National Tide 1980.

Chapter 489
Seeing that Ning Weimin was looking forward to it, he was sure that he was interested in what he said, and he didn't dislike what he said was boring.

"Zhang Dashao" obviously became more emotional.

After sorting out the language a little bit, the narration went on more smoothly.

"Let's talk about the cooking characteristics of the palace. The only place in the capital that can be called a local flavor is the 'Kouzi Kitchen', which you should know. But this kind of cooking in a greenhouse is hard to say exquisite. Especially before the capital became the capital of the country. , the dishes are few, and the cooking methods are rough. Just like most areas in Hebei Province, it is really difficult to enter the house."

"So most of Ming Chengzu's court chefs chose Shandong people, and Shandong cuisine spread throughout the court and folk. In the Qing Dynasty, it still inherited the Ming Dynasty's dietary habits intact. Then there is no doubt that the flavor of the palace The first place is Shandong cuisine flavor.

"And the second is the original cooking of the Manchus. The Manchus originated from a long-standing nomadic life. The meat of cattle, sheep, chickens and other animals is the raw material for their daily diet. Most of the cooking methods are barbecue and stewing."

"When the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, they didn't pay much attention to food. However, they began to pay attention to it during the Qianlong Dynasty. The court chefs improved the Manchu food, and thus introduced a unique flavor of food that has been preserved until now. It is the famous in Beijing today. mutton dish."

"The third is Suzhou-Hangzhou cuisine. Qianlong traveled to the south of the Yangtze River six times, and each time he visited Suzhou and Hangzhou. At that time, Suzhou and Hangzhou were very prosperous. The local people will also welcome the emperor with a grand ceremony. Emperor Qianlong was particularly fond of Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine, and ordered people to compile a food stall to record the daily diet. In the 43rd year of Qianlong, when Emperor Qianlong visited the Northeast, he also ordered some Suzhou dishes Famous chefs will accompany you as chefs in the imperial dining room."

"In short, the court cuisine of the Qing Dynasty was based on these three tastes. As for the biggest difference between court cuisine and folk cooking, folk cooking is mainly about taste, and the combination of dishes, shapes, seasonings and materials Not very particular. Court cuisine pays great attention to this. There are even many strict rules.”

"First, you don't allow arbitrary combinations. In general folk cooking, ingredients can be added, subtracted, and changed at will, which is harmless. For example, if there are eight ingredients in eight-treasure dishes, no one will pay much attention to changing one or two. But the palace Eight-treasure dishes must use the prescribed eight kinds of raw materials, and other ingredients are not allowed.

"Second, the relationship between the subject and the guest of the ingredients is strict. Similar to the monarch and ministers in traditional Chinese medicine, the cooking of the Qing palace also pays attention to the host and guest of the raw materials. For example, when cooking chicken dishes, we must pay attention to maintaining the originality of the chicken in the use of seasonings and main ingredients. Why? Because the main body is chicken, so it is not allowed to lose the original flavor of chicken due to the use of seasoning. It is also not allowed to be seasoned arbitrarily like ordinary folk dishes.”

"The third is the purification of seasonings. The seasonings of court dishes are not allowed to be used arbitrarily. For example, although chicken soup is made of chicken, in the court, it is not allowed to put chicken and chicken bones together in the pot like Zhuangguan cuisine. Boil. Because there are high and low broths, the ones cooked in general village halls can only be called "Maotang", which are usually chicken racks, duck racks, pork bones, minced meat, pig skin, etc., boiled in cold water, skimmed Son. Add scallion, ginger and wine to kill the fish. It’s not nutritious, and cooking is better than monosodium glutamate water. Of course not in the palace.”

"And for all the common dishes eaten by the emperor, the seasonings and main ingredients must be recorded in detail in the meal file. This is called a meal menu. This can ensure the stability of the quality of the dishes to the greatest extent. , then no matter when the emperor eats it, the dish will not taste bad.”

"For example, during the Daoguang Dynasty, Emperor Daoguang wanted to eat the dishes of the Qianlong period. Because there were food stalls, the imperial chef could cook them immediately, and the taste was the same as that of the Qianlong era. It was completely the characteristics of the imperial cuisine... ..."

When Ning Weimin heard this, he thought he had understood the meaning of "Zhang Dashao", so he couldn't help but interrupt.

"Oh, I see. What you mean is that I have to try my best to restore the old palace model in terms of manpower, material resources, raw materials and cooking techniques, and it must not be different from the past. Just like repairing an ancient building, repair the old as it is. To make authentic imperial meals and restore the real court flavor. Is it?"

Unexpectedly, "Zhang Dashao" completely denied his words and shook his head very firmly.

"No, no, it's not right. You're thinking about it, where do I mean it? I'm not telling you that you should imitate blindly. Because it is neither possible nor necessary. First of all, you must know that many raw materials today You can't even find it. It's like Sachima. You know?"

"Saqima is Manchu, and the original meaning is 'dog girl naozi dipped in sugar'. What is dog girl naozi? It is a small berry in the Northeast. It is named for its similar shape. It is now extinct. That's why it is gradually used. Raisins, prunes, hawthorn, melon seeds instead. In fact, such a substitution is not only good-looking, delicious, but also rich. According to what you mean, if there is no such berry, we will not eat Sachima? No need that kind of berry Could it be that what you did was not Sachima?"

"Secondly, we cannot deny that the times themselves are developing, and life needs to change. If there is no change or development in any industry, there will be no progress. For example, Sichuan cuisine existed at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty. Chili peppers broke into our country at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It is because of chili peppers that many new flavors appear in Sichuan cuisine, such as spicy, hot and sour, strange, kung pao, red oil, etc. If the taste never changes, where did it come from? Today’s Sichuan cuisine? Are these Sichuan cuisines not authentic?”

"It is not even an exaggeration to say that if there is no change, there will be no development. We are still drinking blood, picking fruits, and eating raw food. How can we talk about cooking techniques? It is precisely because we are always changing, seeking change, Thinking about how to change, you can know how to use fire to burn, boil, stew, and steam. It was not until the Qin and Han Dynasties that you learned to blend the five flavors and fry, fry, sauce, marinate, and broil. As for the palace cooking techniques that have been handed down to this day, it was also in the heyday of the Qing Dynasty for more than 260 years , gradually formed with the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty..."

These words touched Ning Weimin a lot, he immediately changed his mind and changed his mind.

"That's right, you're right. That's right, if things don't taste the same at all, why don't we still pick fruits from the trees to eat? Now I understand a little bit, we can and should change. Only in this way can it be unique, and can be distinguished from Fangshan and Tingliguan. But how to change is a problem, and you can’t mess around! Do you mean to let me understand a basic rule and rule of court cuisine? Only then can we grasp the essence of imperial cuisine..."

"Zhang Dashao" immediately agreed, and expressed full affirmation this time.

"Hey, a smart person can tell a little bit, and what you said is on point. The key is how to change, it must be reasonable, reasonable, and well-founded. It can't be changed for the worse, but for the better. Authentic is not authentic, not Self-proclaimed, you have to let the guests say it, let the experts say it, it’s useless to praise yourself. If you don’t say anything else, it’s the royal chef’s inheritance in the name of the palace. But you can’t make a few real dishes, and there are no Authentic Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine is almost all Shandong cuisine, right?"

"Authentic is not authentic, and the medicine is not prepared according to the prescription. It remains the same. Although the meal base file is sorted out according to the past palace diet information, anyone can make the meal menu according to the prescription, and in some places, the food is coded. The skills are not bad, and it looks like a real thing. But it’s superficial. It’s just a skin of court dishes. They don’t understand that the broth is expensive, and it’s not broth if it’s not clear. The soup confuses people. The taste of their dishes is too different from the elegance and purity pursued by court cooking. Is this okay?"

"Besides, you can't go wrong with some of the most basic things. Like stir-fried poultry, you should use camellia oil as the main ingredient. If you don't have tea oil, use sesame oil instead of lard. Like Qing palace imperial cuisine, you can have everything from mountains and seas, but The only thing that can’t be beef. In some places, there are sauced beef and spicy beef as cold appetizers. It’s plausible. The Empress Dowager never eats eggplant and cucumber. If it’s under the guise of Empress Dowager Cixi, it can’t be wrong. If it’s wrong, let the historians choose If something goes wrong, it is a big joke!"

"So in the final analysis, the food must be good for the food. It must comply with the regulations, have historical roots, and must be cooked properly and delicious. Naturally, it will be recognized and customers will flood in. If it is all about appearance, The entrance is not delicious, and even random changes are made, just to pursue a form. No matter how famous it is, it will only fool people for a while, and sooner or later the business will be deserted and no one will patronize."

Ning Weimin was about to applaud this time.

"Oh! That's right! What you said is so right! But, if you just say that you are authentic and the dishes you cook are not good at all, then why don't you go for nothing? In fact, it's just craftsmanship. The master who is not tall, the more he loves to boast that he is authentic, and use gimmicks to fool people. Master Zhang, I figured it out, you are really a capable person! You are a great expert! Knowing is better than being an expert. So you are both knowledgeable and know how to cook, so you can naturally make my dishes taste better than others, and it can still be like that. Right?"

(End of this chapter)