That summer night, it was particularly hot.
The 6-year-old me was sweating profusely and couldn't sleep under a fan buzzing with the sauna wind.
I couldn't sleep, not because of the heat, but because I was hungry. Today's dinner, because there is no stew I love to eat, I simply gamble not to eat.
At that time, I felt "shiitake mushrooms, blue skinny", but I was still angry.
My father patted me on the back and said, "Let's go, let's have a supper." ”
"Late-night snack? What is a late-night snack? "I'm still hearing about it for the first time.
"Go, you'll know." My father picked me up, put me on a small rattan chair on the front of the bicycle, and rode out like the wind.
The standard bicycle of that year, in my opinion, was a comfortable and windy car.
My father's bicycle turned into the river road that I had to pass through after school. At night, along the river road, the shops on one side are still brightly lit, while the other side is scattered with broken silver moonlight gushing water.
All the way to the wind, the river breeze came and blew up my silky little hair, like a rushing cheerful stream under the moonlight. Eating a late-night snack is novel and exciting for me. I'm looking forward to, what will I eat for a late night snack? Is it tasty?
On the western side of the road, in the dim light, I saw a row of low tables and benches next to the river.
About a few months ago, every day I passed by after school, and I saw people start to put up those very low square tables and benches. These newly emerged low tables and chairs suitable for the seven dwarfs in << Snow White's >> aroused my great curiosity.
Father's bicycle came to an abrupt halt in front of the low rows of tables and chairs. "Hungry, huh?" Today I will take you to eat the boat boy porridge, which is also Dad's favorite porridge. ”
"Boat porridge? Do you want to eat on the boat? My heart skipped a beat. Looking at the gushing river in the night, I was still a little scared.
Dad took my little hand and walked over to the river, leaning on the railing and looking into the distance. In the hazy night, I saw two or three small wooden boats, crushing the silver moon in the water, like big stupid geese, swinging towards us.
At this time, the ten or twenty people standing by the river raised their hands one after another and began to shout loudly to the boatman: "Boat boy porridge!" Come to a bowl of boat porridge! "The atmosphere by the river suddenly became lively and noisy. I screamed and jumped with excitement and clapped.
I'm curious, what the hell is the three-headed, six-armed guy? Can people be so excited?
The wooden boat docked by the river, only to see a large clay pot on the coal stove on the side of the bow, which was a thick white porridge that was bubbling and steaming, while on the other side was a dozen rooster bowls lined up, which contained a dazzling variety of materials.
The big sister of the rocker walked from the stern to the bow of the boat, she picked up a rooster bowl with her sharp left hand, and with her right hand, she used a spoon in the bowl of the dozen or so porridges, a small spoon of porridge on the rotating spoon of a slip of smoke, threw it into the bowl of the left hand, and then used a large iron spoon, spooned a large spoon of hot porridge, quickly rushed into the bowl, and finally sprinkled with chives, crisp peanuts, and sesame oil. This series of actions, in one fell swoop. I was stunned to see it, and it felt as magical as magic.
Dad leaned against the railing and reached out and handed the money to the big sister. The eldest sister took the money in her right hand, and handed the bowl of porridge to her father with her left hand steadily.
Dad led me to a low table, sat me on a small bench, and put the porridge in front of me. It turned out that these small tables and chairs were used for customers to eat boat porridge.
I saw the layer of cotton-white porridge dotted with golden crisp peanuts and fritter rings, as well as emerald green onions, and the umami smell of chives wrapped in sesame oil, eagerly burrowing into my nostrils. "It's so yummy!" I couldn't help but scream.
"This is a family living on the water, and it is delicious every day to boil it from freshly fished rivers and with a variety of rich porridges." Dad said.
I can't wait to dip the spoon into the porridge. In the green onion bushes bloomed a "goose yellow chrysanthemum", which was a circle of tender yellow egg shreds; the tender yellow gradually spread out, and the "rose petals" came up, which was a piece of burgundy char siu; then a pair of white "butterflies", which were knife-cut "double-flying" fish fillets; a pink fruit scrambled to bear fruit, oh! It's a small pink shrimp with a bowed body... Every time it comes out, it is unexpected, too colorful! I felt like I was in a big garden full of flowers, and I smelled all kinds of treasures....
.. As I ate, I made a "tut-thump" sound, which made my father laugh.
That night, the rich taste of the boat porridge, like fireworks in full bloom, bounced between my mouths in turn, and the aftertaste was endless...
When I was in high school, I followed the Family 'Wash Their Feet' to the shore and entered the Daya Hall, a variety of hotel restaurants.
Boat porridge is still the most popular porridge in the city, but it can no longer eat the flavor of the year. Perhaps it lacks the feelings of the Yan family sister for boiling a pot of porridge in the river, and a kind of affection for the ingredients of the river that depends on survival.
Growing up as an adult, I got to know him. A "young master of Xiguan" who grew up in Xiguan, Guangzhou. One day, he said he was going to take me to eat the most authentic boat porridge.
Is there still authentic boat porridge to eat? I was pleasantly surprised, and I still remember the delicious taste.
In a small alley in Xiguan, Guangzhou, which is still paved with stone roads, a humble small shop called Chen Tianji's long-established name,
When I saw the big vat of steaming white porridge in the store, my heart was not calm...
"Young Master Xiguan" said, "Don't underestimate this pot of flavored porridge, it is simmered with raw fish bones, chicken duck or earth fish, and then perfectly collides with the egg shreds, sashimi, roast duck shreds, char siu slices, jellyfish, shredded squid, floating skin, small river shrimp, etc. in the large bowl, and then combined with fried peanuts, fritter rings and green onions to form this colorful and gorgeous flavor." This is the most authentic way to make boat porridge, and I have loved to eat it since I was a child. ”
He spoke to my heart, an indelible imprint of local cuisine that remains teasing in my memory no matter how many years have passed.
After the "Young Master of Xiguan" took me to eat the porridge of the boat for half a year, he confessed to me. When I told my dad the news, he was going to meet him.
Dad praised him a lot, especially when they talked about Xiguan and talked about boat porridge....... Dad was like meeting Zhiyin, a man who resonated with him about food. In this way, my relationship with "Young Master Xiguan" was recognized by my family.
A bowl of delicious boat porridge turned out to be the red bride of two young people who married each other. Traditional cuisine is an indelible mark in the mind, and the time-honored brand carries and inherits this delicacy, so that we can also taste the mark on the tip of the tongue today.
I hope that this local delicacy can be passed on forever, and the old brand has carried it for hundreds of years.
#吃在中国 #