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Every dish has a taste, and every city has its own unique and distinctive "taste".
What is the "taste" of Jiande? In early summer, a reporter from the Jiande Workstation of the Sharing Alliance of the County-level Rong Media Center of Zhejiang News Group walked into this city full of pyrotechnics, from the tip of his tongue to his heart, and read the city code hidden in the deepest part.
Food, originally made to fill the stomach.
Thick oil red sauce, chili seasoning, such a plate of jianghu dishes, became a sharp tool for rice, but also became the favorite of long-distance drivers who ran transportation in the 1990s.
Jiande stick fish, which "originated" from the side of the road, has now become the most popular specialty dish in restaurants and hotels, behind which is the change of a city.
To eat the most authentic Jiande stick fish, get Yangcunqiao Town, Jiande City.
He Aijun, 52, is a lecturer at the Yangcunqiao Adult Training School in Jiande City. She was waiting for us at a homestay in Yangcunqiao Town, where chef Zhan Tianming wanted to cook us a stick fish.
He Aijun and Jiande stick fish have a deep relationship.
In the 1990s, He Aijun's parents opened a small shop along the 320 National Highway in Yangcunqiao Town to entertain passing drivers.
"Stop to eat, wash the car and repair the tire", to this day, He Aijun still remembers the sign hanging at the door of the small shop.
At that time, there was no highway, and the grease and timber from Quzhou and Jinhua, the cloth, grain and salt from Fuyang and Tonglu had to take the 320 National Highway and pass through this small Yangcunqiao town.
Drivers will also choose to stop in this town and fill their stomachs.
Eat at Yangcun Bridge! Since then, the sign has been launched.
Finger-thick, more than an inch long stick fish, really couldn't get on the table at first.
But its flesh is firm and chewy, and it has no fine thorns, so it has become a favorite dish of past drivers.
So much so that Jiande's local stick fish is in short supply and needs foreign aid to supply.
Stick fish die when they come out of the water, so even if the stick fish that come to Jiande from other places to support it have ice cubes to keep them fresh, they are not so fresh because of the long distance.
He Aijun told us that such a stick fish must be fried first, locked in moisture and then braised, and the taste is still quite good. This has become the most common practice of stick fish.
Before the fishing season, chef Zhan Tianming cooked us stick fish, which is also fresh, but due to rapid freezing preservation, the flavor of the river is still there.
The practice remains the same.
Start the frying pan, first fry the stick fish until golden brown, and then start another pot, onion ginger and garlic stir-fry, add fried stick fish stir-fry, add old soy sauce color, beautiful and fresh soy sauce to freshen, do not put a salt, purely rely on soy sauce low heat slow simmer into the taste, and finally the fire to collect the juice, an authentic Yangcun bridge stick fish out of the pot.
The first thing that is awakened is the sense of smell.
Steaming stick fish with fragrant sauce.
Casually pick up a fish, put it in the mouth, the upper and lower teeth are slightly closed, the chopsticks pinch the fish head and pull it forward, the fish bones are separated, and the fish meat wrapped in sauce falls into the mouth. Chew it in a big mouthful, and the fresh sweetness slowly emerges from the fish. The more you eat, the better, one after another, and the chopsticks can hardly stop.
"When the fishing starts in July, I go to the Xin'an River to collect the stick fish, and when I receive it in the morning, I will get out of the pot at noon, and the taste will be even better!"
Zhan Tianming said that now that people's mouths have become sharp, it is not enough to rely on spices to fool around. As a result, Jiande stick fish is becoming increasingly scarce, and it is almost impossible to see in the vegetable market, even if the restaurant takes the goods, it is necessary to book with the fishermen early.
Today's stick fish, even the most high-grade feast, can also be taken.
Also changing, there is Yangcunqiao Town.
With the opening of the Hangzhou Xinjing Expressway, the town is no longer a must for passing drivers, and the shops along the street have gradually declined, replaced by a thriving strawberry field.
However, the golden business card of "eating in Yangcun Bridge" is still reluctant to throw away by Jiande people and Yangcun Bridge people.
Exactly the same stick fish, in the mouth of He Aijun, we heard another story -
According to legend, during the Southern Song Dynasty, there was an empress named Yang Guizhi, who returned to her hometown of Yanzhou Province and returned to yangcunqiao town. In order to welcome the empress, Yangcunqiao Town offered a fish dish, which was deeply loved by her.
Therefore, the fish is slender and short, like a thin and short osmanthus branch, Empress Yang is also known as "guizhi", so the people call this fish "guizhi fish".
Because "Guizhi" and "Stick" are pronounced similarly in the local dialect, the spoken language is easily confused, and posterity does not know the allusion of Empress Yang, and mistakenly says "Guizhi Fish" as "Stick Fish".
A dish, depending on the era, has different names and different cultural connotations.
Today's Yangcunqiao Town, not only adjacent to the high-speed entrance and exit of Hangzhou Xinjing Expressway, but also only 10 minutes walk from Jiande High-speed Railway Station, has the blessing of Strawberry Town. Authentic cuisine is both the icing on the cake and an important weight for people to come to this town and even to Jiande.
"We are considering increasing the combination of culture and tourism projects, and we hope that more people will stay here to start a business and buy a house." Discovering the local cuisine is also an essential step. Yangcunqiao town staff said.
At that time, Jiande stick fish will also have more stories, timeless and new.