Xinhua News Agency Xi'an (reporters Liang Juan, Cai Xinyi, Li Yanan) In beijing in spring, a Shaanxi food feast is underway: not only are there more than 60 fine Shaanxi dishes and special snacks such as gourd chicken, milk soup pot fish, and noodles to show the fresh aroma of food, but also food culture activities to tell the essence of Shaanxi cuisine.
Not long ago, a documentary produced by Western Film, "Millennium Shaanxi Cuisine", surprised many netizens, including Shaanxi people: Wow, the original Shaanxi cuisine has been passed down from the "Zhou Bazhen" of the Zhou Dynasty and the "Burning Tail Feast" of the Tang Dynasty to thousands of years.
For a long time, the Shaanxi cuisine that stays in the public's impression is not only the steamed buns and mirror cakes on the Muslim Street, the intangible cultural heritage snacks in Yongxingfang, the bowl wine and brush crisp that must be punched in Xi'an, but also the spicy garlic and sheep blood and trouser belt noodles in "Loading The Stage", the gourd head bubble buns and oil-splashed noodles in "White Deer Plain", and the vinegar powder, churning dough and oil cake in the lens of the food internet celebrity "Shaanxi Laoqiao"... Because of this, Xi'an is often ridiculed as the "capital of carbon water".
However, in recent years, with the popularity of Shaanxi-themed film and television dramas and the upgrading of Shaanxi's tourism consumption, the richness of Shaanxi cuisine has been displayed in front of the world.
Trace the roots, from the Zhou Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties
Born in Shaanxi, the diet is rooted in the important birthplace of Chinese civilization, and its history can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, after the baptism of thirteen dynasties, it can be said that it is one of the oldest cuisines in China. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the court banquets had hundreds of dishes, and the prototype of Shaanxi cuisine, which was called "Zhou Bazhen" by later generations, was the prototype of Shaanxi cuisine.
Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty in the 8th century AD, brought together a variety of dishes and cooking techniques from the world, and Shaanxi cuisine in history entered the peak of development. Next to the magnificent Big Wild Goose Pagoda is the place where the literati Ziqu Jiang feasted and drank, where the most prestigious roasted tail feast in Shaanxi cuisine was born, and its grandeur has been recorded in many historical materials.
Judging from historical records, sea cucumbers, abalone and other seafood appeared in the court banquets of the Tang Dynasty. As the capital of the prosperous world, thousands of years ago, all kinds of mountains and treasures and seafood came to Chang'an over the mountains. Due to the long distance, the imperial kitchen is faced with dried shark fins, sea cucumbers, abalone, etc., hair growth and soup making are indispensable processes, and then through simmering, simmering, stewing, braising, brewing, boiling and other cooking methods to form a unique flavor of the court diet "light and not thin" and "shaped and rotten". Later generations referred to the diet that originated in the imperial court as official cuisine.
Shaanxi Guanfu cuisine originated from the Western Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and evolved and developed through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, until the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty were excavated and sorted out by Famous Chefs in Shaanxi such as Li Qinxi and formed a system. The historical pulse of the Zhou Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties and the way of simmering and stewing are multiplied and passed down in this thick land, and the high-end and exquisite official cuisine is almost lost in the bumps of history, and the street and alley dishes and the folk dishes that the people like have gradually become synonymous with Shaanxi cuisine.
The era revived Shaanxi cuisine, and the people also enjoyed the "royal banquet"
On August 18, 1970, when the 16-year-old Zheng Xinmin reported to the back kitchen of the Tongxinglou Hotel in Lianhu District, Xi'an City, he did not expect that he would one day become a representative inheritor of the cooking skills of the provincial intangible cultural heritage Shaanxi government.
Although he was the second generation of Shaanxi official cuisine under Jin Xuanmin and Zhang Shengcai, Zheng Xinmin rarely had the opportunity to start making official cuisine before the mid-1980s because of the exquisite ingredients and time-consuming preparation of official cuisine. There are almost no official dishes on the table of the common people.
With the reform and opening up, Shaanxi's business and tourism industry are booming, giving the royal banquet the opportunity to re-emerge. Since 1990, a number of Shaanxi cuisine restaurants have begun to study the revival of ancient banquets, and for a time the official banquet, Qujiang banquet, Tang Palace longevity banquet, etc. have become the business cards of Shaanxi court food culture, and are warmly welcomed by diners at home and abroad.
The Shaanxi Official's Banquet, which was organized and developed by Zhang Shengcai and Zheng Xinmin's team, won an award in the Ministry of Commerce. In addition to the inheritance of masters and apprentices, they also collect a large amount of information from ancient documents and classics, based on ancient culinary culture, integrated into modern health concepts, and formed delicious delicacies with good color, aroma, taste and shape.
In June 2011, Shaanxi Guanfu cuisine was included in the third batch of intangible cultural heritage list items in Shaanxi Province, and Zheng Xinmin was identified as the inheritor of Shaanxi Guanfu cuisine production skills.
In recent years, while studying cuisine, Zheng Xinmin has also deliberately promoted Shaanxi cuisine culture and cultivated culinary talents. The Shaanxi Guanfu Cuisine Culture Salon he founded has been held for more than 80 periods, and more than 100 apprentices have been brought out to continue the inheritance and innovation of guanfu cuisine.
At the same time, with the help of the Shaanxi cuisine brand innovation project, a variety of grades and distinctive Shaanxi cuisine restaurants have sprung up all over the streets and alleys of Xi'an. Some of them have become popular on social networks with unique flavors, some have adhered to traditional tastes to attract "old Shaanxi" to eat, and some have innovated in the inheritance to make Shaanxi cuisine enduring...
Food as a medium, highlighting regional culture
"This dish is Weifu vinegar parsley. In the Tang Dynasty, a dish with wine and rice, it is said that Wei Zheng's wife Pei Shi was good at making vinegar parsley and was very popular with Wei Zheng. In the Yongxingfang Building of Yongxingfang in Xi'an, after the "Five Pins of Chang'an Liquor Store" of "Wei Zhengjia Banquet" was placed on the table, Han Xianni, the manager of Yongxingfang Building, introduced the dishes to the guests in turn.
"Wei ZhengJia Feast" is a banquet excavated and recreated by Yongxingfang from ancient food menus and classic Shaanxi cuisine, which can not only reflect the characteristics of Shaanxi cuisine, but also contain many historical allusions.
Yongxingfang is located in Shuncheng Lane on the north side of the Zhongshan Gate of the Xi'an City Wall, where the Residence of Wei Zheng of the Tang Dynasty was located more than 1400 years ago. Today, this neighborhood, which gathers intangible cultural heritage food and special Shaanxi cuisine banquets in 107 districts and counties in 11 prefectures and cities in Shaanxi, has become a "punch card" for tourists to taste Shaanxi cuisine and understand the intangible cultural heritage.
When the park opened at the end of 2014, most of the guests of Yongxingfang were Shaanxi people who worked and lived in Xi'an, and they searched for hometown food in the three streets of Guanzhong Lane, Shaanxi South Street and Shaanxi North Li to find a taste of nostalgia. Soon, the arrival of a large number of tourists made yongxingfang, which is "one-stop beauty in Shaanxi", quickly spread from the "circle of friends" of Shaanxi people throughout the country.
Tongguan meat sandwich steamed buns, Ning Qiang thousand hammer crisp, tulip water potato fin dumplings, Fuping Qiong pot candy... Each delicacy in Yongxingfang is preceded by a local domain name, and in front of each stall is accompanied by a graphic introduction, which shows the regional culture with food.
In addition to food, Huayin Old Style, Huaxian Shadow Puppet Theatre, Heyang Marionette, Northern Shaanxi Storytelling and other special intangible cultural heritage performances will display Shaanxi culture in front of tourists.
It is understood that since the opening of the park, Yongxingfang has received more than 40 million tourists, more than 26,000 intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, held more than 3,000 traditional festivals, festival themes and other activities, and performed more than 100 performances for the benefit of the people.
With the improvement of people's tourism demand and quality, a number of Shaanxi cuisine food culture scenic spots represented by Yongxingfang have become a window for foreign tourists to understand Shaanxi through food. "People take food as the sky, and unique regional cultures often form unique food cultures. Food is the medium, and what is done around food is the article of Shaanxi culture. Duan Xiaoyu, general manager of Yongxingfang Cultural Development Co., Ltd., said.
Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph