[ Eat Pray Love ]

Meal, prayer, love

On the 15th day of November of the lunar calendar, Hangzhou welcomes the first snow this year. I like the biting cold in winter, which proves my superficial and real existence. Hangzhou is still very strong today. At least, we are still eating well.

The epidemic has changed the world. I admire what hides human persistence. That lingering vitality infects me, especially when it comes to "eating a good meal", making every minute of my life meaningful.

On a snowy night, Zhu Jian and I discussed his reopening of "Fan Xiaomei". "Fan Xiaomei" is a traditional Hangbang restaurant with an ancient pavilion as a private room. There are no white diners in it, and most of the literary and art circles have been there. I want to add the word "non" in front of "traditional Hangzhou cuisine", and they will agree.

Fan Xiaomei Store's wine "Lai Ding" has signatures from various masters

The artistic atmosphere comes with the aroma of food, which is the first impression many people have when entering the restaurant. There are many stories happening in this dense atmosphere. Many old diners, like me, are waiting for the unfinished "continuation". Everyone expected it, and the new book was full. As soon as Feng Xincheng left, Xu Zhiyuan came. "Zhu Jian is the godfather of literature and art in Hangzhou," Xu Zhiyuan told me. Zhu Jian only responded lightly,"It's not really true, it's just that the literature and art are relatively long."

The beautiful aftertaste of "Fanmei" is very long

The criterion for judging a good wine often lies in the aftertaste. Big shots in the literary and artistic circles vote by the number of times they cross the threshold. Fan Xiaomei has a long aftertaste. Friends bring friends, and there is always an endless stream of new things. Beidao chatted with Zhu Jian about poetry, Jiang Youbai chatted with him about art... Those who hold the banquet spread love and charity, and those who attend the banquet cured addictions and diseases. They can all be carried out at the same time at the table!

There is no lack of spirit and tongue in the "Fan Xiaomei" team. Wang Wusi is Fan Xiaomei's partner, Ali's Wang Shuai is an investor, and Master Ying Jialin, the inheritor of Hangzhou cuisine, is the chef... They are all eaters!

Zhu Jian himself loves to make friends. Beautiful female friends and attractive male friends are equally divided. I joked with him: Since getting married, those female friends should be divided equally among other friends. He chuckled, his eyes aligned, and his handsome long hair followed his head, making it clear.

"When you go home, food solves the problem. Food and clothing is not a problem for modern people. The ultimate goal must be sharing and socializing. Everyone needs a sense of cohesion in the dining atmosphere. We are independent people, and only the dining table brings us together. Chinese people live in groups. Foreigners are independent. Whether they repair cars or have broken lights, they don't need anyone else. Their society emphasizes this. Individuals are fine, but we can't. We are educated from an early age and rely on others."

I think back to myself. It was true that the dinner after the epidemic made me love life again. This love has also become an invisible bond for friends to overcome various difficulties together.

Regarding the re-opening, there were "signs" that night when Fan Xiaomei closed down. Zhu Jian ran into someone who was destined for him.

When Zhu Jian (second from left) was editor-in-chief of Hangzhou Daily, his team reported on the 723 Wenzhou bullet train accident in 2007. Also present on the same day were survivor Xiao Chen (first from the right), his parents and nanny. "Sitting in the penultimate carriage, more than half of the carriage is gone, and the four of them are safe." Many of Zhu Jian's friends were celebrities, and this time his "friends" are even moved to this day.

So far, Fan Xiaomei has only made reservations. The ingredients here are all related to the people and the story, like a performance that cannot be reproduced.

This time, the concept of cooking is even more "old" and full of those persistent Hangzhou flavor and friendship. However, Fanxiaomei is not so much a traditional restaurant as a living room stationed in Hangzhou by the Chinese literary and artistic circles. Even the "accidental" ingredients are incredibly beautiful, and some rare seasonal ingredients on the market often appear. This also makes Fan Xiaomei full of mystery, like going to a long-lost friend's house in Hangzhou for dinner. You don't know what kind of god the other person's mother brought back at the market this morning. Moreover, when she is your honored guest, she will definitely do her best to be a host.

When I went to eat, it happened that I was fishing Black Throat (Red Dragon). It is known as the gem of the Sea of Japan and has a dreamy feeling of eating during the spawning period from July to September. President Zhu mentioned it at my new book meeting. On that day, Black Throat was fished from the 1896 sea area of China, Japan and South Korea, and it took 72 hours to go back and forth by boat. The book signing meeting ended and she ate it just like this!

Even for traditional Japanese food stores, such ingredients can make chefs very nervous.

The burly Master Ying has a strand of blond hair, but he is still calm and composed. His voice is always baritone. He has studied Hangzhou cuisine along the Qiantang River for 40 years. Previously, he was the chief chef of Hangzhou Lao Pao 'er's favorite high-end restaurant,"Zhanbi Lou Apricot Fin Restaurant". Now he treats "Fan Xiaomei" restaurant as his living room, making whatever people come and whatever materials they have. dish. The flower knives danced in the air and calmly, the fish meat was processed into sashimi, and the fish roe was made into "home-cooked" that made children in Jiangsu and Zhejiang dream at night. I remembered that I once had a meal of yellow croaker noodles at Master Ying's house. The soup was thick and the fish eggs were shiny.

I was immersed in the taste and couldn't help but say to my neighbor: "The fish roe mixed with the oily fried rice here will be mesmerizing. Fortunately, my soul is fat enough!" Although, it was really just a bowl of fried rice in front of me. I want to use "Versailles" as if I can't do anything.

You can't eat it. Once I ate it, the fried rice was incredible. The grains were bright between my teeth, and the oil residue was fragrant in a spoonful of crispy rice! So I immediately asked Master Ying how to cook fried rice, and my curiosity was surprised by the master's completely unreserved style. "There is fried rice inside. Use Thai fragrant rice, wash it with cold water, boil it dry and air-dry, wash it with water, dry it, and then fry it. When the rice is almost fried, put the stir-fried rice on it, combine the fried rice with the stir-fried rice. In addition to sauce, fried rice, oil residue, there are also scallops and shrimp skin powder. The rice is ground yourself and no MSG is added." His dishes are neither copied nor afraid of copying. They are all meticulous craftsmanship.

The richness and exquisiteness of Hangzhou cuisine are also reflected in a natural and delicious soup. The first soup in the whole table is tomato soup. According to Chinese habits, there is usually only one soup dish in a table, which runs through the beginning. This tomato beef soup was steamed with the beef. It was very clear. When shredded eggs were added, the aroma doubled. "Many people feel particularly friendly, but they are pleasantly surprised." Awakening and digestion are both divine strokes.

Tomato beef soup

This simple soul dish has attracted many people, including "master thieves". The key is that Master Ying came here to "make the lost Hangbang cuisine craftsmanship popular again." As we chatted, we realized that famous chefs from all walks of life were also "regular customers" of Master Ying's chefs. They ate meat by the pot and listened to him talk about Hangzhou cuisine.

Lao Hangbang cuisine has never been good at setting dishes. It may seem common, but it is refined and refined. Just like the bone-removing cotton palm in "The Story of the Deer Ding", you don't know it after being hit, and the more you think about it, the more greedy you become. Zhu Jian said,"The kung fu in Master Ying's dishes cannot be seen by ordinary people. They can eat them and don't pretend to look at them, but it is difficult to learn!"

"Because of the epidemic, people's activity radius has become smaller and the taste has returned. We used to eat outside, but there were fewer and fewer ingredients later. Because of the supply chain, we came back to our own place and found the things we were familiar with." Zhu Jian said. Looking back on my previous years, I did eat Michelin abroad at this time. Now, I am rooted in China and am gradually fascinated by the old and underestimated taste of Hangzhou.

The road reaches Jane!

Kung Fu must start from the "foundation"

Master Ying has an interesting saying: A good chef of Hangzhou cuisine must know how to save ingredients. It makes sense when I think about it carefully. Although "the best food is not tired of the fine food, the best food is never tired of the fine food", those so-called "willing" dishes, at least the "original intention" is contrary to the fundamental "eater" of cherishing food. How can I be willing to throw away good things?! Not to mention protecting the environment.

A good housewife should be like the Yun Niang in "Six Chapters of a Floating Life", who is simple and plain, but exquisite, and whose ingenuity is more than extravagant. This is where Hangzhou's cuisine comes from. Master Ying said,"If you can get ingredients, you must make them as delicious as possible and not waste them." "Quit extravagance and simplify" is also a well-educated old family tradition.

This also helped me find the source of many Hangzhou cuisine, such as the "three delicacies soup" commonly used in Hangzhou during the New Year. The first meat in "Suiyuan Food List" is ham. Nowadays, rich families can no longer have their own home-cured ham like ancient times. However, ordinary Hangzhou people generally have the habit of curing bacon. Steaming a plate in winter or making some winter bamboo shoots slices is a good dish. In traditional Hangzhou, diced bacon should also be put in thousands of slices.

The rich fresh soup with steamed bacon left at the bottom of the bowl will be too salty to drink. It can be used as salt and monosodium glutamate. How could the housewife pour it out easily? She decided to have an idea! The basis of the "Three Delicious Soup" in old Hangzhou home is the soup of steamed bacon, which has the aroma of fermented lard. Master Ying expanded the "three delicacies" into nine delicacies: "pig skin, meatballs, ham meat, chicken, belly slices, hair skins, bamboo shoots slices, river shrimp, and mushrooms".

Whether the food itself can move people is also what Fan Xiaomei has always been obsessed with. "In the early years, we were like people traveling around, bringing back the good ingredients we had eaten in every place. The dishes had character, but the sense of region was unclear. Many people had eaten them and felt good, but they were not moved." Zhu Jian said.

I thought back to the Lao Hang Bang dishes I loved, and I really ate only a few kinds of dishes. That kind of persistence was unknown.

Hangzhou Baiqie Chicken

drunk crab

sweet and sour pork ribs

Chestnut roast pork

I thought about it carefully, maybe it was the smell of home. Food is a medium that spans time and space. If men, women, old and young in the family are allowed to play a drama, they will probably quarrel. Even if it is just a white-cut chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, chestnut roast pork, or drunk crab, three generations of Hangzhou people will feel friendly when they eat it together. "Taste is a memory. Judging from my past life, I have lived in Hangzhou for more than 50 years, and most of them have roots. That is local nature. Hangzhou cuisine is a scene form that is integrated into every family life. We said that Hangzhou cuisine doesn't have abalone, ginseng fin and tripe."

But what everyone thinks is commonplace is actually a long way from being "authentic". For example, the steamed winter bamboo shoots of pork ribs on the table are currently placed on rice and rice. The bamboo shoots are made into large thin slices with an oblique blade, making them very crispy. Master Ying said that the reason is very simple, because the fiber has grown."Now new chefs can't even cut bamboo shoots, and the traditional craftsmanship is lost."

Steamed winter bamboo shoots with preserved pork ribs

Zhu Jian still remembers the first time he ate Master Ying's specialty dish "Vegetarian Chicken". It was a dish that every household in Hangzhou knew to cook, and it was also a taste that he couldn't give up when he was a child. "A stranger who feels familiar after eating is a bit different, but I can't tell. The feeling it gives you is that the taste is homologous and there is something new, so the memory is very deep."

Winter pickles, bamboo shoots, and vegetarian chicken

Each family makes the same dish. After eating it for a long time, you will understand the meaning of "there is no soul in the taste". Master Ying said, for example, hair skins, which are made in the market, are different from your own. "If there are 200 tables in the restaurant, all of which are standardized. Very few are to start from scratch. You have to peel the shrimp by hand. The efficiency of the kitchen processing process is increasing and cannot withstand consumption. This place requires chefs to peel them themselves and do it himself. Laohang cuisine is not only ingredients, but also processing methods and processes. The predecessors have more time and low labor costs. Now socialized division of labor provides the highest efficiency and the lowest cost."

Hand-peeled stir-fried shrimp (Phoenix Tail Shrimp)

To pick and buy shrimps, you must also go to the Qiantang River in the morning to collect them. "The water quality of the Qiantang River is relatively urgent, and the meat shrimp is relatively strong. The shrimp are full, the shell is thin, and the body is good. They are thin and long. They are most suitable for making phoenix tail shrimp."

Hangzhou cuisine itself also has some established rules, such as "frying it before braising it." Old Hangzhou likes to fry all kinds of fish, even a single onion. Hangzhou cuisine doesn't have much to remove fishy flavor, except onions, ginger and rice wine, and a small onion can become a golden hoop stick.

Master Ying never goes out of his way to cook. The tofu is made by himself. It has a little sour taste and has large holes and is easy to get into the juice. He used the juice of green onions to neutralize the fishy smell of beans. He also made the sauce ribs himself. He said that there were too few good weather and the amount was small. After steaming, use shallots to add color.

"Northerners love to use green onions when cooking, and southerners love to use green onions. Southern vegetables can be braised more with green onions and more with white mashed garlic. Use them in front of them. They are usually stir-fried, but the fried oil will make the onions fragrant. Put the roasted tofu with green onions in the middle. Putting onions in the pot is for color, and the usage is different."

Dry baked cream crab

The bottom of Master Ying's dried crab is a lot of green onions. The water vapor of the baked crab is almost all provided by the green onions, and the aroma is overflowing. This is also a dish that firmly grasps Zhu Jian's taste buds.

Braised abalone and pork feet

There are also some unique dishes here, such as a novel combination of braised abalone and pork feet, and even some ingredients that are usually difficult to find. This is based on years of efforts to serve high-end customers. I ate black fish tripe for the first time at Fanxiaomei. Compared with pork tripe, it was crispy, tender and fresher. "Only 7-8 kilograms of black fish have fish maws. Black fish eat meat and eat miscellaneous things such as screws, so the stomach is good and the digestion is particularly strong. That dish is interesting. It is difficult to handle black fish maw. The fish maw has a strong fishy smell. It needs to be wiped with salt, soaked in vinegar, and stir-fried according to your own taste. Fry it after cleaning it up. It is crispy than pork belly!" Master Ying said.

In fact, there are many processes involved in a black fish maw. The person eating it can feel it, but cannot see it. Master Ying said he was not unconventional,"That's how food is made."

The most realistic story is a good script. The meaning of taste is true, there is no bluff.

I always educate foreign girls that Hangzhou men cannot fall in love, that "Hangzhou Tietou" is the "fool" in the north, and love words are sometimes "dirty". But Hangzhou men are suitable for marriage. A upright boy can work the pot and take care of a child to earn money to support his family. When he grows up, he can change customs for you.

Some things, you just look at the surface, are finished. Those photos from Internet celebrities are not Versailles. May everyone eat really good things with their loved ones in 2021!

The goddess asked

What old Hangzhou dishes do you like?

"Taste makes people come out,

It's tasteless and makes it enter."

--"Suiyuan Food List"

Food Bless You!

Consultant for China International Food Expo

Producer of "God's Table"