Maocai is a major feature of Chengdu, that is, cooked food made of soup boiled with traditional Chinese medicine and various seasonings; Use a bamboo spoon to pack vegetables, usually one spoon; Boil it in a pot, put it in a bowl, and mix all kinds of seasonings in the bowl in advance. By the way, add a spoonful of soup called "maocai", and sprinkle some coriander, chopped green onion and Sichuan's unique lobster sauce, which becomes the most famous and distinctive snack "maocai" in Chengdu. Simply put, "maocai is a hot pot for one person, and a hot pot is a maocai for a group of people."

What is maocai?

Many people don't know what maocai is. In fact, maocai is a distinctive snack in Chengdu, Sichuan. This is for you, maocai.

The meaning of maocai

It is a soup made of traditional Chinese medicine and various seasonings. "maocai" is a special dish in Sichuan. If you think this is a dish, you are all wet. This is just an exercise. This dish is called "maocai". The word "Mao" is a verb here. Boil it in a pot, then put a spoonful of soup in a bowl. There is no limit to the raw materials in maocai, and all the ingredients in the world can be taken. The difference between maocai and Chuanchuanxiang and chafing dish is probably that maocai's soup can also be drunk, while the bottom of Chuanchuanxiang and chafing dish is estimated that no one dares to scoop it into his mouth with a spoon.

The origin of maocai

There are many theories about the origin of maocai. The first argument is that maocai originally originated from Sichuan pot-stewed dishes, and Sichuan pot-stewed dishes and cold salads spread all over the world. Many lazy people want to save money and convenience, so they buy mature cooked food directly in the market. Because brine is used to pickle vegetables, but the store is afraid of wasting oil and water in brine, so it adds some spices and traditional Chinese medicine, and puts some vegetables in it for scalding, which is delicious. Selling cold dishes, the effect is very good, so there is maocai.

Another way of saying it is that maocai originally originated in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties when Huguang was filling Sichuan. With a large number of residents from more than ten provinces such as Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Gansu moving to Sichuan, Hakkas living in foreign lands will get together on holidays, and every household will cook their own special dishes. A family of Chinese medicine practitioners from Guangxi, because of their poor cooking skills, will cook the collected herbs into a unique soup according to their family's Chinese medicine health secret recipe. This practice and taste spread from now on.

In short, no matter what you say, the origin of maocai is closely related to Sichuan, a food gathering place. What is certain is that maocai originated in Sichuan. After many improvements, maocai transformed the original braised maocai into more flavors that are more suitable for people all over the world.

Classification of maocai

Maocai, also called hot pot dish, is a form of cooking. The difference is that maocai's bottom material configuration is the secret. Maocai originated from Sichuan folk. Since it is copied in some areas, you will know what maocai is when you go to Chengdu to taste the folk maocai. Maocai can be roughly divided into three types:

1, hot pot type maocai: That is what we call hot pot dishes, the basic form is the same as hot pot. When the dish is cooked in hot pot soup, it is taken out with the soup. Its main characteristics are greasy, dry, spicy, fragrant and slightly bitter, which determines that hot pot maocai is not suitable for soup. Represented by Chengdu's brand hot pot dishes and fake hot pot dishes.

2. Brine-type maocai: It is a kind of spice configuration similar to brine, and its basic form is the same as that of common stewed vegetables. After the vegetables are cooked in marinated soup, take them out with the soup. Its main characteristics are oily, spicy, fragrant and turbid, and the brine-type maocai soup can be drunk in small quantities. Representative figures include Zhang Jinji, maocai (Zhang Ji, maocai), maocai, Ba Shiting maocai, etc.

3. Clear water maocai: Clear water is further improved on the basis of hot pot maocai and brine maocai. The dishes are cooked with clear water, and then poured with broth made of pig bones, beef bones and chicken racks, plus secret Chinese herbal medicine soup, which ensures that the original flavor and nutrients of the dishes are not lost. It is characterized by palatable light oil, light hemp and delicate fragrance, forming a truly drinkable nutritious and healthy maocai.

Characteristics of maocai

Odd fragrance: maocai stock soup combines the essence of bone soup, with nearly ten unique Chinese medicines and natural spices, and uses secret techniques to maximize the magic and bone fragrance, making the soup fragrant.

The taste is mellow: the soup in the pot is "suitable for both red and white". Red soup is spicy, while white soup is elegant and fresh. Take a sip of the broth in the casserole and savor it. Fragrant but not greasy, delicious but not dry, transparent and long, violent and lasting.

Nutrition: It is rich in various nutrients, including chondroitin, which can greatly enhance the activity of bone cells, and has the health-care functions of replenishing bone marrow, enriching blood, delaying aging, prolonging life, strengthening body constitution, caring skin, strengthening spleen and stomach, and enhancing memory.