The most common greeting Chinese meet is: Have you eaten? The most troubling question for Chinese is: What to eat? People take food as the sky, Chinese like to eat, but also good at eating, in the eyes of the Chinese people, food is not only for the stomach, but also a culture. There are eight major cuisines in China, and each province and region has a special cuisine and specialty, and the food street will always be the most lively street in the local area. Each delicacy has a beautiful legend or story. While tasting delicious food, telling the legends and origins of delicious food is definitely a great joy in life!
This article will take stock of the legends of representative cuisines from all over China, including famous dishes, specialties, long-established restaurants, snacks, etc.
<h1>[1] Gansu</h1>
(Lanzhou beef ramen)
In 1915, Ma Baozi, who came from a poor family, was forced by life to make hot pot beef noodles at home, and carried them shoulder to shoulder along the streets of the city to sell, named "hot pot noodles". Later, he opened his own shop and launched a free "bowl of soup into the store", the guests came in, and the guy immediately brought a bowl of hot beef soup for the guests to drink, refreshing and waking up.
In the 1940s, Lanzhou Jiuquan Road Ma Baozi hot pot noodle restaurant, the national government's senior official Yu Youren Lao often patronized here. Once at dinner, he asked about the name of the shop, and the owner was truthful. He said that this hot pot noodles are not good, you see this noodle soup is rotten, look at the beauty eating fragrant, it is better to call it "clear soup beef noodles.". Since then, the good name of Lanzhou beef noodles has been passed down through the world. Yu Youren is also the earliest spokesperson for Lanzhou beef ramen.
<h1>【2】 Lake North</h1>
(Wuhan hot dry noodles)
Hot dry noodles are one of the traditional snacks in Wuhan. In the early 1930s, a food vendor named Li Bao on Changdi Street in Hankou made a living selling cold powder and noodle soup in the Area of Guandi Temple. One day, the weather was unusually hot, and many of the leftover noodles were not sold out, so he was afraid that the noodles would spoil, so he cooked the leftovers and drained them and hung them on the board. Accidentally, he knocked over the oil jug on the case, and the sesame oil was spilled on the noodles. Li Bao saw the situation and had no choice but to mix the noodles with oil and re-dry them. The next morning, Li Bao put the cooked noodles mixed in oil in boiling water and blanched them slightly, drained them into a bowl, and then added the spices used to sell cold powder, making them steaming hot and fragrant. People rush to buy and eat with relish. Someone asked him what kind of noodles he was selling, and he blurted out that it was "hot dry noodles." Since then, he has specialized in this kind of noodles, not only people competing to taste, but also many people learning from him.
After a few years, a man surnamed Cai opened a hot dry noodle restaurant at the intersection of Zhongshan Avenue's Manchun Road, which means rich and prosperous, called "Cai Lin Ji", and became a famous shop for hot dry noodles in Wuhan. Later, it was moved to Zhongshan Avenue opposite the Hankou Water Tower and renamed Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles.
Hot dry noodles are different from cold noodles, but also different from soup noodles, noodles are cooked in advance, mixed with oil spread, and then put in boiling water to heat when eating, plus spices, finished noodles, yellow and oily, fragrant and delicious, tempting appetite.
(Wuhan red cabbage stir-fried bacon)
Legend has it that a long time ago, a lone woman, because of her family's poverty, fled the famine to ask for food and barely made ends meet. One day, when she came to a ruined temple in the Hongshan District of Wuchang, she met an orphan named Xuezi lying on the ground crying pitifully, and the woman took pity on the orphan and took him with her to ask for food to live. The two of them walked for a while to the door of a broken grass house, and they saw an old grandmother in the house coughing breathlessly, so they went into the house and asked the grandmother why she was uncomfortable, and the old man said, "I'm dying, there's a piece of bacon behind the door, you take it and eat it!" "The woman could not bear to take the grandmother's bacon in vain. So she climbed to Hongshan to pick wild vegetables, and she found that there was a wild vegetable with a long tender grass, purple and red color, and yellow flowers. She picked this wild vegetable back and sautéed it with the bacon, who knew it tasted great. It's a heavenly path. The grandmother's spirit was much better after eating this bacon stir-fry.
After this, the woman went to the mountain every day to pick this wild vegetable, and in addition to the three of them eating together to fill the hunger, they also took it to the street to sell, and over time, they gave the orphan's name to the dish, red cabbage and sativa. The dish of stir-fried bacon with red cabbage has also gradually spread.
<h1>【3】 Tianjin</h1>
(Tianjin dog ignores the bun)
It is rumored that the "Dog Ignore" bun shop opened during the Qing Dynasty, the owner's surname is Gao Guiyou, and his breast name is "Paparazzi". It is rumored that Noble Friend had a stubborn temper when he was a child, and he stubbornly ignored even the puppies to tease him. Therefore, the neighbors made fun of him and called him a "dog ignore". Later, Noble Friends went to learn to cook. The buns he made are not only very exquisite in the selection of ingredients, but also very unique in skill; the taste is very delicious, with distinctive characteristics, so it is praised and favored by the majority of diners. After Empress Dowager Cixi admired the taste, "Long Yan Da Yue" could not help but be greatly praised. Since then, this kind of bun "once on the dragon gate, the sound price is ten times", it is also famous, the business is more and more prosperous, and the number of customers who come to taste the bun is increasing day by day, and they are coming to the door, often making noble friends busy.
Later, Gao Guiyou suddenly came up with a new idea for business: even if there are several large chopsticks on the store table, customers want to buy buns, he asks to put the change into the bowl first, and then he gives the bun according to the price of the money in the bowl. The customers finished eating the buns, put down the dishes and chopsticks and left the store, while the noble friend was too busy to say a word. So the neighbors all teased him and said, "Paparazzi sell buns and ignore them." Later, the neighbors of the good deeds named his bun shop "Dog Ignore"; the bun he made was called "Dog Ignore Bun", and the noble friends did not disagree. Once the name of this shop spread, it was famous far and wide, and it has been passed down to this day, which can be described as a long-lasting prosperity.
<h1>【4】 Shanxi</h1>
(Shanxi knife cutting surface)
After the Mongols invaded the Central Plains, they established the Yuan Dynasty. In order to prevent the "Han" from rebelling and revolting, all the metal in every household was confiscated, and it was stipulated that ten households should use a kitchen knife, cut vegetables and cook for cooking, and then return it to the Mongols for safekeeping.
One day at noon, an old woman took a stick, sorghum noodles and a dough and asked the old man to take a knife to cut the noodles. It turned out to be very unfortunate, and the knife had been taken away by another family. The old man had to go home disappointed. On the way, he was touched by a piece of iron, and the old man took the iron back home.
After returning home, the old man was reprimanded by the family for "cutting noodles without knives". The old man suddenly remembered the iron sheet he had brought back, so he asked the old woman to put the dough on a wooden board, lift it in her left hand, hold the iron piece in her right hand, stand by the pot of boiling water to "cut" the noodles, and a piece of dough fell into the pot, cooked it and fished it into a bowl and poured it with marinade. I didn't expect the taste to be particularly delicious. Therefore, once passed on ten, ten passed on a hundred, this kind of knife cutting surface began to be popular in the land of Shanxi.
<h1>【5】 Yunnan</h1>
(Yunnan Bridge Meter Line)
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, There was a scholar in Mongolia, Yunnan, who lived in Nanhu and built a hut on The Island in the middle of the lake, which was connected to a bridge with the lakeshore. Read books on birthdays, just to get a meritorious name. His wife brought him meals every day, but after each delivery, the meals were already cold, and the students ate very uncomfortable.
One day, the wife stewed a chicken soup to send to the husband to nourish the body, the wife who had been working hard for several days fainted when she walked to the middle of the bridge, and when she woke up, she found that the chicken soup was still hot, and there was a layer of oil on the soup to keep warm, and the wife was inspired by this, and sent him chicken soup, raw meat, vegetables and rice noodles to eat together every day. Under such careful care, the students finally passed the examination.
The crowd came to celebrate, and the wife stewed chicken soup, raw meat and rice noodles to entertain the guests. The guest asked for the name of this way of eating, and the wife thought of the daily crossing of the bridge to deliver food, and casually said: "Cross the bridge rice noodles." Since then, this way of eating has become famous and has been passed down to this day.
<h1>【6】 Zhenjiang</h1>
(Zhenjiang crystal dish meat)
There is also a beautiful legend in Zhenjiang: once Zhang Guolao received an invitation from the Queen Mother's mother, inviting him to Yaochi for a peach feast. Halfway along, Zhang Guolao suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, a closer look, it turned out to be the fragrance emitted by the crystal meat, not to be scratched by the worms, he became an old man to buy some, a full meal, and continue on the road. When I was about to arrive at Yaochi, I suddenly lost interest in going to the peach feast, thinking that the crystal meat was so delicious, why should I go to the peach feast again, so I turned the donkey and went back home.
(Zhenjiang pot cover noodles)
Zhenjiang's local specialty snacks were originally called "gang noodles".
Legend has it that the Qianlong Emperor came to Zhenjiang during his first descent to Jiangnan. When I found the most famous "Zhang Sister-in-law Noodle Shop" in Zhenjiang, I wanted to try a bowl of "Gang Noodles". The shop claimed that the sister-in-law accidentally dropped the small lid of the soup pot into the noodle pot due to excessive nervousness. After cooking, the Qianlong Emperor tasted a bowl, which was fragrant and refreshing, soft and cooked, and the dragon was very happy. His entourage found the pot lid in the noodle soup, and since then, the reputation of "Zhenjiang pot lid noodles" has spread throughout the north and south of the river.
Thanks to the emperor's energy blessing, the Zhenjiang pot lid noodles are smoothly known as the "first side of Jiangnan".
<h1>【VII】 Western Shaanxi</h1>
(Shaanxi Qishan Zhenzi noodles)
Legend has it that during the Zhou Dynasty, King Wen Jichang took people out hunting, and on the banks of the Wei River, he encountered a dragon rising from the water, opening its teeth and claws, and killing innocents. King Wen of Zhou ordered his generals to shoot arrows in unison, and the arrows kept sounding in a time. In an instant, the dragon's eyes and throats, which weighed five thousand pounds, were blind and fell from the air. Because the dragon meat has the effect of prolonging life and driving away evil spirits after eating it, King Wen asked the chef to chop the dragon into centimeters of square diced meat, add the seasonings to rot into a cheek, and fish the cooked noodles in a bowl and pour soup and dragon cheeks. Only eat noodles, do not drink soup, and then pour the soup into the soup pot, so that the cycle not only eats the dragon noodles, but even the local villagers are soaked and taste the delicious dragon noodles. Since then, the Qishan people have imitated this way of eating, rotten pork into a cheek, poured soup and eaten, which is the noodles that have been passed down for thousands of years to this day.
(Shaanxi meat sandwich steamed bun)
The first time we hear the three words "meat sandwich bun", we will feel that it is a sick sentence: obviously it is "steamed bun meat", which is called "meat sandwich bun". In fact, this is related to the old Chinese language, meat sandwich steamed bun, in fact, "meat sandwiched in steamed bun". Ordinary people do not need to talk about it in crepe, plus Shaanxi is impatient and straightforward, omitting the word "Yu" and shouting it.
Moreover, the Shaanxi people break open the steamed bread (burnt cake) and eat it with ingredients, which is called sandwich steamed bun. The meat sandwich is called meat sandwich steamed bun, the sandwich dish is called vegetable sandwich steamed bun, as well as large oil sandwich steamed bun, spicy steamed bun and so on.
<h1>【VIII】 Sichuan</h1>
(Sichuan husband and wife lung tablets)
It is said that in the 1930s, near the Imperial City of Chengdu, it was a place where ethnic minorities in Chengdu lived, and people only ate beef and mutton, avoiding internal organs, so they threw away all the internal organs.
At that time, there was a young couple, the male named Guo Chaohua, the female named Zhang Tianzheng, they saw these discarded internal organs have been thrown away, feel very pity, the small two have nothing to do anyway, are struggling with livelihood, so they went to the slaughterhouse in the early morning, rummaged and picked up in the pile of internal organs, picked up their own feelings and ate the picture of the clean pot cooked, repeated experiments, and finally achieved the tripe white and tender as paper, the beef tongue as red as birch, the skin of the cow's scalp transparent and yellowish. After that, it was accompanied by various shades such as red oil, peppercorns, sesame seeds, sesame oil, monosodium glutamate, fine soy sauce and tender celery, which were carefully matched by the husband and wife, and concocted the food that was recited by later generations.
Because the raw materials sold at the beginning are beef, beef heart, beef tongue and scalp, etc. cut into slices and chowdered together, called "vera tablets", because the sound of "vera" and "lungs" is similar, it is called "lung slices" after spreading. Because of the preparation method and strong fragrance, it is praised as "half of the road, the meat smell of a street". I heard that a merchant had tasted the lung tablets made by Guo and his wife, and was amazed, and sent a gold plaque with four big characters of "husband and wife lung tablets". Since then, the snack of "husband and wife lung tablets" has become more famous.
In order to adapt to the tastes and requirements of customers, the husband and wife have continuously improved their ingredients and production methods, and gradually used beef and haggis instead of beef lungs. Although there is no beef lung in the dish, people still like to use the name "husband and wife lung tablets" to call this dish, so it has been used to this day.
(Mao Blood Wang)
70 years ago, a butcher surnamed Wang at the water wharf of Chipingba Ciqikou Ancient Town treated the leftover meat at a low price every day. Wang's daughter-in-law Zhang Shi felt pity, so when the street sold offal soup stalls, with pork head meat, pork bones into the ginger, pepper, cooking wine simmered over a small fire, add peas to boil into a soup, add pig lung leaves, fat intestines, the taste is particularly good.
By chance, Zhang Shi directly put fresh pig blood in the offal soup, and found that the blood was more and more tender and the taste was fresher. This dish is eaten with raw blood and blood, so it is named Mao Blood Wang. "Mao" is the Chongqing dialect, which means rough and sloppy.
(Mapo Tofu)
Sichuan's traditional famous cuisine was founded in the early years of Qing Tongye, when there was a Chen Xingsheng restaurant in Wanfuqiao, a northern suburb of Chengdu, and the chef was Chen Liushi, the wife of the owner Chen Chunfu. It is made with fresh tofu, minced beef, chili peppers, peppercorns, and bean paste. The tofu she cooks, spicy, hot, tender, delicious and delicious, is very popular, people eat more and more addictive, the reputation gradually spread.
Because she has several hemp seeds on her face, it is said to be called mapo tofu. Since then, it has become famous throughout the country.
(Back to the pot meat)
Sichuan famous dish, also known as boiled pot meat, legend has it that this dish was once the first and fifteenth tooth festival (improving life) of the Sichuan people. At that time, the practice was to boil first and then stir-fry.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a Hanlin surnamed Ling in Chengdu, who retired to his home due to eunuch frustration and devoted himself to the study of cooking. He changed the original boiled and sautéed back pot meat to first remove the fishy taste of the pork, steam it in a water-separated container sealed method, and then fry it into a dish. Because it is steamed early to cook, the loss of soluble protein is reduced, and the rich and fresh flavor of the meat is maintained, the original taste is not lost, and the color is red and bright. Since then, the famous Jincheng's early steamed back pot meat has spread.
(Shredded fish)
Legend has it that a long time ago there was a businessman in Sichuan, and the people in their family liked to eat fish, and they were also very particular about seasoning, so when they roasted fish, they had to put some shallots, ginger, garlic, wine, vinegar, soy sauce and other seasonings to add fishy flavor.
Once, when the hostess of this family was frying another dish at night, in order not to waste the ingredients, she put the leftover ingredients from the last time she cooked the fish in this dish and fried it, at that time she also thought that this dish might not taste very tasty, maybe the man in the family came back and did not give a good explanation, she was in a daze, her husband went home from business. This husband does not know whether it is the reason for the hunger or feel that this bowl of dishes is special, and he has not waited for the meal to grab it with his hand and swallow it into his mouth, before waiting for a minute, he can't wait to ask his wife what this dish is made of, she just stuttered, she unexpectedly found that her husband even praised the taste of his dish, her husband saw that she did not answer, and asked a sentence "how to eat delicious is made of what", so the wife only told him one by one.
And this dish is fried with the ingredients of grilled fish and other dishes, will have endless flavor, so it is named fish stir-fry, and got this name.
(Kung Pao Chicken)
During the Qing Dynasty's Xianfeng Jinshi Ding Baozhen, during his tenure as governor of Shandong, Prince Gong secretly ordered the eunuch An Dehai, who was favored by Cixi, to be killed. This move was very popular, and it was famous for a while, and its reputation was quite good, coupled with outstanding achievements in controlling the flooding of the Yellow River, preparing for coastal defense in the Bohai Sea, and establishing the Shandong Machinery Bureau.
In the second year of Guangxu (1876), when Ding became the governor of Sichuan, he also brought the family kitchen into Sichuan. Tianfu peanuts are no less than Shandong, but the seasoning is missing the sweet noodle sauce, and then switch to watercress hot sauce, slightly added sugar, the taste is better.
Legend has it that once it was too late to return from an outing, and everyone was hungry, and Ding hurriedly prepared food. The chef was caught off guard, so he grabbed chicken, peppers, peanuts and other raw materials, and was greatly appreciated after being quickly fried into a dish.
Ding often used this dish to feast on his colleagues from Sichuan, which won the praise of everyone and spread the word. Because of the bright color, oil but not greasy, spicy but not fierce, tender meat, soft and crispy, suitable for all ages, for a while enjoyed the reputation of "national dish".
<h1>【9】 Fu Jian</h1>
(Buddha Jumping Off the Wall)
Also known as Mantanxiang is a famous dish in Fujian, has now become the first traditional dish in Fujian cuisine, the Buddha jumping wall in Fujian cuisine is made of sea cucumber, abalone, dried scallops, shark fin, chicken, pig trotter tendon, lamb elbow, pigeon egg and other 18 kinds of raw materials simmered in the wine altar. It is characterized by fresh and mellow taste, soft and tender texture, melting in the mouth, and significant aftertaste after eating.
There is a rule in Fujian customs called "trial cooking". According to this rule, the newlywed daughter-in-law comes to the door on the first day, returns to the door on the second day, and on the third day must go to the husband's house to try the kitchen in front of the public, which is a test of the new daughter-in-law's ability to govern the family.
Legend has it that there was a pampered woman who could not cook. Before getting married, I was worried about the upcoming trial cooking. The mother tried her best for her daughter, and finally rummaged through the treasures of the family's hidden mountains, prepared them one by one and made them into small packets with lotus leaves, and repeatedly instructed her daughter how to cook various raw materials. Who knew that the day before the bride arrived at the trial cooking, she forgot all kinds of cooking methods in a panic. She didn't go to the kitchen until the evening, unwrapped the various raw materials that her mother had wrapped up, piled up a table that she couldn't get started, and when there was nothing she could do, she listened to her in-laws enter the kitchen. The new daughter-in-law was afraid that her mother-in-law would be picky, and when she saw that there was a wine altar at the table, she hurriedly packed all the raw materials she brought into the altar, wrapped the altar with lotus leaves wrapped in raw materials, and put the wine altar on the stove that was about to extinguish the fire. Thinking about trying the kitchen tomorrow, the new daughter-in-law was afraid that she would not be able to cope, so she quietly sneaked back to her mother's house.
The next day, the guests arrived, but the new daughter-in-law was missing. The in-laws entered the kitchen and found that there was a wine altar on the stove, which was still hot. As soon as the lid was lifted, the fragrance overflowed, and the guests cheered in unison when they smelled the fragrance. At this time, the senior monk Xuan quan, on his way to the Shaolin Temple in Fujian, happened to live next door, and the senior monk sniffed and salivated, abandoned the Buddhist gate for many years of practice, jumped off the wall and entered the "full altar incense." Buddha Jumping off the Wall" hence the name.
<h1>【10】 Jiang Su</h1>
(Pei Gong Dog Meat)
Legend has it that when Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, was young, he often went to his uncle who was engaged in slaughtering dogs to "pick up oil", and his uncle could not go away, and he was very disgusted. Once the uncle could not bear it, so he pulled up the suspension bridge and issued an eviction order. Who knew that Liu Bang was not dead-hearted, riding a big turtle to swim through the water. The uncle could not get out of the evil breath, killed the big turtle, and threw it into the pot of dog meat. Unexpectedly, after the dog meat came out of the pot, the population salivated, and the turtle juice dog meat came from it.
Later, it was named Pei Gong Dog Meat. After marinating with dog meat, turtle and wine, green onion, ginger and salt, simmering with wine, sugar, salt, soy sauce, star anise, peppercorns and water, the dog meat is crispy and fragrant, and the turtle is soft and tender and delicious. This dish is still a famous dish in the Xuzhou area.
(Called Flower Chicken)
Jiangsu Changshu famous dish, also known as yellow mud simmered chicken. Legend has it that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there was a chicken in the foothills of Changshu Yu Mountain, bitter without cooking utensils, spices, helpless, slaughtered to remove dirt, with hair smeared mud, put into the firewood pile simmered, after cooking knocked off the mud shell, chicken feathers with the shell and off, the aroma is overflowing. When Qian Muzhai, a university scholar living in seclusion in Yushan, passed by, tried it, felt that its taste was unique, and returned home to order his family to add a little seasoning to concoct it, which was even more delicious. Since then, it has become a famous dish and has been passed down to this day.
<h1>【11】 Shandong</h1>
(Nine turns of the large intestine)
This dish was in the early years of the Guangxu Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, pioneered by Jinan", this building fired large intestine under the material fierce, with the whole material, first cooked blanched, then fried, and then burned, out of the spoon into the pot repeatedly many times, until simmered to cook. Once "Jiuhua Lou" shop owner Du Invited guests, there is a "roasted intestine" during the banquet, after tasting the guests have praised, some say sweet, some say sour, some say spicy, some say salty, there is a literati in the seat proposed, in order to thank the host for the grand intentions, the name of the "nine turns of the intestine", praising the chef's superb skills and the characteristics of making this dish with complete ingredients, complex processes and changeable tastes.
This dish is ruddy in color, soft and tender in the large intestine, and has five flavors of sour, sweet, fragrant, spicy and salty, which is the traditional flavor of Shandong.
(Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea to Haunt the Arhat)
Eight immortals across the sea to make Luohan is the first famous dish of Confucius celebration birthday banquet, from the beginning of the Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, many emperors of the past generations have personally visited Qufu Confucius to worship Confucius, of which the Qianlong Emperor has been to seven times, as for the dignitaries and dignitaries, literati and scholars to worship more numerous, so Confucius set up banquets very frequently, Kong feast is famous all over the world, eight immortals across the sea to make Luohan, is one of the famous dishes of Confucius, it is complete selection of ingredients, fine production, rich taste, unique utensils, the dish takes shark fin, sea cucumber, abalone, fish bone, fish belly, shrimp, chicken, asparagus, Ham and other more than a dozen raw materials are the mainstay, with chicken as the "Luohan", of which eight main ingredients are "Eight Immortals", so the name of the Eight Immortals Across the Sea Luohan This dish immediately opens a gong and sings a play, while tasting delicious, while listening to the play, very lively.
(Fairy Duck)
This is a traditional dish of Confucius, according to legend, began in the seventy-fourth generation of Confucius Sun Kong Fanpo period, in Kong Fanpo as the governor of Tongzhou, Shanxi, the chef in the house to duck out of the bone, add spices into the bowl and cover, steamed in the basket, the meat is crispy, fragrant, delicious taste, Kong Fanpo tasted, felt that this dish is different, steamed to point incense three burns as a degree, taste turbot beauty is better than its dish, so it is named fairy duck.
<h1>【XII】 Suzhou Hang</h1>
(Laba Porridge)
Zhu Yuanzhang had begged for food in his early years, one year on the eighth day of the first lunar month, he had not eaten for several days, hunger and cold, suddenly he saw a rat drill into the hole, he wanted to catch the rat to eat, he dug open the rat hole, but in it he pulled out some rice beans and grains, so he boiled a pot of porridge to eat, so as not to freeze and starve to death. After becoming emperor, every eighth day of the first lunar month, he would boil porridge to eat as a souvenir, which also contained the meaning of remembering bitterness and sweetness.
(Lion's Head)
In that year, the Sui Dynasty Emperor went down to Jiangnan and enjoyed the four famous scenery of Yangzhou Wansong Mountain, Qiandun, Ivory Forest, and Sunflower Gang. In addition to sightseeing, he ordered the imperial chef to make four dishes with the theme of the four famous scenes. Under the guidance of local celebrities, the imperial chef finally cooked four dishes of squirrel cinnamon fish, money shrimp cake, ivory chicken strips and sunflower chopped meat, of which sunflower chopped meat is now called "lion's head". After the Sui Emperor tasted the Great Joy of Longyan, he gave a feast to the courtiers, and for a time the four famous dishes were dumped on the court.
In the Tang Dynasty, due to the economic prosperity, the magnates became popular in drinking and feasting, and competed for hospitality. Once Guo Gong Wei Zhi feasted, he also served these four famous dishes, and when the "sunflower chopping meat" was served, he saw the sunflower heart made of huge meatballs, like the head of a male lion. In order to please the host, some guests took the opportunity to persuade them: "The duke of the country has been fighting horses for half his life, and his military achievements are in the annals of history, and he should wear the lion seal." It would be better to rename this dish 'Lion's Head'. The duke was overjoyed and gladly adopted it, and since then the "lion's head" has swept the north and south of the river and been handed down.
(Dongpo meat)
Dongpo meat belongs to the Zhejiang cuisine family, is a famous dish in Hangzhou, its color, aroma and taste are good, and it is deeply loved by people. Slow fire, less water, more wine, is the trick to making this dish. Generally, it is a piece of square-shaped pork about two inches, half of which is fat and half of which is lean, with a sticky, fat and not greasy entrance, with a wine aroma, red and bright color, mellow and juicy, crisp and unbroken, very delicious.
Legend has it that it was created by the Northern Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo. When Su Shi was in charge of Xuzhou Zhizhou, the Yellow River broke through, su Shi was a pioneer, and the people of the city built an embankment to protect the city. The people of Xuzhou slaughtered pigs and sheep, the government comforted labor, Su Shi could not resign, he instructed his family to burn braised meat back to the people, after the people ate, they all felt fat but not greasy, crispy and delicious, so they called it "return meat". When Su Shi belittled Huangzhou, he wrote a boiled meat song: "Huangzhou is good pork, and the price is as cheap as dung." The rich refuse to eat, and the poor do not cook. Slow fire, less water, when the fire is enough, it is beautiful. People began to compete for imitations, and jokingly called it "Dongpo meat". When Su Shi was the second governor of Hangzhou, he was credited with dredging the West Lake. Everyone carried wine and meat to him to pay homage to the New Year, Su Shi ordered the pork and wine to be burned for the migrant workers to eat, the family misheard that the rice wine and pork were burned together, and everyone felt more crisp and fragrant after eating. Spread slowly.
Tracing back to the source, Su Shi's braised pork was first created in Xuzhou, further improved in Huangzhou, and famous throughout the country when it was in Hangzhou.
(West Lake vinegar fish)
"West Lake vinegar fish", also known as "uncle and sister-in-law Chuanzhen". Traditional dishes in Hangzhou. Dating back to the Song Dynasty, it has a long history.
Legend has it that in ancient times, there were two brothers surnamed Song, full of articles and very learned, who lived in seclusion in the West Lake to make a living by fishing. The local villain Zhao Daguan once went swimming in the lake, and on the way, he met a woman who was wearing a yarn by the lake, and when he saw its beautiful appearance, he wanted to occupy it. As soon as someone inquired, it turned out that this woman was Brother Song's wife, so he used conspiracy means to kill Brother Song.
The Uncle and Sister-in-law of the Song family were very indignant, and the two of them went to the official palace together to file a complaint, and the official government at that time not only did not accept their complaints, but instead beat them with a stick and drove them out of the official palace.
After returning home, Sister-in-law Song asked Brother Song to quickly pack up and flee, so as not to prevent the villains from coming to retaliate. Before leaving, my sister-in-law cooked a bowl of fish, added sugar and vinegar, and cooked it in a strange way. Brother Song asked his sister-in-law: How did the fish burn like this today? Sister-in-law said: Fish have sweet and sour, I want you to go out this time, don't forget how your brother died, if your life is sweet, don't forget the bitterness of your sister-in-law's drinking. The younger brother was very excited to hear this, ate the fish, and remembered his sister-in-law's intentions.
Later, Brother Song returned to Hangzhou after achieving fame, avenged his brother's murder, and punished the villain. But at this time, the sister-in-law's whereabouts are unknown. Once, When Brother Song went out to a banquet, he ate a dish during the banquet, and the taste was the same as that of his sister-in-law when he left home, and he asked who burned it, only to learn that it was his sister-in-law's masterpiece. It turned out that after he left, the sister-in-law avoided the villains to pester, hid her name, and hid in the official's house to work as a cook. Song Di was very happy to find his sister-in-law, so he resigned his official position, took his sister-in-law back home, and resumed the life of a fisherman who made a living by fishing.
In ancient times, someone ate this dish, and wrote a poem on the wall of the restaurant: 'Skirts and sandals are drunk, the green sun shadows go upstairs, how many lake boats are in front of the door, and half from the three pools of the moon. Why return to Zhang Han perch (known as west lake vinegar fish is better than the delicious Songjiang sea bass), fish flavor said West Lake, thanks to jun has this blending hand, know that Song sister-in-law did not. The last sentence of the poem refers to the creation legend of the 'West Lake vinegar fish'.
(Yongxiu Dongpo Elbow)
Dongpo elbow has the characteristics of fat but not greasy, but not rotten, color, aroma, taste, shape are good, some people call it "beauty food", foreign guests praised it "can be included in the world famous dishes".
Legend has it that Su Dongpo once visited the Yongxiu area of Jiangxi And cured the child of a local farmer. The farmer thanked him and left him to eat. The beauty of the countryside intoxicated Su Dongpo, and he could not help but chant a poem: "Grass pearls penetrate the heart." The farmer who was cooking between the stoves listened, thinking that Su Dongpo was teaching him how to cook meat - "and grass is cooked through the heart", so he quickly put the pork and the straw tied to the meat into the pot to cook, but the meat cooked in this way is really very fragrant!
Naturally, this invention reached the head of Mr. Su Lao and spread widely.
<h1>【XIII】 Henan</h1>
(Chowder)
Henan people encounter new year festivals or home visitors, always like to make a large pot of chowder dishes to entertain guests. Chowder is a pot of cabbage, vermicelli, white tofu, fried tofu, meatballs, etc. together, plus ginger, green onions, coriander and other condiments. The original name of the dish was not a chowder, but rather "fried juniper."
According to legend, during the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Dunru of the Bingbu Shilang lost his official position because he advocated resisting Jin. After he returned to his hometown in Henan, he was disheartened by the imperial court, no longer bothered about political affairs, and often met with three or five friends to drink and write poetry to pass the time.
This year, on the occasion of Zhu Dunru's sixtieth birthday, some relatives, friends and old friends were invited to come to the small gathering. Unexpectedly, it suddenly came that Qin Ju had killed Yue Fei on the charge of "false accusations". For a time, the hatred of the country and the family were intertwined, where did Zhu Dunru still have the mood to drink and gather? But since the guests had come to the feast, how could they be allowed to return empty-stomached? So Zhu instructed the cook: "Don't drink alcohol today, and don't put those dishes, just boil the prepared vegetables together, one bowl for each person, and serve them with steamed steamed buns." ”
Zhu Dunru saw that everyone was slow to move their chopsticks, so he picked up a ball in the bowl and said: "Marshal Yue has been loyal to the country all his life, and he actually died tragically under the charge of 'false accusations'. I hate that I can't cut off Qin Juniper's head under the oil pot..." Before he could finish speaking, a guest suddenly stood up and said indignantly: "My lord, the balls in this bowl of boiled vegetables are qin juniper's head, the fried tofu is the meat of Qin juniper, and the vermicelli is Qin juniper's intestines." Come, let's all eat Qin Juniper together and avenge our Marshal Yue! ”
Therefore, the full of guests responded in unison, picked up chopsticks one after another, and instantly ate a bowl of boiled vegetables. When the dish was finished, someone asked, "What should I name this dish?" Zhu Dunru thought about it and said, "Let's call it 'fried juniper'!" ”
Soon, this matter spread to the people. Out of resentment towards Qin Juniper, people have made "fried juniper" to eat. Later, because this dish was made by boiling a variety of miscellaneous dishes together, people called it "chowder".
(Shiki Maruko)
Sixi balls are a well-known Yu dish, which is made of lean meat and minced steamed buns as the main ingredients, fried in oil and matured, put into a bowl and steamed with broth, and put four in each bowl. Because it is fried and steamed with water, it is fresh and not greasy, crisp and refreshing, and the aroma is rich and easy to digest.
After the Gengzi Incident, the Qing court signed the "Xinugu Treaty" with the Eight-Nation Alliance, and Empress Dowager Cixi, who fled to Xi'an, decided to return to Beijing. When passing through Henan, she lowered her intention to taste Henan specialties. Local officials asked the chef to offer a "four seasons ball", which represents the fullness of the four seasons of the year. "Lafayette" was very satisfied with this dish, and even praised: "The taste is good." "But that's not what it meant.
It turned out that Cixi's party was accompanied by thousands of people and thousands of vehicles, which made the people along the way unhappy. When a chef was making four seasons balls, he said with hatred: "Blow up this Cixi who has brought calamity to the country and the people!" Someone then said, "Cixi's heart is fierce, so she should be told to finish!" But at that time, cursing "Lafayette" was a crime of extermination. Therefore, people used the harmonic sound of the word Cixi to change the name of fried Cixi to "fried four joys" and "cixi end" to "four joy pills".
<h1>【14】 Hebei</h1>
(Donkey meat fire in the river)
The hejian donkey meat fire is said to have originated in the early Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di, the King of Yan, rebelled and killed Caohe in Xushui County, Baoding Province, and fought a defeated battle. When he was hungry and hungry, some soldiers offered him the idea to imitate the ancients and kill horses to eat. The horse meat fiber is relatively coarse, not particularly delicious, but hungry, so the horse meat is cooked and eaten with a local fire. The taste is still very good. So later, the local people also began to kill horses to make "horse meat fire", and the horse meat fire was famous because it was once eaten by the emperor. But the good times did not last long, not long, because fighting the Mongols required horses. Horses have become strategic materials, of course, they cannot be eaten by the common people.
So there was a substitute – donkey meat. Donkey meat fiber is more delicate than horse meat, and it is pure thin and not fat. The donkey meat fire in the river was born under various meetings!
<h1>【15】 Northeast and East</h1>
(Tiger dish)
Tiger dish is a traditional cold mix in the northeast, and it is also an appetizer on a hot day. It is made with peppers, green onions, coriander, gherkin... After chopping, season with white vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, salt, gently grasp the taste with your hands, it is a spicy, crisp and refreshing cold dish, which can make people's appetites open on hot days, bowl after bowl of rice, eat a non-stop! Legend has it that its origin is related to a daughter-in-law who does not know how to cook.
There is a daughter-in-law in the northeast who is not very good at cooking, the first day after the door, the mother-in-law asked the daughter-in-law to make a special dish, let the family taste fresh, this son can be difficult for the daughter-in-law, she had to hard scalp, the kitchen existing peppers, cucumbers, green onions, coriander and other ingredients washed, cut long strips and put into the plate, sprinkle salt, sprinkle sugar, and then drop some white vinegar, drop some sesame oil, grab a few times with her hands, and then rush to the table.
When the mother-in-law saw this "disorganized" dish, such a casual and outrageous approach, she blurted out: "Daughter-in-law, you are really a tiger!" (The "tiger" in the Northeastern dialect has the meaning of cursing people stupidly and lacking hearts and eyes.) But after tasting a bite, the appetite was provoked by its fierce tiger's spicy energy, the appetite was wide open, coupled with crisp and refreshing cucumbers, green onions, coriander, sweet and sour and salty good taste, everyone unconsciously ate a bowl of rice, everyone praised, since then, this dish has been called "tiger dish".
<h1>【16】 Beijing</h1>
(Peking Duck)
It is said that the breeding of this special pure Beijing duck, about a thousand years ago, was due to the liaojin yuan dynasty emperors hunting, occasionally obtained this pure white wild duck species, and then raised for hunting, has been continued, to obtain this excellent pure breed, and cultivated into today's valuable carnivorous duck species. That is, a kind of white duck that is fattened by filling method, so it is called "filling duck".
In the early Ming Dynasty, the common people loved to eat Nanjing plate duck, and the emperor also loved to eat it, and it is said that Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang "eclipsed a roast duck". The imperial cooks in the court tried to develop a new way to eat duck food to please Banzai Grandpa, so they also developed two kinds of fork roast duck and oven roast duck. Fork grilled duck is represented by "Quanjude", while roast duck in the oven is most famous for "Cheap Fang".
It is said that after Zhu Di usurped the throne and moved the capital to Beijing, he also took away many masters of roast duck in the Nanjing court. During the Jiajing period, roast duck was passed from the court to the people, and the old "cheap shop" roast duck shop was opened in Caishikou Mishi Hutong, which was also the first roast duck shop in Beijing. At that time, the name was called "Jinling Sliced Skin Duck", and there was a line of small characters on the old "Cheap Fang" market: Jinling Roast Duck.
In 1864, the most famous "Quanjude" roast duck shop in Beijing was also opened, and the roast duck technology developed into the era of "hanging stove". It is roasted over an open flame with fruit wood and has a special fragrance, which not only makes the roast duck aroma drift for thousands of miles but also makes the "Beijing roast duck" replace the "Nanjing roast duck".
Beijing Wang Zhi and stinky tofu.
In the eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Wang Zhihe, a son of Anhui, entered Beijing to take the exam, but his name fell on Sun Shan, at this time, the travel expenses were spent, and he had to stay in Beijing to wait for the next exam. He used to make tofu when he was a child, and in order to make a living, he made tofu and sold it in the "Anhui Guild Hall" at that time.
Once it was the height of summer, there was still a lot of tofu left that had not been sold, he looked at it, worried, if it was dumped it would be a pity. At this time, he suddenly remembered that his hometown used them to make soy sauce tofu, but how to make it? Just try to cut the tofu into small pieces, add salt and pepper and seal it in the jar. After a long time, Wang Zhihe remembered, hurriedly opened the jar, the smell came to the nose, and the tofu turned green! He tasted it curiously, but the taste was delicious. As a result, Wang Zhihe's stinky tofu became infamous.
(boiled meat)
9 Beijing traditional famous dish, this dish was founded in the late Ming Dynasty Manchus, about 300 years of history, after the Qing Dynasty into the customs from the palace into the folk. Beijing "Casserole House" restaurant is the most famous for making this dish. Legend has it that in the sixth year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1741), when the casserole house was first built, it used a large casserole pot with a diameter of 133 cm to cook meat, only one bite of pigs per day, mainly to sell white meat, due to the prosperity of business, it was sold out before noon, took off the cover, and closed in the afternoon, so it gradually spread a sentence after the break in the folk: "The cover of the casserole house - not waiting for noon"
(Pea yellow)
Pea yellow is a traditional snack in Beijing. According to Beijing customs, on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, you should eat pea yellow. Therefore, pea yellow is marketed every spring and supplied until late spring. Beijing's pea yellow is divided into two kinds: court and folk. Peas are best produced in Zhangjiakou. Pea yellow is a traditional Snack in Beijing, which was introduced to the Qing Palace along with kidney bean rolls.
It is said that one day Cixi was sitting in Beihai meditating and resting, when she overheard the sound of beating gongs and shouting from the street, wondering in her heart and asking what she was doing. Cixi was momentarily pleased, and summoned the man into the garden. The visitor saw Lafayette hurriedly kneeling down, and holding the kidney bean roll and pea yellow in both hands, and asked Lafayette to appreciate the light. Cixi tasted it, praised it, and left this person in the palace, making pea yellow and kidney beans for her.
(Donkey Roll)
Also known as bean noodle rolls. It is one of the traditional snacks of old Beijing.
It is said that once, Empress Dowager Cixi was tired of eating food in the palace and wanted to try something new. So, the imperial chef thought about it and decided to make a new dish with rice noodles wrapped in red bean paste. As soon as the new dish was ready, a eunuch named Little Donkey er came to the Imperial Kitchen, who knew that this little donkey accidentally touched the new dish that had just been made into a basin containing soybean noodles, which was anxious to spoil the Imperial Chef, but at this time it was too late to do it again, there was no way, the Chef had to present this dish to Empress Dowager Cixi with a hard scalp. As soon as Empress Dowager Cixi ate this new thing, she felt that the taste was not bad, so she asked the chef, "What is the name of this thing?" The chef thought about it, and it was the eunuch named The Little Donkey who broke into the trouble, because it was very similar to the way the donkey rolled on the loess and was covered with loess. So he said to Empress Dowager Cixi, "This is called 'donkey rolling.'" Since then, there has been a snack called "donkey rolling".
(Aiwowo)
Aiwowo is a halal snack made of glutinous rice in Beijing, which is characterized by its snow-white color, ball-like shape, soft texture and sweet taste. Every year around the Lunar New Year, Beijing's snack bars have to sell this variety until the end of summer and early autumn, so Aiwowo is also a spring and autumn variety, and now it is available all year round.
After The Qing Dynasty suppressed the rebellion of Da, Xiao, and Zhuo Mu, He snatched the wife of a Uyghur leader in Xinjiang into the palace as his concubine, that is, Xiang Concubine.
After Xiangfei was robbed to Beijing, she did not think about tea and dinner day and night, and qianlong was anxious, so she had to order the people of the White Hat Camp to make hometown snacks for Xiangfei and send them to the palace. Xiangfei's husband made a plate of ancestral rice dumplings. When Princess Xiangfei saw Jiang Mi Tuanzi, she knew that her husband was coming. When the rice dumplings were sent to the palace, the eunuch asked him what the name of this thing was, and he wanted to call himself Amat, just call it Awawowo
(Sheep's Eye Bun)
Sheep's eye bun is a famous snack in Beijing, is a good food in the Muslim diet, this thing because of its small size like a sheep's eye, so it is called sheep's eye bun. Don't look at the small buns, but the filling is diverse and is loved by people. It is said that the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty once ate sheep's eye buns, so he became famous.
According to legend, the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty once disguised himself outside the front door to taste the sheep's eye buns from the Huimin lamb bun shop. The Kangxi Emperor looked left and right and did not see the "sheep's eye", so he asked the treasurer: "Why can't you see the sheep's eye?" The treasurer replied busily: "If you go back to your grandfather, you are guilty and dare not deceive: the stuffed meat does not have a sheep's eye, but it is made more delicately, and the size of the package is a little smaller, like a sheep's eye, so he gave the name of 'sheep's eye bun'." Kangxi tasted two of them and thought they were very delicious and delicious, so he passed on the message: "I think that the lamb's eye bun is very good, but it can often be sent to the palace to find the ministry of internal affairs to open silver." Since then, the sheep's eye bun has become famous and famous in Beijing.
(Fried liver)
Fried liver is a Beijing snack developed from the Song Dynasty folk food "boiled liver" and "fried lungs", with pig's liver, large intestine, etc. as the main ingredient, garlic as an accessory, and starch as the main ingredient. At first, when eating fried liver, I paid attention to sipping around the bowl and asked to eat it with a small bun, but now I don't have so much attention to eating fried liver.
During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Huixianju in Qianmen Xianyukou Hutong invented the method of making fried liver without hooking, and now Huixianju is considered to be the creator of fried liver. It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly wanted to taste the taste of fried liver, but it did not matter after her taste, although it was appreciated, it was clear that it might be better to remove the heart and lungs. How dare the little people disobey orders.
Since then, the old Beijingers have said more after a break - Beijing's fried liver, lack of heart and lungs.
(Stir-fried pimples)
Stir-fried knots are a characteristic fried noodle food in Beijing. The fried knots are dark yellow in color, yellow and green in contrast, soft and flexible in food, mellow and delicious. Stir-fry during the production process. The stir-fried knots are brown in color, accompanied by green leafy fresh vegetables, yellow and green. It is soft and strong to eat, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes.
In the early years of the Republic of China, there was a home-cooked restaurant called "Guangfuguan" in the Liuli Factory outside the Heping Gate, and the owner was an old lady surnamed Mu, who was dependent on her daughter and sold noodles every day. Once the reconciled noodles were not sold out, so the Mu family girls rolled the noodles into dough and cut them into small knots, they used this cooked gnocchi and cut greens and shredded meat to fry for dinner, it was very refreshing to eat, and there was a bite of strength, the taste was particularly good.
(Three non-sticks)
Legend has it that during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Anyang County Ling's father celebrated his seventieth birthday, and the feast was indispensable to the local traditional osmanthus eggs. Because it is the first time to make it in a large pot, you can only add oil while frying. As a result, the osmanthus eggs fried this time are yellow in color, crystal clear, and full of aroma, and after everyone tastes it, they all praise this dish for its delicious taste, sweetness and refreshingness, which is really a rare product in the dish. As a result, osmanthus eggs soon became famous in Anyang and became popular.
Soon, the Qianlong Emperor went to Jiangnan to inspect the people's sentiments, passed by Anyang, and proposed to taste the flavor snacks of Anyang. Anyang County Ling asked the chef to carefully fry a plate of osmanthus eggs and offer them to Qianlong to taste. After Qianlong ate this dish, he was very happy, and when he saw that this dish was non-sticky plates, non-stick chopsticks, and non-stick teeth, he immediately issued a holy decree and gave the osmanthus egg the name of "three non-stick". He also asked the prefectural order to give the preparation method of this dish to the imperial dining room in the imperial palace, so that he and the harem concubines and imperial relatives could taste it at any time.
Of course, the origin of these famous foods, some have real evidence, and some are just brands that have made up some legends in order to gild themselves. When we look at these histories, we should assume that there is a certain basis for this.
After all, what we value is not how magical these legends are, but how unique the taste of these famous foods is.