Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 524 Origin of Cuisine
"How to say?"

"They are all the important Nanguan dishes back then. Also, there was a noodle shop in Rongyuan in those days, called 'Jixue', and this dish of eel and bamboo shoot noodles is Jixue's special dish." Zhou Zhi looked at the menu and went straight to the restaurant. Nodding: "It seems that there is something about this store. The boss or the chef may be the true heir of Rongyuan back then."

"I don't know if it's true or not," Fei Guan said with a smile, "The taste is okay."

"Lao Chai and I have been here a few times, and I feel that the dishes here are more advanced than those outside, and some of them can also serve high-end Cantonese dishes. I just don't know whether it is real Sichuan cuisine or fake Sichuan cuisine."

"Now that brother Xiao Zhou said so, it must be true Sichuan cuisine."

"It's real Sichuan cuisine, but some of them are Sichuan dishes that have disappeared for a long time." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Then I ordered it?"

"point!"

So Zhou Zhi ordered Snowflake Chicken Nao, Steamed Eight Treasure Pot, Roasted Deer Tendon with Scallion, Steamed Pigeon Egg Jelly, Hot and Sour Sea Cucumber, Sweet and Sour Crispy Fish, Hot Shredded Eel, Chicken and Beef Soup, Pig Skin Cake, and Golden Noodles road.

After dismissing the waiter who came over to get the menu, Lao Chai said with a smile, "Come on, let's talk and talk. It's rare to hear the story told by the author of "Sichuan Taste" today!"

Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Then, do you know when Sichuan cuisine can become a feast, be able to enter the hall of elegance, and become an important cuisine?"

"Isn't this a long time ago? The Ming Dynasty?" Lao Chai said: "In the Ming Dynasty, there was a lot of salt in Sichuan, and the salt merchants started to pay attention to food and drink when they got rich. Didn't the famous Yanbang dishes come out at that time?"

"I think it might be the Song Dynasty." Fei Guan said, "Otherwise, how can foodies like Su Dongpo be cultivated? In the Song Dynasty, Shuzhong did not experience the wars in the Central Plains of the Five Dynasties. There was plenty of food and clothing. I guess it was the Song Dynasty."

"You all guessed too far." Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "Actually, Sichuan cuisine was able to enter the hall of elegance, but it was in the Qing Dynasty, and it was very late in the late Qing Dynasty, 11 years after Xianfeng."

"How is it possible?!" Fei Guan couldn't believe it: "As far as I know, the Shu River in the Song Dynasty was very popular for banquets!"

"All of this can be found in history." Zhou Zhi said, "Even if it is a banquet of Tang and Song Dynasties, the dishes are the same."

"Shaowei banquet is a grand banquet held by scholars and officials in the Tang Dynasty when they were promoted. Wei Juyuan got a book and recorded the "Shaowei Banquet Food List" at that time. There are as many as 58 dishes."

"It's a strange name, why is it called Shaowei Banquet?" Old Wang asked.

"Because when a fish jumps over the dragon gate, the sky thunder will descend and burn its tail, and then it will be reborn as a dragon. This is the legend of the Tang people that 'the fish will transform into a dragon, and the sky thunder burns its tail'."

"Scholars enrolling in the imperial examination and officials paying respects to their ministers are like crossing the dragon gate, so the banquet held is called Shaowei Banquet." Zhou Zhi explained: "However, if you look closely at the 58 dishes, the ingredients are extremely rare, mixed with water and land. But there are as many as 20 kinds of cakes and snacks, three or four kinds of rice, and there are several kinds of fish sticks and bacon platters left.”

"There are fewer seasonings, milk, oil, pastry, honey, there should be sauce and salt."

"The method is frying, steaming, roasting and frying, as well as pure cold dishes."

"This is already the banquet at its peak."

"There was indeed a style of feasting in Sichuan at that time, but judging from the record in "Tokyo Menghualu" that the "Sichuan Restaurant" opened by the Song people in Bianjing City, the dishes were nothing more than meat-stuffed noodles, big noodles, large and small There are several kinds of meat washing, frying meat, mixed frying events, and cooking raw and cooked rice."

"The Sichuan restaurant in the book, how can it be confirmed that it is the earliest Sichuan restaurant?" Lao Li asked.

"Because meat is mentioned here." Zhou Zhi laughed.

"The method of 燠 is to marinate meat and fish with salt and spices, and then store them in oil urns. This method still exists in Sichuan, and it is the famous 'oil meat' and 'jar meat'."

"Obviously, these few dishes are more like the style of a fast food restaurant, not a banquet."

"This is a bit unexpected." Fei Guan said: "We are known as the gourmet area in central Sichuan, so it was still a gourmet desert in the Tang and Song Dynasties?"

"Actually, you can't say that, it's just compared with the present." Zhou Zhi said with a smile: "However, before the late Qing Dynasty, Shuzhong restaurants were commonly known as 'guoguoyan'. Add that as you go."

"And most of the banquets are developed from the banquets in the countryside. The main business is also 'three steams and nine buckles'. The dishes are all in a big steamer. Guests come to order a few buckles and put them on the dinner plate, plus the appetizers, cold dishes and back dishes. Seasonal vegetables and kimchi can also serve as a feast.”

Small restaurants like this are everywhere in Sichuan until now, and everyone thought about it, so they couldn't help but nod.

Fei Guan asked, "Then how did our Central Sichuan cuisine develop into what it is today?"

Zhou Zhi said: "Speaking of it, it was brought about by the people of Sichuan's love of banquets, but it was after the introduction of the northern banquet layout standard to central Sichuan that it opened the eyes of the people of central Sichuan, and then developed this cuisine. It has been formed to the extreme.”

"Banquets were also popular in the capital of Shu in the late Qing Dynasty, but the high-end banquets at that time were hosted by the chefs or family members of wealthy families. Many family chefs had good cooking skills. This is the predecessor of 'private kitchen'."

"Since the reign of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, the way of self-management began to decline. Instead, the consumption of reserved seats has been replaced, that is, to entrust a professional restaurant to host banquets at the door. 'Why do you need to arrange your own meals when you invite guests, and save trouble by packing a banquet.' This bamboo branch poem It reflects the consumption fashion of booking seats in Chengdu at that time."

"This kind of banquet is not greedy for food, so the place where the host hosts a banquet is no longer limited to the home, but the environment is more important. This is the inheritance of Song Feng."

"In Chengdu at the end of the Qing Dynasty, banquets were very popular. Whether it was official banquets or private banquets, whether it was regular festival banquets, gathering banquets, or casual picnics and travel banquets, it was unprecedentedly grand. A group of professional With the popularity of banquets, banquet halls for banquets came into being."

"There are more than [-] special banquet halls distributed inside and outside the city. The main ones in the city are: Dinggong Temple, Guizhou Pavilion, Xiaoguan Temple, Yegong Temple, Xilai Temple, Lianxi Temple, Haihui Temple, Sanyi Temple Xiangguo Temple, Little Fujian Yingjun Garden and Sun Family Garden in Buhou Street, etc.;”

"Outside the city is even better. There are Caotang, Zhenjianglou, Fengyuan, Wuhou Temple, Erxian Nunnery, Shuangxiao Temple, White Horse Temple, Leishen Temple, Little Tianzhu, Great South China Sea, etc."

"Most of these banquet halls have a beautiful environment, and each has a different atmosphere."

"For example, the Ding Gong Temple located on Fangzheng Street not only had pavilions and pavilions, but also surrounded by flowers and trees. Throughout the year, many officials and gentry used this place to entertain guests;"

"In the Guizhou Pavilion located on Guizhou Pavilion Street, the flowers and trees in the pool pavilion are also beautiful, especially the plum forest in the pavilion. When the plum blossoms are in full bloom in early spring, the fragrance is overflowing and the scenery is pleasant, so many people come here for banquets;"

"Sun's garden in Buhou Street is full of sparse flowers and trees, scattered pavilions and winding ponds, giving it a rich atmosphere. At that time, many gentry and businessmen in the city often held weddings, weddings, birthday parties, and spring wine banquets here;"

"Wuhou Temple and Zhenjiang Tower outside the south gate are the places where officials and gentry see off, and they often choose to have a farewell banquet here;"

"The thatched cottage outside the west gate has pruning bamboo and red plum blossoms. Not only is the scenery pleasant, but also the area is open. Whether it is a spring banquet or a summer cool off, this is an ideal place for banquets;"

"Little Tianzhu has the wonder of ancient banyan trees, and it is an ideal place to hold banquets. Poets and scholars gather here all year round;"

"The Shuangxiao Temple located in Erxian'an, the flower and tree terraces and pavilions are very charming. It is adjacent to the Qingyang Palace. The flower festival is the peak season every year. 'There are hundreds of officials and gentry banquets here every day.'"

"It's a pity that these places are closed now." Lao Li said: "But there are still tea gardens, Wangjiang Park, Wenshu Monastery, all of which are good for drinking tea."

(End of this chapter)