Wuhan people pay great attention to breakfast, Wuhan has a special word called "premature", referring to breakfast. Wuhan breakfast has a wide variety of characteristics, in addition to the well-known hot dry noodles, "paste soup powder" is rarely heard of [but rarely known by outsiders]. Wenjingyuan Canteen on the first floor of the No. 6 window opened a new "fresh fish paste soup powder", affordable price, fresh flavor, attracting students to line up, so Wen Xiaoxin decided to take everyone to taste fresh.
In the morning, a bowl of steaming paste soup powder, dipped in brown fritters, and accompanied by a fresh and fragrant raw fried bun, the day of Wenhua people full of vitality begins.
The newly opened "fresh fish paste soup powder" on the first floor of Wenjingyuan Canteen is responsible for chef Cheng, a local chef in Wuhan. Master Cheng's craft of making paste soup powder is passed down from his father, father and son have been making paste soup powder for decades, before he and his father ran an old shop called "Yipin Xiang Fresh Fish Paste Soup Powder" in Yangyuan Street, Wuchang District, and decades of experience accumulation made his family's paste soup powder more classic. Under the painstaking management of father and son, the old shop has a small reputation in Wuhan and has many repeat customers, including the most convincing representative of the TV host, who drives more than an hour almost every Wednesday to eat his family's paste soup powder. Under the influence of his father for many years, Master Cheng's craftsmanship is also out of the question, and wenhua has gained a large wave of "fans and fans" when he first came.
When Wen Xiaoxin went to visit Master Cheng, he and his colleagues were working in the back kitchen. Under the introduction of the manager, the clerk aunt enthusiastically brought out the freshly made paste soup powder for us to taste, and also cut us fritters and beat a raw fried bun.
The paste soup powder is freshly baked with a hint of pepper. Shrimp and green onions accentuate the plain paste soup powder even more beautifully. Stir a few times, take a bite, the delicate rice noodles are brought to the mouth, and the slightly spicy and fresh sweet taste is impressive. The cut fritters are then dipped into the paste-like broth, and a bite is taken, and the thick broth wrapped under the crispy skin is mixed with the aroma of the fritters, bursting in the mouth, which is very satisfying. "This paste soup powder and fritters are a perfect match," the canteen manager told us, "fritters are generally added to the alum, alum eat more easy to catch fire, but the fritters in this shop are improved, I ate many times, did not catch fire." ”
Paste soup powder is affordable, looks ordinary, but it is not easy to make. The most important thing in the preparation of paste soup powder is the boiling of fish, followed by the amount of pepper added. The sweetness of the paste soup powder comes from the wild crucian carp soup, which must be boiled for more than five hours until the fish bones and fish meat are boiled, so that all the nutrients of the fish are integrated into the soup, and then made into a paste and powder is added, because only in this way can we ensure that a fish soup with a fresh and sweet taste is made. The same reason requires Master Cheng to get up in the early morning, which not only reflects Master Cheng's hard work, but also reflects Master Cheng's intentions for the soup powder and the responsibility for the majority of "rice cooks".
The amount of pepper is also very exquisite, and Master Cheng told us that the students began to reflect that the paste soup powder was a little spicy, so he would put less pepper. The canteen manager knows the soup powder very well, he said to us, "Pepper is especially suitable for autumn to eat, because autumn is a high incidence of respiratory diseases, and pepper is helpful for the prevention of respiratory diseases, such as the prevention of colds, etc., the amount of pepper will also change according to the season, summer hot, just adjust the pepper a little less, winter cold, adjust a little more." ”
Wen Xiaoxin observed that the powder here is different from the powder in other places, it looks very slender, and it tastes smooth and smooth. "Our powder is made entirely of rice and nothing else is added. This rice is also what we tried, and we have tried rice from many places to choose the most delicious one. "When I asked where his rice noodles came from, he told us that his rice noodles were taken from his father.
Master Cheng's paste soup powder inherits the most authentic taste of old Wuhan. In addition to the paste soup, his family's fritters and raw fried buns are also delicious, and the chef has tried again and again on recipes and timing to finally explore a new approach that is different from the traditional procedure. In order to make the raw fried buns even more delicious, they have specially made sauces that match the raw fried buns, and we all regret that we did not eat them earlier after tasting them.
Talking about the experience of working in Wenhua, Master Cheng experienced the most deeply, that is, he was obviously more tired than before, because the traffic was more than before, not only the students of the school, but also the residents of the surrounding communities, but the window was limited, there was only one master each of the paste soup powder, raw fried buns and fritters, and Master Cheng often felt busy. The early morning traffic is relatively small, and the food is just prepared, so the early morning paste soup powder tastes the best, and the fritters and raw fried buns are also the softest and crispest in the first pot in the morning. Master Cheng suggested that we come early in the morning to taste his craftsmanship. "Before someone bought two or three copies as soon as they bought it", the customer's affirmation is the greatest encouragement to Master Cheng.
The window where Master Cheng is located, not only has paste soup powder, but also Chongqing small noodles, fritters, Huan Xi Tuo, raw fried buns, arrange these kinds of food in a window, in order to let the students better match the food, each take what they need, but the most worth tasting is his family's paste soup powder, raw fried buns and fritters.
Not long after Master Cheng came to Wenhua, he already had a deep affection for Wenhua. Master Cheng's education level is not high, but he is full of respect for knowledge, and looking at the vibrant faces on campus, Master Cheng feels relieved and proud. He made simple and sincere expectations for Wenhua students:
● We also interviewed a classmate at random.
In the words of Master Cheng, whether something is good or not, you will know it after eating it. He hopes that more students will try the paste soup powder, and the recognition of the classmates is the biggest motivation for his work.
For the traditional food of paste soup powder, what we taste is delicious, but also a culture, but also the fireworks of Wuhan city. In the smoke of three meals a day, we satisfies our taste buds, warms the stomach, and also allows the food culture of Wuhan, the "breakfast capital", to be inherited.
Bunkinsha New Media Operation Center
Video | Wang Zhicheng
Text | Zhang Hongyi Wang Zhicheng
Photo| Ma Ruijie Zhang Hongyi
Typography | Chen Chen
Responsible editor | Cheng Chao
【Copyright】
The picture and text are edited and arranged by the new media operation center of @Wenhua College
Source: Mandarin College