Zhenjiang is a famous historical and cultural city, carrying more than 3,000 years of rich historical and cultural heritage, rich in food culture, distinctive characteristics, handed down for hundreds of years of "dish meat is not a dish, balsamic vinegar is not bad, cooking pot lid in the noodle pot", this Zhenjiang "three monsters" diet folk proverb, has become the ancient town of Jiang full of magic and charm of the "city business card". Why is the dish not a dish? Why is balsamic vinegar not bad? Why cook the lid in the noodle pot? People have been exploring the reasons for many years, and today we are here for you.
Pork, Zhenjiang called "crystal dish hoof", is the use of pig before the hoof meat with the appropriate amount of salt and salt pickled cooking dishes, many places in the north and south of the river are processed and made, many people love to eat, but to Zhenjiang there is a "dish improper dish" strange thing, in fact, this is a unique food culture phenomenon in the ancient town of Jiang. According to the "Qing Barnyard Banknotes and Diets", "The tea sips of the Zhenjiang people will be accompanied by dishes." The dishes are made of pigs and dolphins, first stained with salt, so that the taste is slightly salty, the color is as white as crystal, cut into pieces, and accompanied by tea when drinking, it is very delicious, and it does not feel that there is fat. "Sipping tea" means that Zhenjiang people have the habit of getting up in the morning to eat morning tea in a tea house, a pot of clear tea, a plate of meat, a dish of balsamic vinegar, and then add some ginger shreds, while tasting tea, while picking balsamic vinegar, accompanied by ginger shredded meat, this tea, vinegar, ginger, pork four spices into the mouth, unique delicious, unique taste, beautiful, endless aftertaste, enjoy is a kind of mouth blessing, completely forget that the meat is a dish.
According to Zhenjiang folklore, Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, was invited by the Queen Mother to ride a donkey to Yaochi to the Peach Festival. When passing through Zhenjiang, I smelled the aroma of pork, hurriedly got off the donkey, became an old man, came to the mortal world to eat meat, and forgot to go to the peach meeting, which shows its deliciousness. The legend of Zhang Guolao riding a donkey to eat pork in the netherworld is well known to the population, women and children, and has been recorded in books such as "Legend of Chinese Native Products" and "Legend of Jiangsu Native Products".
"Improper dish of meat" says that it is a strange thing, but it is actually a wonderful, and it is the essence of Zhenjiang's local food culture. Zhenjiang cuisine with exquisite materials, after thirteen large and small processes of fine workmanship, with "fragrant, fresh, crisp, tender, beautiful" five characteristics, fine meat crisp, food is not stuffed teeth; fat meat to fat, food is not greasy; unique aroma, umami tempting; skin white flesh red, brine transparent, smooth crystal, showing a different quality, thus winning the "crystal hoof" reputation. When eaten, it can be cut into different shapes according to different parts of the dish hoof. The two pieces of meat in the upper part of the front hoof claw are cut into pieces, shaped like glasses, the tendons of the food are soft and soft, the delicious flavor is beautiful, known as "glasses dishes"; the meat next to the front hoof claws, cut down and bent like a jade belt, its flesh is extremely tender, the entrance is melted, the fragrance is delicious, known as "jade belt dish"; the walking melon meat on the front hoof claw, fat and thin, delicious and refreshing, known as "Dongpo cuisine"; that piece of net lean meat connected to a thin bone, the taste is particularly good, known as "jade stick dish".
Different parts of the meat have different tastes and different tastes. Therefore, the writer Mr. Wang Zengqi's "Flesh Color Is Not Contemptuous • Zhenjiang Cuisine Hoof" recounts: "Zhenjiang dish hoof, salted, added nitrate, enlarged basin with huge stones pressed, until the fat and lean meat are plated, taken out, cooked, dried to remove water vapor, cut thick slices, plated." The lean meat color is yin red, the fat meat is as white as mutton fat jade, and the entrance is not greasy. To eat the meat, you should dip it in Zhenjiang vinegar and add ginger shreds. It is no wonder that Mr. Wang Jun, a folk folklorist, educator and poet in Zhenjiang, after eating a dish, thought that this was a kind of beautiful enjoyment, greatly sighed, and compared the delicious and beautiful scenery, and praised the poem: "The scenery is infinitely golden, and I love the jingjiang meat more, not greasy and slightly crispy, and the red and tender frozen crystal dishes."
On October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was solemnly held in Tiananmen Square, the capital of Beijing. That evening, the Central People's Government held China's first grand banquet at the Beijing Hotel, and among the four cold dishes at the first banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China was Zhenjiang cuisine.
In Addition to Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar, there are Shanxi old vinegar, Sichuan Boryeong vinegar and Fujian Yongchun old vinegar. The four famous vinegars have their own characteristics and show their strengths. Why is Zhenjiang vinegar called "balsamic vinegar"? It stands out from sour vinegar, old vinegar and aged vinegar and innovates the vinegar production category in China. As early as 2600 years ago, zhenjiang had a vinegar brewing workshop. According to folklore, Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar was brewed by Du Kang's son, and in that year, Du Kang led a family to Zhenjiang after drinking, and opened a shop in Xiaoyu Lane to make a small mess. It is close to the Yangtze River, directly opposite the "Dragon's Nest" in the river.
According to legend, there is a small white dragon under the water of the Dragon's Nest, so the water quality is mellow and sweet. Du Kang used water from the dragon's nest to make wine, and his son Heita carried the water every day, and usually Heita also did some chores such as raising horses. One day, the horse ran to the courtyard to eat the lees, and when the black tower saw that the horses were eating very fragrantly, he washed three large tanks, filled half a tank of lees, and poured two quintals of dragon's nest water in each tank, soaked the lees in water, and fed the horses, and from time to time stirred in the tank with flat shoulders. Half a month passed, and the horses ate fat and strong. On this day, it was the height of summer, the weather was sweltering, the black tower drank wine and fell asleep, a muffled thunder alarmed him, a white-haired old man stood in front of him, smiled and squinted, and said: "Black Tower, you made the seasoning jelly, give me a little to taste it?" Hei Ta said confusedly, "Xian Ong, I make wine with my father, do some rough work, and where to make what seasoning jelly!" The white-haired old man pointed to the large vat next to him and said, "You have built it for twenty-one days, and it will be delicious when you are unitary today!" "Gone. The black tower woke up and told his father what happened in the dream, Du Kang felt magical, so he personally tasted the "Qiong Pulp" in the tank when he was unitary, and sure enough, it was fragrant, sour, sweet, delicious, and suddenly felt refreshed, and he was happy to spoil Du Kang. But what is the name of this "jelly"? The black tower thought for a moment and said, "The lees soaked for twenty-one days, and succeeded when it reached the unitary time, and the twenty-first day plus unitary is not the word vinegar?" Let's call it 'vinegar'. In this way, the story of "Du Kang making wine and vinegar" has been passed down to this day.
Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar has the characteristics of "sour but not astringent, fragrant and slightly sweet, mellow and delicious, transparent color, more and more fragrant", blooming the "acetic acid fragrance" of the distinctive color. Su Shi, a famous poet and gourmand of the Northern Song Dynasty, went to Zhenjiang eleven times, and in addition to tasting anchovies in Jiaoshan, he passionately wrote the poem "Bud Ginger Purple Vinegar Burning Silver Fish (Anchovy), Snow Bowl Qinglai More Than Two Feet; There Are Still Peach Blossom Springs, where the Flavor Is Better Than Perch", expressing his love for Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar and anchovies.
Why is Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar not bad? Due to the selection of large, round, crystal white high-quality glutinous rice as the main raw material, the use of unique and strict production process, after winemaking, vinegar making, vinegar three major processes, more than 40 processes, more than 60 days of careful brewing. Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar melts the six characteristics of "color, aroma, acid, alcohol, freshness and thickness" in one, and always maintains the peculiar quality of not mildew in summer, no freeze in winter, no rot for a long time, and the more aged the more fragrant. Therefore, the "Chinese Medicine Dictionary" has long been determined: "Vinegar production in Zhejiang Hangshao is the best, in fact, Jiangsu Zhenjiang is the most." ”
Made with balsamic vinegar
Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar is not only an excellent seasoning condiment, known by the ancients as the "food manager", burning, frying, frying, boiling, roasting, grilling, steaming, steaming, adding a little balsamic vinegar when mixing, can delysify the fishy taste of aquatic products, promote loose meat and the dissolution of calcium, iron and zinc in raw materials, keep fruits and vegetables bright in color and vitamin C unspoiled. Moreover, when mixing cold vegetables, a little vinegar can be sterilized and increase the color and aroma of the dishes. Nowadays, Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar monster has a new "strange", so that the material function of vinegar from seasoning to medicinal, health care, health care and other diversification, vinegar drinks, vinegar capsules, vinegar sugar, jelly beans, vinegar disinfectant and other daily necessities extended from Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar are entering thousands of households.
Pot lid noodles are a type of noodle that is boiled in a pot with a pot lid. When the soup in the noodle pot is boiling and tumbling, put in a handful of noodles, a small wooden pot lid to the noodles, a small pot lid floating on top of the noodle soup, can be described as a large pot small lid and noodles boiled together. In this way, the water vapor is round, the noodle soup will not overflow, both breathable and heat dissipated, the cooked noodles are not sticky, not sticky, not scattered, not messy, easy to quickly and accurately fish into the noodle bowl. When there is foam on the noodle soup, it is easy to remove, does not make the noodle soup cloudy, and the noodles are easy to mature and flavorful. When the noodle soup is tumbled again, stir with cold water, then remove the lid and fish out the noodles. After that, the ingredients (or toppings) of the meat are put into the fence, cooked in the noodle pot, placed on top of the noodles, and then added various spices, and a bowl of fragrant and delicious pot lid noodles is ready.
This noodle is not hard, not rotten, smooth and refreshing, especially tendon. If the soup noodles are served with shredded eel or knife fish soup and dried silk as toppings, it is even more fragrant and mouth-watering. There is also a kind of "dry mix" pot lid noodles, which is a strange method. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Zhenjiang scholar Zhou Boyi said in his book "Yangzhou Dream": "My people are sorry for money, they sit in the tea house of the teaching field early, and dozens of envoys buy good sauce, vinegar and sesame oil to 'dry mix' under the noodles, saying that they love cleanliness." The so-called "dry mix" is the special method: first cook the noodles in the noodle pot, and then use the noodles to pick the noodles into the water to pass the soup, use the bamboo to dry it, pour it into the bowl and mix it with sesame oil, soy sauce, shrimp, garlic and other condiments, eating in the mouth is tough, refreshing, delicious. This kind of noodles, which is quite popular in summer, can be eaten alone or eaten with porridge, and doubles as a side dish. There is also a story about the origin of pot lid noodles.
Legend has it that during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, a noodle shop was opened in Zhenjiang City, and the owner was called Zhang Sister-in-law, who was very famous. One year, Qianlong Ye went down to The South of the Jiangnan to Zhenjiang, made a private visit, and only brought an accompanying eunuch to Zhang Sister-in-law's noodle shop, which was also considered to be admired.
As soon as the two of them sat down, the entourage passed on the words and ordered Zhenjiang gang noodles to taste. I don't know whether it was because Qianlong Ye came early, or Zhang Sister-in-law's business was late, the water in the noodle pot here had not yet boiled, and the husband's noodles over there had not been rolled out. When the entourage saw that the note was delayed, they came in and urged. Sister-in-law Zhang quickly urged her husband to cut the noodles with a knife, and she added a handful of firewood to the stove. Soon, the water in the noodle pot was boiling, and the husband's noodles were also cut, and he was grabbing a handful of noodles and putting them in the pot. Just in time for the entourage to come in again, Sister-in-law Zhang hurriedly covered the pot while replying. In the midst of the chaos, I put the small lid of the soup jar on the stove into the noodle pot. The lid of the small pot floated on the noodle soup, and before Sister-in-law Zhang put the seasoning, the water in the noodle pot boiled again, and it almost overflowed outside the pot. When Sister-in-law Zhang saw it, she hurriedly scooped two spoonfuls of cold water from the soup pot and poured it, and the noodle pot calmed down. As soon as the water was boiled again, Sister-in-law Zhang fished the noodles into a bowl with a small bamboo fence and long chopsticks, and matched them with toppings.
Sister-in-law Zhang was trying to take the noodles out, and the entourage took it with one hand. Sister-in-law Zhang, who had been busy for a while, leaned by the door, wanting to hear the reactions of customers outside, and heard the person say in a continuous voice: "The taste is good, the taste is good, it is not rotten, it is not hard, and the fragrance is refreshing!" Sister-in-law Zhang was about to turn around and go under the edge of the pot, when QianlongYe, who was dressed in civilian clothes, paced in and walked to the stove to look at Sister-in-law Zhang.
Suddenly, Qianlong Ye exclaimed, "Ah, how did you put the lid of the pot in the noodle pot and boil it!" This time, Sister-in-law Zhang found that she was in a hurry and mistook the small pot lid for the big pot lid. At this time, the husband also came over and said: "Every customer outside said that today's noodles taste particularly good, what good spices have you added?" Sister-in-law Zhang pointed to the small pot lid and said, "I'm afraid it's because of the boiling pot lid in the noodle pot!" "The reputation of pot lid noodles has since gained, and its production method has gradually spread among the people.
Since then, this noodle shop has replaced the lid of the large pot with a small lid, and created the "pot lid noodles" of the boiling pot lid in the noodle pot. Other noodle shops have also followed suit, and the pot lid noodles are famous, which has become a "strange" in Zhenjiang. Zhenjiang pot cover noodles, since ancient times, the common people love to eat, dignitaries and dignitaries also love to eat, native Zhenjiang people love to eat, foreigners also admire and visit a full feast.
The "three monsters" of Zhenjiang come from the people and benefit the people.