Tongshengxiang beef and mutton steamed bun: a century-old ingenuity inheritance that is not tired of food

Xinhua News Agency, Xi'an, 14 Feb Title: Tongshengxiang Beef and Mutton Steamed Bun: A Century-Old Inheritance of Ingenuity without Getting Tired of Food

Xinhua News Agency reporters Cai Xinyi and Li Yanan

Cut the meat, side dishes, cook the steamed buns, scoop up a little lamb, and in less than two minutes, a bowl of lamb steamed buns with thick broth and smooth steamed buns is ready. "Don't look at the boiling bun takes only two minutes, you can start from bleaching meat and boiling bones, and it takes 48 hours to boil the soup alone." Wu Ping, a national inheritor of Tongshengxiang beef and mutton steamed bun making technology, said that the steamed bun seems to be rough and simple, but in fact, the craftsmanship is exquisite, and the most exquisite thing is just right.

According to legend, beef and mutton steamed buns evolved from the beef and sheep soup of the Western Zhou Dynasty and were the product of silk road trade exchanges. In the Tang Dynasty, merchants from all over the world gathered in Chang'an City, beef and sheep soup was matched with noodle cakes from the Western Regions, and cumin, an important spice for beef and mutton steamed buns, also spread to the Central Plains. In the Song Dynasty, the eating method of beef and mutton steamed buns was gradually fixed and widely spread in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

In 1920, Tongshengxiang, a beef and mutton steamed bun restaurant with the meaning of "common prosperity and common auspiciousness", opened in Xi'an Zhuzhen City, and gradually created a reputation in Xi'an. In the 1940s, there was a saying that "Tongshengxiang's rice, Yi Folk Society's drama", and in the 1980s, Tongshengxiang's steamed bun was included in the state banquet. Wu Ping said that in addition to being affected by the epidemic last year, in response to the government's call to close business for a period of time, Tongshengxiang has opened its doors every day for a hundred years.

According to Wuping, there are more than 4,000 steamed bun halls in Xi'an, each with its own characteristics. Tongsheng Xiang bubble bun pays attention to the incense to take the lead, and the after feeling of hemp incense. From the selection of ingredients, boiling soup, adding ingredients, seasoning to cooking steamed buns, we always adhere to the fine, standard and standardized.

"The lamb should choose the salt pond beach sheep, the beef should choose the Qinchuan yellow cattle, the pepper is the Hancheng Dahongpao, and the cumin is the Gansu cumin..." Wu Ping reported the origin of nearly ten ingredients in one breath. After selecting the material, it is to remove the bone, bleach the meat, remove the meat from the tendons and peel, and repeatedly rinse and rinse with live water after dehairing the bone, leaving no drop of blood, not saving a hair, not leaking a bone slag, and not carrying a little fishy.

The key to boiling soup is to control the heat, duration and taste. The bones boil for two hours and then suffocate, and then boil the next day to make the concentration, color, and fragrance meet the standard. Then put the meat on high heat for an hour and a half, and then turn the simmer and cook it slowly for more than ten hours. In the nearly 48 hours of boiling soup, the chef must put in more than 20 ingredients at the right time to make the ingredients heavy and mellow.

With the improvement of people's living standards and the emphasis on healthy diet, beef and mutton steamed buns are also developing healthily, such as warming the stomach with some fresh ginger in winter and warm ginger in summer. In order to increase the nutritional value of beef and mutton steamed buns, Wuping spent two years studying Chinese medicine.

Unlike other cuisines that only test the chef's skill, a delicious bowl of steamed buns is the result of a collaboration between the chef and the diners. "Steamed buns are broken into small pieces by the diners themselves, so that when cooked, they are easily flavored." U ping said and picked up a piece of steamed bun and demonstrated it. I saw that he first tore the bun into four petals, and then pinched it into a grain the size of a soybean. After all the steamed buns have been broken, take the bowl and shake it to make sure that there are no unbroken buns before bringing the bowl to the kitchen to prepare for cooking. Breaking, tearing, pinching, shaking is the trick to breaking bread.

The steamed bun is particularly focused on the soup. "There are four ways to eat steamed buns: dry bubbles, mouth soup, water siege, and single walking, and the difference lies in the amount of soup. The dried soup is the least, and a bowl of steamed buns is dried and solid; the water siege is that the steamed buns are 'surrounded' by soup in the bowl, as if the water is besieging the city. The proportion of soup and steamed buns in different ways is up to the chef. Upin said.

In 2008, the production technology of Tongshengxiang beef and mutton steamed bun was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects. In 2014, Wuping, who had been making steamed buns in Tongshengxiang for 33 years, became the national inheritor of this skill.

After becoming an inheritor, Wuping devoted a large part of his energy to passing on his skills. In 2016, Xi'an launched the traditional snack production technical specifications, and Wu Ping and his team actively participated in the formulation of technical regulations for the production of beef and mutton steamed buns. "Tongshengxiang has its own production specifications and standards to ensure that the quality remains unchanged for many years." We have summarized The experience and skills of Tongshengxiang for the reference of other peers. Upin said.

In the warm and cold season, eat a bowl of steamed buns with sugar garlic and spicy sauce, and taste not only the food but also the ingenuity of a century-old heritage.