Old-school grandpa
Abstract: Every early spring, I can't forget the knife fish noodles that have the reputation of "the freshest in spring". In Shanghai, the most famous knife fish noodles naturally belong to the old half-jai, knife fish noodles, knife fish wontons, the ultimate in the river fresh, through the tip of the tongue to make people realize that spring is coming.
In the early spring, I can't forget the knife fish noodles that have the reputation of "the freshest in spring". In Shanghai, the most famous knife fish noodles naturally belong to the old half-jai, knife fish noodles, knife fish wontons, the ultimate in the river fresh, through the tip of the tongue to make people realize that spring is coming.
Knifefish, because of its narrow and long side thinness, silver and white color, shaped like a sharp knife and named, is a migratory fish, usually living in the sea, every February and March from the sea into the river, down the river into the Yangtze River and surrounding lakes to spawn. According to the different waters, it is divided into river knife, lake knife and sea knife. Among them, the river knife in the main stream of the Yangtze River is the best quality, especially in the Yangzhou section of the Yangtze River knife fish is better. The body of the river knife is relatively thin and narrow, the abdomen has silver fish scales, the tail is black, it is rounded, the eyes are very small, the gills of the fish are bright red, in simple terms, it is characterized by white tails and black scales, and small blush eyes.
However, in recent years, due to the ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, the River knife is basically impossible to eat, can only retreat to the second, using the sea knife near Chongming Island, Chongming sea knife is just from the sea to the mouth of the Yangtze River, because it has just entered the fresh water from the sea, the meat is somewhat rough, but also with a little salty taste, but it is better than nothing.
Knife fish not only pays attention to the place of origin, but also pays attention to the time, only half a month before the middle of March to the Qingming Dynasty every year. Before the Qingming Dynasty, the bones of the knife fish were soft as cotton, and once the Qingming Was clear, the bones were as hard as iron. Therefore, after the Qingming Dynasty, the value of knifefish plummeted, and the price of the difference of one day would even fall by half!
Knife fish is known as "the first fresh in the spring", is the best in the river fresh, whether it is the Three Fresh Yangtze River (knife fish, anchovy and puffer fish), or the Yangtze River four fresh (knife fish, anchovy, puffer fish and catfish), knife fish are among them, so for the old gourmets, the knife fish that has only half a month of tasting season every year is naturally not to be missed.
To eat knife fish, the first choice is of course "knife fish two eats" - steamed knife fish and pretzel fish bone crisp. For the best ingredients, back to basics, steaming is of course the most reflective of the pure and delicious cooking method of the ingredients, a few slices of ginger and a few shallots, plus a little salt, simple steaming through the water, you can perfectly show the deliciousness of the knife fish. The steamed knife fish is gently stroked from the head of the fish with chopsticks while it is hot, and the fish meat and fish bones are separated, and the fish bones are served, and the fish bones are fried crisply by the chef, sprinkled with pretzel salt, and become the pretzel fish bone crisp. However, in recent years, the price of knifefish has soared, except for the local tycoons who have spent thousands of dollars, ordinary diners obviously do not have such a blessing. If you want to taste the delicious knife fish, you must only have knife fish noodles.
Knife fish noodles, in fact, should be called knife fish juice noodles. First wash and cut the knife fish into pieces, fry into a fish floss, put into a cloth bag to tie the mouth of the bag into the pot, plus the soup boiled by the old hen and pork bones together, until the fish in the bag is all melted into the soup, then the soup is thick and milky white, filter out the bone spurs, and then add refined, cooking wine, boiled with wet starch to hook the mustard, this is the knife fish juice, and finally use this soup under the strip, is the knife fish noodles.
Although it is called knife fish noodles, in fact, you can't see the knife fish, the essence of the knife fish is all in the soup, so it is known as the "most expensive bare side" - this year's knife fish noodles three sides a bowl to 39 yuan, two or two is 36 yuan, here is a special reminder, must buy three or two, because the price difference is only 3 yuan, not only the noodles are less, the key even the most essential soup is also a lot less, because the two or two use is a small bowl. Therefore, even if you have a small appetite and can't eat more than three or two, you can leave the noodles behind, don't waste the soup, the essence of the knife fish noodles can be all in the soup. Ordinary noodles after the baptism of knife fish juice, immediately very stunning, the soup is white and not mixed, fresh but not greasy, thick but clear, the biggest feature is delicious.
In addition to knife fish noodles, there are also knife fish wontons. When choosing a fat female knifefish, the first thing is to remove the spines of the knifefish - the chef has his own way of removing the fish' thorns, which will not be elaborated. The knife fish meat is then chopped into minced meat, mixed with minced pork and tender leeks to form a filling, and wrapped into ravioli. Such a bowl of knife fish wontons not only has the delicious taste of knife fish, but also has the smell of spring.
When it comes to knife and fish noodles on the beach, I must first think of the old half-fast. The old half-jai is a century-old brand, founded in the thirty-first year of the Qing Dynasty (1905), the earliest was at the intersection of Hankou Road hubei road, the early years of the Republic of China moved to the intersection of Hankou Road Zhejiang road, was founded by several Yangzhou bosses who opened a bank, so the earliest is a club dedicated to the service of bank staff, called the half-jai general association, also serves noodles and small dishes, and later gradually changed to a half-jai restaurant, because a new half-jai restaurant was opened on the opposite side of the door, so it was renamed "Old Half-Jai Restaurant". In 1999, it was moved to the current intersection of Fuzhou Road and Zhejiang Road.
Because it is opened by the owner of Yangzhou, it is naturally characterized by the operation of Huaiyang flavor dishes, the main famous dishes are crystal pork, boiled dried silk, white juice catfish, stewed crab powder lion head, etc., has always been a well-known Huaiyang cuisine restaurant on the beach. Knife fish was originally the best quality in the Yangtze River waters of yangzhou section, as the boss of Yangzhou opened the old half-jai, naturally there are channels into the best knife fish, every year before the Qingming steamed knifefish has become the signature of the old half-jai, and the knifefish noodles are the most famous fist products of the old half-jai, for a long time, only the old half-jai will supply half a month of knifefish noodles in March every year. Therefore, from the middle of March, the old diners will think of the knife and fish noodles of the old half-fast for the first time.
In the old half-fast, just eat a bowl of knife and fish noodles, although delicious, but always a little dull, then add a piece of old half-fast signature meat, a perfect match.
Pork, also known as crystal meat, is a traditional dish of Huaiyang cuisine, using pig front hooves, washed and washed with fine wooden skewers to evenly punch small holes in the meat surface of pig front hooves. Mix with salt and salt, rub it on the meat, and knead it back and forth so that the salt and salt penetrate through the small holes into the inside of the pig's front hoof. Therefore, the meat is not an ordinary smoked wax, but a unique salted salt. To make ten pounds of pork, you can only use 6.5 grams of nitrate at most. Salt and salt are kneaded and then marinated for three days in winter, two days in spring and autumn, and one day in summer. After marinating, put the meat in cold water for two hours, and then use a knife to scrape the salt and impurities on the meat until the skin and flesh appear white. Then put the meat into the pot, pour the old brine specially used for cooking meat and cook it slowly, after cooking, skim off the old brine and grease on the meat, and after it is cold, it will become. After making the meat essence, the meat is crimson, tender and easy to melt, and the food does not plug the teeth; the fat meat is degreased, and the food is not greasy; the fat is transparent and shiny, not fat and not greasy.
Now the old Banzhai has been renovated and expanded, the store is much larger than before, the antique national style decoration, permeated with the simplicity of the century-old store. However, the management seems to be the traditional state-run hotel style, which is relatively extensive, and even from time to time there are carts for tableware and meals passing by the table, which is really a bit annoying. However, looking at the knife fish noodles and meat, there is not much to worry about.
(The picture of this article is from the network)