefish is widely distributed and was an important freshwater edible fish in the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty Ma Miao's "Notes on Ancient and Modern Chinese" about white fish, "White fish is known as "white fish ... The fish are good at floating on the water. "When the Sui Dynasty people began freshwater aquaculture, white fish was used as the preferred fish species. Although it is a farmed fish, there are also those who catch white fish from nature in Tang poems, Bao Rong's "Si Qingao" has "I hold a curved hook to think about white fish", and Fang Gan's "Talk in the Mountains" "The Boy Leads to Catch White Fish Shock", which describes the scene of catching white fish.
Whitefish
Among the Tang poems, most of the poems that write about eating white fish are in the Yangtze River Basin, and it can be inferred that the Yangtze River Basin has the most white fish eaters. Wang Jian's "Jingmen Xing", "Watch the cooking red rice boiled white fish, and stay at night to the chicken singing shop"; Du Fu's "Gorge Pass", "heard about Jiangling Province, the clouds and sand are quiet." White fish cut like jade, vermilion oranges do not care about money"; and Wei Yingwu's "Hengtang Xing" wrote, "Concubines live in Qiutang,...... Jade plate of double white fish. The three places in these poems, Jingmen, Jiangling Province (present-day Jingzhou, Hubei), and Hengtang (present-day Nanjing), are all in the Yangtze River Basin. White fish is tender and rich in subsquamous fat, in addition to which it has high medicinal value. The white fish that grows in Taihu Lake has two other delicious ingredients with its name, namely silver fish and white shrimp, which are collectively known as the Three Whites of Taihu Lake.
Taihu Lake three white
When we think of white fish, we have to mention silver fish. Silver fish, also known as king fish, noodle fish, white fish, short body, shaped like a jade hairpin, delicate and transparent as if there is no bone and internal organs. It lives off the coast of the east, including the eastern part of the Yangtze River Basin, especially Taihu Lake, which is one of the rich producers of silverfish. Du Fu's "White Small" cloud: "White small groups of life, natural two-inch fish." Finely dipped water tribes, customs as garden vegetables. People are in a mess of silver flowers, pouring boxes of snow flakes. Generate the egg and take the righteousness. "Tang Dynasty foodies found this small fish delicious, so it was often used in food, du Fu's poem describes the Tang people's picture of the Tang people using a sufficient amount of small silver fish as a daily dish. In addition, Bai Juyi's "Sending Wei Zhi on the Spot" and "Salty White Fish Under the Rice"; Liu Yuxi's "Send Pei Virgins Should Make Poems", "Fishing to Catch the King Yu Fish", can all prove that silver fish is the Tang people's plate Chinese food.
Whitebait
There is a familiar idiom, the rutted fish, a metaphor for those who are in need of help in distress. The crucian carp is a crucian carp, although it is small, but it has to be mentioned. Crucian carp is a very viable fish among freshwater fish in China, living in major water systems except for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Volume VIII of the sequel to "Youyang Miscellaneous Tricks" records: "Xunyang has crucian carp from Qinglin Lake, the large one is more than two feet, the small one is full of feet, the food is fat, and it can also stop the cold and heat." "This is a valuable product of crucian carp. The Tang Dynasty people also regarded crucian carp as a very nourishing food, so that those who were weak and sick were more likely to supplement with this fish. The "Evidence-like Materia Medica" quotes Meng Xue as saying: "Crucian carp, calm stomach qi, adjust the middle, benefit the five viscera, and lettuce as a soup, good." "Crucian carp meat is tender, delicious and fragrant, loved by many people, Lu Tong's "Watching the Fish Song": "When the white spray snow crucian carp, fat and crisp is excellent", is a high praise for the excellent quality of crucian carp.
crucian
Tang Xuanzong "took the carp as the slug, and the day was feasted on a feast". It is said that Tang Xuanzong liked to eat fish made of crucian carp from Dongting Lake, and in order to facilitate the eating of crucian carp from Dongting Lake, he had people specially transport fish to Chang'an and raise them in the Jinglong Pond in Chang'an. In the late Tang Dynasty, Dongting was still rich in crucian carp, and Li Shangyin wrote in the poem "Dongting Fish", "Dongting fish can be picked up, and it is not false or more hanging." Ants before the rain, more than flies after the autumn", describing the fish in Dongting Lake after the rain can be picked up everywhere, there is no need for fish hooks to fish, there are more fish like ants before the rain, flies after autumn, plus Dongting Lake has always been rich in crucian carp, and there is a famous dish about crucian carp, called poached crucian carp. It is reasonable to infer that there are crucian carp in the fish that can be picked up at any time in Li Shangyin's poem. Other waters also produce high-quality crucian carp. For example, in Taihu Lake, the Tang Dynasty poet Li Qunyu mentioned in "Shimen Weiming Mansion for Dongyang Tan Shi Crucian Fish", "Taihu Lake Lang said Zhu Yi Fish, Han Pu Xiu Qua Shrink Xiang. ”
Crucian carp soup
The last freshwater fish is catfish. Catfish, known to the Tang Dynasty as anchovies, or catfish. Carnivorous fish, no scales and mucus around the body, with an earthy smell, strong vitality, leaving the water can still flutter for a long time. "Proof of Materia Medica": "Catfish, a catfish, a anchovy." Catfish belong to the lower grade of fish, Lu Tong's "Song of Watching and Releasing Fish" said in his evaluation of freshwater fish products: "Eel eels and bream, salivating evil is the most stubborn and stupid." Trout see the wind, the quality is slightly higher. Lu Tong believes that catfish and eels, eels (eels), fish (blackfish), loach (loach) belong to the same category, and trout and bream are higher than the previous fish. There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, and there are also praises for the delicious taste of catfish, such as Han Wei's "Jiang Lou Second Song" saying that "the anchovies are bitter and fragrant, and the willow wine flag is march spring", which is a word of praise.
Dry-roasted catfish
Common river fresh on Tang dynasty food cases include carp, bream, sea bass, mandarin fish, white fish, silver fish, crucian carp and catfish. If there are other common freshwater fish, I hope that readers will not hesitate to teach. Thank you for reading, I am the author of this article Fishing Boat, if you like our article, don't forget to pay attention to our public number Sujia Wine Cellar, bringing you the most interesting traditional culture every day! Welcome to share us with your friends! If you have other interesting ideas, you are also welcome to comment and leave us a message to discuss Oh ~ Mo Mo Da (o゚v゚) ノ