Qin Shihuang and cold rice noodles
There are cold rice noodles in many places, but why are Shaanxi cold rice noodles so famous and delicious? Because it is the birthplace of cold rice noodles, and because of Qin Shihuang's favor, it has become a royal tribute. The production technology has been continuously improved, and the patterns are various and fine, which is popular in Sanqin, and then it has been fragrant in the Central Plains and the north and south of the river for more than two thousand years.
Qin Zhen, also known as Qin Dou Town, is located in Huxian District of Xi City and was once the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty. According to legend, there was a drought in Qin Zhen one year, and the rice withered. The harvested rice is too small and dry to pay tribute. A farmer named Li Shier ground this rice into rice slurry, steamed it in a cage, cut it into thin strips with seasoning and presented it to the court. Qin Shihuang was very happy after tasting it, exempted the local annual tax, and designated Qin Zhen cold rice noodles as a tribute, which became a traditional snack with a long history. Both Chang 'an County Records and Liuba County Records describe the origin of rice skin in Hanzhong, and there are similar stories related to Qin Shihuang.
Cold rice noodles are divided into two categories: rice skin and dough skin. Rice skin is steamed by grinding rice pulp, and rice skin is steamed by washing wheat flour pulp. Cold noodles can stimulate appetite and relieve boredom, dispel dampness and relieve summer heat, and reduce fire and relieve fatigue. Compendium of Materia Medica says: Rice can tonify the spleen, and wheat can nourish the heart. Good spleen makes people healthy; Good heart is sincere. Since ancient times, Qin people have been blessed.
The skin as white as jade is poured with red oil and spicy seeds, and served with crispy bean sprouts, shredded cucumber or celery. The smooth and refreshing Qin Zhen rice skin is made of locally produced indica rice, while the Hanzhong hot rice skin is soft, waxy and spicy. Guanzhong, thousands of miles away from Woye, is mostly wheat dough, which is elastic and chewy, and some are mixed with gluten (quack) to fill the soup, which is sour and delicious. The tough handmade noodles in Qishan, Baoji are really delicious and energetic! There are also baked rice noodles, sesame sauce bean jelly, konjac bean jelly, black rice bean jelly, mung bean bean bean jelly ... In northwest areas such as Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, etc., this kind of rice noodle steamed with flour paste juice is called fermented rice noodle, which is a favorite specialty food.
Cold rice noodles are cheap, convenient and quick, and can be used for cold salad or cooking. They can be eaten all year round. For weddings and funerals, or various festive festivals, cold rice noodles are essential for local banquets. Cold noodles have become one of the main items of snack management because of their small investment, large profits and quick results. Ancestral secret recipes, folk masters and seasonings vary from place to place and from person to person.
Liu bang and Ziyang steamer
Ziyang steamed bowl is a famous traditional snack, which originated from Hanwang Town, Ziyang County, Shaanxi Province. What is widely circulated is the legend that it was founded in Liu Bang period at the end of Han Dynasty. In the evening, when Liu Bang led the army to Hanwang City, the villagers were ready to have a big banquet, but the army was leaving the next day, and it was too late to cook step by step. Smart chefs will add seasonings such as pig's trotters, hens, squid, black fungus and lotus seeds. Put them together in a big black pot and steam them overnight. In the morning, the soldiers were awakened by the smell of incense and wolfed down a meal, refreshed. Liu Bang greatly appreciated it and asked what the name of this dish was. The chef has never done this before. When he was in a dilemma, he saw the big black basin on the table and said that this dish was called "steaming basin".
Ziyang steamer was originally a stew for Han smokers when they stopped for a party, and later it developed into the finale of the New Year's Eve reunion dinner. Pay attention to material selection, fine workmanship and complicated procedures. The main ingredients are all native products, including whole chicken (native chicken), trotters, lotus roots, red and white radishes, yellow flowers, fungus, mushrooms, egg dumplings, boiled cuttlefish and other dried vegetables. The main vessel is the local big black pot, and the cooking time must be more than 8 hours.
All kinds of flavors come together in one pot, which is mellow and delicious. Yuanbao-shaped egg dumplings, meaning "four seasons get rich", are made into "goldfish" type, meaning "more than every year, more than every year", and the steamer symbolizes reunion, auspiciousness, prosperity and prosperity. Hosting VIPs and arranging weddings and funerals is the most expensive dish at the banquet. Get a banquet for the return of close relatives and friends, or go out for a long trip, and also make a steaming pot to show your kindness.
Tang Taizong's bamboo shoot banquet, wine and noodle soup
"Early adopters are like mushrooms after rain" has been regarded as "the treasure in the dish" since ancient times. Tender, crisp and delicious, rich in nutrition. Emperor Taizong likes bamboo shoots very much. Whenever bamboo shoots are on the market, he always calls ministers to eat bamboo shoots, which is called a "bamboo shoot banquet". He also used bamboo shoots to symbolize the prosperity of the country and the emergence of talents, just like "like mushrooms after rain". Twenty-four heroes of Lingyange are among them. Historically, it is said that Zaifu, the clearest dynasty in China, will meet heroes. Emperor Taizong "drives talents, confides in scholars", accepts advice like a stream, is brilliant, and the relationship between the monarch and the minister is extremely harmonious. According to Liu Zongyuan's "Dragon City", Emperor Taizong gave Wei Zhi "vinegar celery" at the banquet because it was his favorite side dish. Wei Zhi, who has always been unsmiling and outspoken, was overjoyed. Before eating, he ate all the vinegar celery and smiled.
In the 14th year of Zhenguan (640), after Emperor Taizong obtained the method of winemaking with mare's milk grapes from Gao Changguo (Turpan), he not only planted grapes in the palace, but also personally participated in winemaking, producing eight colors of wine. "Fang Xin insult, taste and twips ang. Since it was awarded to the minister, Beijing has begun to know its taste. " (Yuan Gui, Bookstore, Song, Volume 970) Wine-making moved from the palace to the folk, and grape cultivation began to spread. Datang is a glorious period in China's wine-making history. People in the Tang Dynasty who used to drink rice wine fell in love with this healthy and beautiful wine.
At the foot of Cuifeng Mountain in zhouzhi county, Shaanxi Province, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, met an immortal, and the legend of "Sougou green tea welcomes the king of Tang" originated from this. After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, Suogu was named the "Quanzhen Empress", and Cuifeng noodle soup (noodle soup) made by Suogu for him also became a royal banquet, which was very popular in northwest China. This rope bone, which became an immortal, was recorded in the Records of Scenic Spots in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Tongzhi and Hengzhou Chronicle by Zou Ru, the magistrate of Zhouzhi County in Qing Dynasty. The remains of Sougou's deboned cave sitting on the ancient cliff still exist. The Temple of Our Lady Suo at the top of Cuifeng Mountain has been burning incense since the Tang Dynasty, and the folk call Xiangu "the God of Sending Children".
Emperor Taizong had a special liking for "Shaolin Eight-treasure Crisp" and praised it as "exotic". Unfortunately, the essence and secret recipe of Babao Crisp were lost after the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Taizong went to Linyou Jiucheng Palace for his summer vacation. When he went to the countryside to inspect the people's feelings, he loved to eat smooth blood noodles. This kind of noodle is made of fresh pig blood (or sheep blood) and flour, steamed in a cage, dried and preserved, so it has a unique flavor. Also because the production process is complicated and troublesome, others can't do it. Because the emperor likes it, the local people cherish it more. For thousands of years, linyou county people have passed down the skill of blood noodles from generation to generation, and almost every household can learn it.
Song Taizu mutton and bread pieces in soup
The most delicious food with Guanzhong flavor is the famous mutton steamed buns, which are fragrant, tender and smooth, tough and delicious, warm the stomach and fight hunger, replenish qi and strengthen the body. Bold northwest men are holding sea bowls, sucking them one by one, working hard, eating to their heart's content and admiring others.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, beef mutton soup was listed as a gift of kings and princes, and it was called "mutton soup" in ancient times. Beef and mutton bread in soup evolved from ancient beef mutton soup. Tang Suzong (757) used the Arab army and Tang Jun to quell the "Anshi Rebellion". Chang 'an people saw that big food soldiers often ate mutton soup mixed with "Turml" cakes, which was probably the predecessor of "mutton buns". However, the story of Zhao Kuangyin, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, which people talk about the most and have the greatest influence, inadvertently invented mutton soup and steamed bread.
Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin had a hard time when he was young and frustrated. Legend has it that one winter, he went to Chang 'an, penniless, with only two steamed buns left, so hard that he could hardly swallow them. It happened that there was a small mutton shop on the street. He asked the shopkeeper for a bowl of steaming mutton soup, and broke the buns into pieces to make them soft. This delicious "soup dumpling" made Zhao Kuangyin feel hot, hungry and cold, and refreshed.
Ten years later, Zhao Kuangyin became the founding emperor of DaSong, and tasted all the delicious food in the world, but he could not forget the bowl of bread soaked in mutton soup, which was fragrant to his heart and warm all over his body. He asked the chef to cook it several times, but he always felt that it was not the same taste.
Zhao Kuangyin went out to inspect, went to Chang 'an, and came to the street where he once wandered. He got off the chariot, went straight to the shop and ordered a bowl of mutton soup and steamed buns. When the emperor arrived, Wang was surprised and panicked. The shopkeeper smashed the dead (unfermented) bread baked by his wife in a hurry, poured mutton soup and cooked it. He added spinach, vermicelli and a few slices of mutton, prepared the seasoning and served the emperor a big bowl full of fragrance. Zhao Kuangyin tasted it, and the long-lost taste came back, and he ate it at once. After eating, the whole body was comfortable and satisfied, and the emperor immediately rewarded the store.
Soon, the story of the emperor's coming to eat mutton buns spread all over Chang 'an, and more and more people came here to taste delicious food. Many restaurants do the same thing, and their business is booming. Especially in the cold winter, people hope to be as warm and warm as Zhao Kuangyin to cheer up. Coupled with inspirational stories, mutton paomo has become a favorite food from the upper class to the dignitaries and then to the bottom people. It looks simple and rough, but in fact, it pays special attention to the preparation of broth, the technology of cook the meat and the production of dried steamed bread, and is known as "the first bowl in the world". Even Su Dongpo, a great writer and gourmet, praised: "Qin only cooks mutton soup, and there is bear wax in the dragon." ("I will see you in the sun").
Kublai Khan and instant-boiled mutton
On a cold winter night, it is windy and snowy, and the room is hot and fragrant. Relatives and friends sit around eating hot pot instant-boiled mutton and drinking the restaurant, which is warm and nourishing, warm and comfortable.
Hot pot was called "antique soup" in ancient times, and it was named after the food was put into boiling water and made a "splash" sound. Ding in Zhou Dynasty should be the earliest prototype of hot pot. Cao Pi, the Wei Wendi of the Three Kingdoms, created a "five-cooking pot", that is, a pot that cooks five different ingredients at the same time, which can be called the ancestor of "Yuanyang pot". In the Tang Dynasty, there were already "warm pots" made of copper. Since then, it has spread throughout the country for thousands of years. Sichuan's spicy food, Fujian's Guangdong seafood, Hubei's game, and Beijing's shabu shabu shabu ... In the cold winter, hot pot is called "the spring breeze on the table".
Mutton warms the heart and nourishes the stomach, strengthens Yuanyang, nourishes qi and blood, dispels cold and strengthens the body. It is a good food for winter tonic. "Mutton pot, the most common delicacy in cold years ... is the legacy of northern nomads ..." (Hundred Stories of the Old Town). According to textual research, the murals of ancient people sitting around the hot pot floor unearthed in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, depict the scene of Qidan people eating instant-boiled mutton in the early Liao Dynasty. After the alliance of single source, there was no war in Song and Liao dynasties for a hundred years, and economic and trade exchanges were frequent. Tea and silk were exported in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the fat Liao sheep was very popular among the officials and people in the Song Dynasty. In a pub in Kaifeng, Tokyo, there is a hot pot in winter. Lin Hong, a scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty, described the process of washing rabbit meat in detail in Shanjia Qing Palace, and emphasized that the method of washing pork and mutton is the same. After Mengyuan entered the Central Plains, it brought the peak of mutton consumption in China, and the practices of mutton were diversified, among which "retting sheep" was the predecessor of instant-boiled mutton. Every winter solstice, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty ate chicken, mutton and mushrooms hot pot, and the birthday emperor entertained more than 1550 hot pots. Mutton hotpot is also a popular diet full of fireworks in the market. "Clear the banknotes" says: "In winter in Beijing ... mutton is cooked quickly."
The most popular legends are the instant-boiled mutton of Kublai Khan and Yuan Shizu. When Kublai Khan led the army south, he was camping to prepare dinner when the battle report came from the front. It's too late to stew mutton, but he can't fight on an empty stomach! At Kublai Khan's urging, the chef sliced the mutton, rinsed it in boiling water, fished it out and sprinkled it with salt. The soldiers ate quickly and hurried on to meet them. Kublai Khan appreciated this practice very much. Not only does he cook quickly, but he is also very fresh and delicious. Since then, the army has often cooked instant-boiled mutton.
Kublai Khan made Beijing his capital, and his favorite instant-boiled mutton was given a luxurious palace banquet. The copper lid of instant-boiled mutton looks like a yurt and opens like a helmet of a Mongolian cavalry. It is said that Kyle? Polo ate this kind of Mongolian hot pot in the Imperial Palace of the Yuan Dynasty, so the English translation of instant-boiled mutton is Mongolian (hot pot), while the Japanese and Koreans simply call it Kublai Khan.
Kyle. The Travels of Marco Polo (also translated as Oriental Notes), which was dictated by Polo and recorded by Ruth Tieqian, mentioned a lot of banquet utensils, and they were "extremely exquisite". In eastern Huang Jinguo, residents like to eat milk ice and noodles. Unfortunately, there is no record of hot pot, and different versions may be abridged. This wonderful book is still controversial, but the power of folklore should not be underestimated.
Mutton hotpot is not stewed, but cooked slowly. Mutton slices are cut as thin as paper and smooth. Cook until it changes color, and you can eat it with sesame sauce and other seasonings. Authentic instant-boiled mutton pays attention to copper pot clear soup. Just put some onions, ginger, medlar and dried seaweed in the soup. What I eat is the freshness of mutton and the taste of nature. Finally, rinse some cabbage, tofu and vermicelli. Therefore, instant-boiled mutton has very high requirements for meat quality. In the early days, the good mutton restaurants in Beijing were all sheep from Xilin Gol prairie in Mongolia, which were mellow, tender and delicious.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Yin Ruyi
He is a poor cowherd, an orphan whose family is ruined, and a young monk begging for food everywhere. Fortunately, a kind grandmother saved him. This bowl of dishes made of rotten vegetable leaves, rotten tofu and leftovers has become a delicious dish in his heart-Pearl Jade White Jade Soup.
Wandering monks who slept in the wind and became the first emperor to unify the whole country. He went to the north and recovered the northern barrier that the Han people lost in the Central Plains for 400 years-sixteen states. He is Zhu Yuanzhang (132810-1398).
All this happened on the eve of his 40th birthday (1autumn of 368). At the celebration banquet held for ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang named it "Yinruyi". The chef was at a loss. He has never heard of it and he doesn't know how to do it. Only Ma Huanghou, who was familiar with the emperor's living habits and eating habits, understood and told the chef the specific method.
At the end of Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Zhu Yuanzhang defected to the rebels in Guo Zixing. Because of his grotesque face, bravery and fluency, he was appreciated by Guo Zixing and became the commander-in-chief of Marshal Qin Bing. Send him to lead the troops to fight and win every battle. He is brave, resourceful and capable. He is a wizard, a blessing! So Guo Zixing betrothed his adopted daughter Miss Martha (Ma Xiuying, later Ma Huanghou) to him, and 25-year-old Zhu Yuanzhang became the marshal's door-to-door son-in-law.
Chefs in Shuaifu are good at making pasta, and one of them is called "Yinruyi", which is made by fully kneading fermented flour with alkaline water, removing the sour taste, and quickly steaming with sugar. White as silver, shaped like a cotton peach, soft and rich, with a "smile" at the top, such as flower buds blooming, also known as "flowering buns" and "flowering steamed buns".
Zhu Yuanzhang, hungry and cold, had never eaten such good steamed food. It is soft, delicate and elastic, and the more he chews it, the more he loves it. It has a strong wheat flavor and a slight sweetness. It is also delicious with vegetables and porridge. This means that auspicious and beautiful "silver ruyi" is like his bride with a full moon face. He finally ushered in the spring of life and had a warm home from then on.
A sincere and wise wife always tries her best to help and support him. She is not only considerate and persuasive, but also devoted to solving problems for him. Ma Xiuying's "Bread to Save the Husband" is a much-told story. Ma Dajiao (without foot binding) escaped from danger with his injured husband on his back, risking his life, and the husband and wife were loving each other. When Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he praised the queen's Shu De many times, comparing it to "Zhang Wudou Zhou" and "torrential wheat rice" (Biography of Feng Yi in the Later Han Dynasty). Although it is the ninth five-year plan, it is still an ordinary civilian meal, which is more comfortable and practical.
After the celebration dinner, the emperor's favorite "Silver Ruyi Flowering Bun" was brought out. Ministers tasted it and praised it repeatedly. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Ma Xiuying and ordered this pasta as a tribute to Wang Fu's wife. The empathetic wife smiled and nodded to her husband. ...
Legend has it that steamed bread was invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. There is a record in the Book of Jin and the Biography of Zeng that "steamed cakes are not eaten horizontally", which means that steamed cakes are not eaten unless there is a transverse crack. This steamed and cracked "flowering steamed bread" after fermentation is actually more like a pistachio. In the Ming Dynasty, Peng Dayi mentioned in "Diet Volume II of Shantang Examination" that in the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian ordered maids to pick flowers and steam rice cakes as gifts. In the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi could not have breakfast without "Silver Ruyi" every day! Flowering steamed bread is a dessert of Kaifeng people's festivals and banquets, and a gift from Shaanxi villagers to relatives and friends. Every household in some towns and villages in Shanxi should steam and blossom steamed buns on holidays.
The production technology of flowering steamed bread is quite strict. To steam authentic natural petal steamed buns, it is important to pay attention to the word "fat". Full fermentation is the key (the dough is twice as big as the original), and the dough needs secondary fermentation after mixing. The skill of kneading dough and the strength of kneading dough are also important. No yeast, no baking powder, and old fat (noodle starter) are used to make noodles. The traditional flavor is natural, mellow and chewy. The more plain-looking pasta, the more you can test whether kung fu is home.