On the Road of Travel Taste Taste Taste Charm 】 Yangzhou's light and vibrant cuisine raises the 'lion's head'

Introduction: The four basic elements of human beings are "food, clothing, shelter, and transportation". These four elements drive human progress and constantly circulate with the iteration of human civilization. Today, the "journey" of life is intertwined with travel. It is not only a joyful experience of seeing and hearing from all directions, but also the taste buds on the tongue are personally experiencing the sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and fresh flavors of life. The dishes eaten during the journey shake history and culture, so the series of dishes eaten during the journey are written down. It is called 'Taste Taste and Charm on the Road of Travel'.

Coordinates: Yangzhou, April 2015

Yangzhou is a small place, small people, but very grand. Some people may not be convinced, but in fact, Yangzhou is so famous and not always small. Before the liberation, Shanghai was called the "Ten Mile Yangchang". A city with ten mile long streets seemed to be very large. However, it should be noted that Yangzhou had the "Spring Breeze Ten Mile Yangzhou Road" as early as the Tang Dynasty.

Fireworks in March, enjoy the beautiful scenery and marvel at the delicious food in Yangzhou.

What comes to mind first when it comes to Yangzhou cuisine?

Yangzhou baozi? Lion's head? Eel fish?

Yangzhou cuisine is renowned throughout the world and is one of the four major cuisines in China. Yangzhou cuisine, also known as Huaiyang Cuisine, has a history of 1600 years. Yangzhou, located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, has long been a hub for north-south transportation. Its hinterland is also a land of fish and rice, with abundant resources. These superior conditions made Yangzhou a prosperous commercial center in history, and the local culinary skills also developed well, gradually forming a unique flavor dish - Yangzhou cuisine.

Huaiyang Cuisine is one of the most famous cuisine styles in China. It is called "four major cuisines" together with Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and Guangdong cuisine.

After staying in Yangzhou for 1.5 days, local classmates accompanied us three times (eating, drinking, and playing), took us on a tour of Yangzhou's beautiful scenery, and tasted Yangzhou's cuisine. Please let me count them one by one. The names of the dishes can only be remembered by feeling and are not authentic.

The first dinner (on April 23rd) was at Jiangjiaqiao Dumpling Noodle Shop, which is a well-known local noodle shop.

1. Crab roe soup dumplings.

Crab roe soup dumplings, with their unique flavor of thin skin, abundant soup, full filling, and delicious taste, are renowned throughout the country and around the world.

Legend has it that crab roe soup dumplings were made during the Three Kingdoms period. In the later period of the Three Kingdoms, when Zhuge Liang was seriously ill, he remembered that his late lord Liu Bei had left Eastern Wu shortly after he had recruited relatives, and Sun Shangxiang was forcibly kept at his mother's house by Sun Quan. Later, Sun and Liu declared themselves emperors and engaged in battle. Liu Bei was defeated and died of illness in Baidi City. Upon hearing the news, Lady Sun missed the bond between her husband and wife, feeling unbearable pain. She climbed up to the Lingyun Pavilion on Beigu Mountain, looked west to offer sacrifices, and committed suicide by throwing herself into the river. Zhuge Liang was too busy with his expedition to attend to the sacrifice of spirits. While he was still alive, he sent people to Eastern Wu to offer sacrifices, fulfilling his wish.

Zhuge Liang summoned the old man Wu, who followed Liu Bei to the Eastern Wu Kingdom, to go to the Eastern Wu Kingdom to pay homage to Mrs. Sun. When the old man asked what he would bring to pay homage, Zhuge Liang said he would pay homage to Mrs. Sun with meat Mantou. Upon hearing this, Old Wu knew that this was a sacrifice made by the former Prime Minister when crossing the Lu River, who did not kill any living beings but instead used dough to wrap meat instead of human heads.

After listening to the instructions, Old Wu bid farewell to the Prime Minister and took a boat to Jingkou in Eastern Wu, informing the local officials that he was here to pay tribute to Lady Sun. Upon hearing this, the magistrate dared not neglect and arranged for Mr. Wu to stay at the post office.

After settling in, Mr. Wu brought flour and used a knife to chop the pork into pieces and mix the ingredients. Thinking back to when my wife was alive, she loved eating crabs the most. She cooked some crabs, peeled off the crab roe and meat, and mixed them in the pork filling to make the filling.

The next day, some local officials and followers paid their respects together with Mr. Wu. After arriving at Beigu Mountain and the river, Old Man Wu asked someone to set up a incense table, light incense and candles, put forty-nine meat Mantou on the stick, and read out the sacrifice written by the Prime Minister. When we looked at the plump meat Mantou with various patterns, we didn't know what it was. After reading the sacrificial rites, Old Wu threw these toys into the river.

After the ceremony, everyone asked Mr. Wu. What was thrown into the river just now? Old Wu smiled and pretended to be mysterious, saying that this was Mrs. Sun's favorite food during her lifetime, and it was "crab roe steamed bun.

Crab Yolk Soup is made of the crab roe of the full paste crab and white flour, which is the best of the Dim sum in Yangzhou. The filling of the baozi can be seen to be yellow, and it really has the taste of hairy crabs.

2. Yangzhou fried rice. Before I arrived in Yangzhou fried rice, I said it was necessary to eat authentic Yangzhou fried rice.

Yangzhou fried rice originated in Yangzhou and is the product of China's canal culture. It is said that it originated from the broken gold rice that Yang Su, the Duke of Yue in the Sui Dynasty, loved to eat, namely egg Fried Rice. When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty inspected Jiangdu (today's Yangzhou), he also introduced egg Fried Rice into Yangzhou. Later, through the gradual innovation of the kitchen experts of past dynasties, the soft combination of Huaiyang dishes has become one of the famous staple foods in Huaiyang, with the characteristics of "rigorous selection of materials, fine production, exquisite processing, emphasis on color matching, and original flavor". Yangzhou style restaurants in Europe, America, Japan, Hong Kong and other places have also listed and sold this delicacy, which is quite popular.

Yangzhou fried rice is a combination of rice and dishes. Its main raw materials include white rice, grass eggs, sea cucumber, dried scallops, chicken leg meat, ham, fresh lake shrimp, mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, green beans, etc. Yangzhou fried rice is a wonderful flower in Huaiyang cuisine with rich nutrition and a long history.

Please allow me to tell you the truth. As a result, the Yangzhou fried rice doesn't taste special, nor does it sell well. It doesn't seem as good as my own fried rice.

3. Boil dry silk. Dried tofu "refers to the shredded tofu. A 1cm thick white square should be cut into 18 evenly thick slices and then horizontally cut into thin strands, as fine as hair. It is a dish that is very skilled in cutting. Boil dried shredded chicken soup, supplemented with bamboo shoots, chicken shreds, fungus, shrimp, egg shells, vegetable bile, etc., for a delicious taste. As the seasons change, the ingredients used for cooking dried silk also vary. Using seasonal vegetables can create various flavors.

4. Wonton&noodles . It looks great.

The next morning (April 24th), I had morning tea at Fuchun Tea House.

When they arrived in Yangzhou, Fuchun Tea House had to go. It is said that Yangzhou people take pride in entertaining guests by taking them to Fuchun Tea House for morning tea. The tea snacks are exquisite and delicate, with a wide variety of colors, making it overwhelming to taste.

Eating tea in Fuchun is like drinking morning tea in Guangdong, which is a special form of eating breakfast. It is different from Cantonese morning tea in that tea and Dim sum are drunk together, while Guangdong morning tea is simply drinking tea for breakfast. There is a saying among Yangzhou people: 'In the morning, you will be covered in water, and in the evening, you will be covered in water.' This means having morning tea.

The master has clicked Shuangma crisp cake, steamed stuffed bun platter steamer (including Feicui Shaomai, Gancai Bao, glutinous rice Shaomai, crab roe Steamed dumplings), poached egg noodles, grain Congee.

After breakfast, visit Shouxi Lake and have lunch at "Chenji".

The first dish I ordered was Yangzhou Lion Head . Each one costs 10 yuan, starting from three.

Lion's Head It is a traditional famous dish of Han nationality in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. It belongs to Huaiyang cuisine, which is soft in taste, fat but not greasy, and rich in nutrition. Braised, steamed, and widely known.

The most well-known dish in Yang cuisine is undoubtedly "Lion Head". The Taiwanese Meatballs made of pork is famous for its large, round, tender and fresh. Both refined and popular tastes are suitable for women and children. Mr. Tang Keming, the imperial chef of the last emperor, believed that it was listed as one of the four famous dishes in Yangzhou during the Sui Dynasty, and was called "Sunflower Chop Meat" at that time. The great poet of the Song Dynasty, Yang Wanli, wrote in his poem: "But if you match one lamb with two pincers, there are indeed Yangzhou geese in the world." Although he cannot accurately refer to this dish, it is certain that after tasting dishes such as lion heads, he vividly exaggerated and expressed his emotions through the dish.

Even though lion heads are my favorite, I only need to eat half of them because they are meat.

Braised bean curd

Stir fried vegetarian eel: The main ingredient is fresh shiitake mushrooms; The ingredients include soy sauce, garlic, white sugar, vinegar, starch, pepper, salt, and edible oil. Spicy and crispy, delicious and tasty.

Sausages hanging outside the restaurant.

The dinner on that day was the last meal I had in Yangzhou, which could be called "the last dinner". It was Huaiyang Cuisine (write down the name of the dish according to the feeling).

Saltwater immersion of river shrimp, It is said that river shrimp is the leading flower of Huaiyang Cuisine.

Sweet and Sour Carrot Slices The sourness and sweetness are just right, very crisp. My classmate introduced that to pickle carrots, vinegar and sugar should be mixed in proportion and boiled. After boiling, they should be cooled and then poured into sliced carrots. If the sweet and sour water is not boiled, the carrots are prone to spoilage.

Saltwater Goose . Among chickens, ducks, and geese, Guangzhou people are most fond of chickens and are not interested in ducks, believing that ducks are toxic. There is a saying that goes to Nanjing, you must eat salted duck, but in Yangzhou, only salted goose is recognized, which is a consensus within Jiangsu Province. In the "Yangzhou Spring Poems," it is written: "Where there is land, only bamboo is planted; where there is no home, geese are raised." In the past, wealthy households in the Jiangnan area generally used geese to protect their courtyards, indicating the high visibility of geese in the local people's lives.

Yangzhou people have been fond of geese for a long time, dating back to more than a thousand years ago. The Tang Dynasty had descriptions of eating geese in Yangzhou, and the Qing Dynasty's "Suiyuan Shidan" recorded a method called "Yunlin Goose", which is quite similar to today's salted goose: mixing honey and wine together, spreading it evenly inside and outside the goose, then steaming it in a pot, and eating it, the meat is crispy, tender, and delicious.

Whether it's eating meat or grass, most people are willing to eat tender ones, but Yangzhou people insist on taking a unique approach and are not fond of old ones. And the essence of Yangzhou goose is also contained in this word 'old'.

Geese must be chosen to be old and strong, with 2-3 years of free range breeding being the most suitable. Even if it's not good, about a year's worth can make do. Geese grow older, but compared to young geese, they have more evenly textured meat, less fat content, a refreshing and firm taste, and emit a mature male goose charm all over their body. The key is that they do not bite when eaten, so they are actually more popular than young geese with fatty meat.

Shrimp and corn

Green pepper tripe

Sauce Fish Head

Cooked chicken in casserole

Stir fried chives

Stir fried amaranth

Yangzhou cuisine belongs to Huaiyang cuisine. Its main characteristics are: strict selection of materials, fine cutting, outstanding main ingredients, attention to the original taste, attention to fire work, good at stewing, clear and mellow soup, thick but not greasy, light and fresh, unique shape, salty and slightly sweet, light and delicious taste, moderate sweet and salty, suitable for both north and south. The characteristics of Yangzhou cuisine are thin, light, delicious, and appropriate. It is as atmospheric and cultured as Yangzhou people, and not as sweet and greasy as Wuxi cuisine and Subang cuisine.

I really like that small town in Yangzhou, I want to go back quietly.

After many years, I would like to thank my old classmates again for their sincere and warm hospitality

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