China's tongue

Chapter 2 The Gift of Nature

China has a large population and the most abundant and diverse natural landscapes in the world: plateaus, forests, lakes, coastlines... The span of geography and climate is conducive to the formation and preservation of species. No country has such potential food raw materials.People collect, pick up, dig, fish... in order to get this natural gift.Traveling through the four seasons, we are about to see the story of people and nature behind the delicious food.

[-]. Matsutake: an elf-like nobleman
Shangri-La, Yunnan, a primeval forest surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the air is cool during the rainy season.In this natural mixed forest of pine and oak trees, it is not easy to keep up with Shanzhen Zhuoma.Dolma and her mother are looking for an elf-like food.

What Zhuoma found under the pine needles was a precious edible fungus - matsutake.This fungus can only survive in high-altitude mountains without pollution, so it is also known as the nobleman among wild fungi.

Jidi Village is the center of the Shangri-La Matsutake production area.At three o'clock in the morning, this place has become an empty village, and all the people who have the ability to go up the mountain have gone out to look for the miraculous fungus matsutake.Dolma and her mother were no exception, and they joined the bacteria hunting team together.

After passing through the village, the mother and daughter had to walk into the virgin forest 20 kilometers away.Even for villagers who are familiar with the forest, picking matsutake is a labor of luck.Because of his rich experience in finding bacteria, Dolma knows that it usually takes about a kilometer to find a matsutake.

Although it is so difficult, in order to ensure the quality, Zhuoma and her mother will never pick the matsutake whose umbrella cover has been opened.Those high-quality matsutakes are hidden under the soil layer. My mother found the fungus pit that she had hidden two days ago. As expected, new matsutake mushrooms grew in the sandy soil layer. Unfortunately, there is not enough rain this year, and the matsutake mushrooms are too small.

In the past, Tibetans didn't like to eat matsutake because they thought it had a strange taste. At that time, matsutake cost only a few cents a catty.But in recent years, the value of matsutake has skyrocketed.The income of tens of thousands of yuan a summer makes herdsmen extremely hard in the rainy season.Dolma's mother was not in good health. During the long journey, what Dolma worried most about was her mother's health.

The acquisition of matsutake abides by a strict grade system, which is divided into 48 different grades, which must be strictly distinguished from the first-hand origin.The matsutake, which is designated as a first-class fungus, is large and of good quality, and the purchase price is also the highest.In addition, the price of matsutake will change with the amount of output.This year, the output of matsutake is small, and the price will naturally rise.The purchase price of a matsutake at the place of production is 80 yuan, and six hours later, it will appear in a supermarket in Tokyo at a price of 700 yuan.

Zhuoma squeezed among the buyers, and the quality of the matsutake picked up in the morning was average.Zhuoma was very anxious, because once the rainy season of this month was missed, the matsutake would disappear without a trace.

In the past day, Shanzhen Zhuoma and her mother walked 11 hours on the mountain road, but got very little money in return.The whole family is looking forward to good luck the next day.

There are only two seasons in Yunnan - the dry season and the rainy season.From November every year, the dry and warm wind blows mightily in the first half of the year, and the rain will not reach Shangri-La in Diqing Prefecture until the end of May of the following year.The heavy rain caused all kinds of wild fungi to grow rapidly in the primeval forest, but the miscellaneous fungi did not attract the interest of Shanzhen Zhuoma and her mother.Heavy rain is a gift from nature. Good luck can bring Shanzhen Dolma more harvest when the sacrifices are equal.

After the matsutake was unearthed, Shanzhen Zhuoma immediately covered the fungus pit with pine needles on the ground. Only in this way, the mycelium would not be destroyed.In order to continue the gift of nature, Tibetans have always followed the rules of the mountains and forests.

The Past and Present of Matsutake

About 7000 years ago, matsutake took root in the primeval forest of Shangri-La.

Why is it not called "mushroom" like other fungi?It is recorded in the "Jing Shi Zheng Lei Bei Ji Materia Medica" of the Song Dynasty: Because the fungus is born under the pine forest, and the buds are like velvet antler, it is named matsutake.In another monograph on fungi, "Factory Spectrum", matsutake is called matsutake.In the Ming Dynasty, it was called Taiwan Mushroom and He Mushroom by Li Shizhen in "Compendium of Materia Medica".

Matsutake is especially popular in Japan.According to legend, after Hiroshima, Japan was attacked by the atomic bomb in August 1945, the only surviving plant was matsutake; at the same time, the Japanese believed that food should be "as far away from humans as possible" in terms of spatial and biological relationships.Therefore, plant food is better than animal food, microbial food is better than plant food, wild is better than artificial breeding, and mountain is better than plain and suburban.Matsutake, a fungus, cannot be artificially cultivated at present. It grows in alpine woodlands above 8 meters above sea level in the cold temperate zone, and has extremely strict requirements on the growth environment.Moreover, the growth process of matsutake is also extremely slow, generally taking five to six years.Therefore, matsutake, as a wild edible fungus, has long been favored by most Japanese people.

In fact, the nutritional content of matsutake does have great benefits for human health.Matsutake has the functions of strengthening the body, benefiting the stomach, relieving pain, regulating qi and reducing phlegm, expelling insects, and treating diabetes.At the same time, the nutritional value of matsutake is very high. It contains eight kinds of amino acids necessary for the human body and a variety of vitamins. It also contains special polysaccharides - matsutake and cinnamic acid, and has certain anti-cancer effects.

[-]. Bamboo shoots: pure freshness of the mountains and forests
Although the taste of matsutake is unique, it has only been popular on the table for 30 years.In traditional Chinese recipes, there is another delicacy from the mountains - bamboo shoots.

In China, many people rely on bamboo forests for their lives, and they are also masters of bamboo shoots.

Lao Bao is from Zhejiang, and the largest winter bamboo shoot in Suichang grew in his moso bamboo forest.The winter bamboo shoots are hidden under the soil layer, and there is nothing on the surface, but Lao Bao only needs to look at the color of the bamboo shoots to know the exact location of the bamboo shoots.He knew that under this piece of lifeless soil, there were winter bamboo shoots sprouting.

Winter bamboo shoots are very seasonal and difficult to preserve. After the bamboo shoots are removed, there are very few edible parts left. However, these shortcomings do not prevent Chinese chefs from loving bamboo shoots, because their texture is simple and can easily absorb the food they are paired with. Flavor, especially, can form a wonderful balance with fatty meat fat.

Laobao’s method of finding bamboo shoots is to first find the bamboo, and then dig along the bamboo whip. After finding the bamboo shoots, lightly plan to remove them without damaging the roots, and then cover them with soil after taking them out.Storing winter bamboo shoots in situ can keep them fresh for more than two weeks.

From Zhejiang in the east of China all the way to the southwest 1500 kilometers, you have entered the bamboo forest in Liuzhou in midsummer.

A Liang is from Guangxi, and sweet bamboo shoots grow in his bamboo forest.Every year from mid-June to mid-September is the season for harvesting sweet bamboo shoots.Generally speaking, bamboo shoots break through the ground and become hard when exposed to the wind. If they are not dug in time, the taste of bamboo shoots will become old and astringent.A Liang's bamboo shoots belong to the whip bamboo shoots that are born in summer. The taste is far less tender than that of winter bamboo shoots, but this kind of bamboo shoots is the raw material for making Liuzhou sour bamboo shoots.

It has been almost two hours since the big-headed sweet bamboo shoots from Ah Liang's family were chopped down. At this time, the bamboo shoots reached the peak of respiration.After four hours, the two baskets of big-headed sweet bamboo shoots will soften and rot, and the speed of A Liang's family has been accelerated.

A Liang checks his jar of sour bamboo shoots every day before going to bed. He sees the quality of the sour bamboo shoots through the light.The son told him that someone would come to buy sour bamboo shoots the next day, but these bamboo shoots would take at least three days to come out of the vat, so he planned to reject the customer's order.

Laobao in Zhejiang is preparing to make a homemade bamboo shoot soup.Put half of the bacon and bamboo shoots in each, stir-fry in a firewood pot and add the broth, the marinated taste of the bacon and the umami of the bamboo shoots blend together.This Jiangsu-Zhejiang dish called salted freshness should have spring bamboo shoots as the protagonist, but Lao Bao is not so particular about it. Even the winter bamboo shoots, which are 20 times more expensive, are just a side dish in his own bamboo forest in his eyes. .

In another solar term, spring bamboo shoots will soon replace winter bamboo shoots, and continue to create wonderful pickled fresh dishes.

Pickled fresh

"Jiang" means salty; "Xian" means fresh;Pickled Duxian belongs to the special dishes of the Han nationality in the Jiangnan area. It is one of the representative dishes in Shanghai, Subang, and Hangbang. The main raw materials are spring bamboo shoots, fresh pork belly, and bacon slices.The soup simmered over a low fire has a salty and fresh taste, thick white juice, crisp and fat meat, crisp and tender bamboo shoots, and strong umami.

Ingredients preparation
Main ingredients: 200 grams of fresh pork belly, 125 grams of spring bamboo shoots, 200 grams of bacon

Seasoning: 10 grams of shallots, 5 grams of butter, 4 grams of salt, 2 grams of monosodium glutamate

Production steps
1. Wash the pork belly, cook and cut into pieces;
2. Wash and cut the salted pork leg into pieces;
3. Add water, pork pieces, and bacon pieces into the casserole, and bring to a boil over high heat;

4. Add the wine and scallions, and slowly simmer over medium heat until the meat is half-cooked; then add bamboo shoots, salt, and monosodium glutamate, and continue to simmer over low heat.When the pot is boiling, skim off the foam and remove the shallots.

Tips
1. Do not cover the pot. 2. Use more water to submerge the meat and bamboo shoots. 3. The bacon should be boiled first, and then stewed in a pot.

History of eating bamboo shoots

There is a "Bacteria Spectrum" for bacteria, and there is also a "Bamboo Shoot Spectrum" for bamboo shoots.In the "Bamboo Shoots Book" compiled by Zan Ning in the Song Dynasty, the experience of picking and cooking bamboo shoots passed down through the ages is recorded.According to records, there are dozens of edible bamboo shoots such as moso bamboo shoots, early bamboo shoots, thunder bamboo shoots, just bamboo shoots, green bamboo shoots, hemp bamboo shoots, and bitter bamboo shoots.According to different picking seasons, bamboo shoots have different names: spring bamboo shoots in spring, winter bamboo shoots in winter, and whip shoots in summer and autumn.There are also processed dried bamboo shoots, which are called magnolia slices.

In our country, the history of eating bamboo shoots is earlier and earlier than eating matsutake. In the "Book of Songs", there is a poem "Qi Su Wei He, Wei Sun and Pu"; Dai Kai of the Jin Dynasty introduced more than [-] varieties of bamboo and the differences of bamboo shoots in his book "Bamboo Book". flavor.Tang Taizong liked to eat bamboo shoots. Whenever spring bamboo shoots were on the market, he would always call a group of officials to eat bamboo shoots, which was called "bamboo shoot feast".People also like to use bamboo shoots to symbolize the prosperity of the country and the emergence of talented people, such as "springing bamboo shoots after rain".

The legend of bamboo shoots
There is an idiom in "24 Filial Piety" called "crying bamboo shoots", which is about a man named Meng Zong in the Three Kingdoms period. His mother was old and seriously ill, and the doctor told him to use fresh bamboo shoots to make soup.But it was winter and there were no fresh bamboo shoots.Meng Zong had nothing to do, so he ran into the bamboo forest alone, holding the bamboo and crying loudly.After a while, he suddenly heard the crack of the ground, and saw several tender bamboo shoots growing on the ground.Meng Zong was overjoyed and picked the bamboo shoots to make soup.After my mother drank it, she recovered quickly.

Later, some people used poems to describe Meng Zong's filial piety that touched God's will:

Tears are cold,
Xiao Xiao bamboo counts poles.

In a moment the winter bamboo shoots come out,
God will report peace.

[-]. Nuodeng ham: a thousand-year-old delicacy hidden deep in the mountains

In addition to fresh ingredients, sometimes the seasonings that make delicious food also come from nature.In the Nuodeng Mountains in the north of Dali, Yunnan, there are many natural salt wells scattered among the striking red sandstone.

Lao Huang from Yunnan and his son Shujiang are building an earthen stove by the stream. The job of this earthen stove every winter is to boil salt.The water in the pot is brine—this is what is used to boil the salt.The salt wells producing brine have existed in Nuodeng Village for thousands of years, and salt is boiled to make Nuodeng ham, a unique local delicacy.

Among the many hams, experienced Lao Huang immediately recognized a mature Nuodeng ham.The ham was salted three years ago and has been completely air-dried. The fat has oxidized into a special delicacy. Nuodeng ham more than three years old can be eaten raw.Once unraveled with a knife, each part of the ham can be eaten differently, with the meat closest to the center bone being the best.

The temperature rises at noon, and the salt precipitated in the soil layer beside the salt well increases, attracting nearby livestock.The salt in Shujiang has been boiled for more than four hours, and the crystals are gradually forming.After the salt is precipitated, pass through the mold once, and the weight is fixed. Such an accurate measurement method shows that salt was once the most important commodity of Nuo Deng.Nuodeng well salt is rich in potassium, which is good for health and has a light taste, making it the best choice for making ham.

After boiling the salt, Lao Huang and his son Shujiang rushed to the market to choose pork for ham.The pigs on the plateau are not ordinary high-end products, and the top-quality Nuodeng ham can grow perfect oily flowers.

Every year from the winter solstice to the severe cold is the best time for Lao Huang and his son to make ham.The altitude of Nuodeng is about 1800 meters, and the location is just where the river turns in the valley. This kind of warm climate is most suitable for the deep fermentation of ham.

It takes more than a month for Nuodeng ham to be marinated alone.The climate in mountainous areas is always fickle, and it is the best time to wait until the weather is sunny and the temperature is low.The curing process of Nuodeng ham is very simple, just sprinkle the homemade Nuodeng salt evenly on the ham and knead and press repeatedly.But when kneading and pressing, the strength of the hand and the amount of salt sprinkled all require comprehension.

It is difficult for people today to appreciate the preciousness of table salt like Lao Huang from Nuodeng. The advancement of transportation and technology has made salt a commodity with extremely low cost, but we still believe that Nuodeng salt is a special gift bestowed by nature to the mountain people. Gift.

The valley at an altitude of 1800 meters is gradually warming up. From now on, thousands of Nuodeng hams will start to grow mold. This mold will soon be accompanied by the deep fermentation of the ham, and the delicious food hidden in the mountains is slowly being produced.

Millennium Nuodeng Salt

Salt is the lifeblood of Nuo Deng.Nuodeng well salt is excellent in quality and pure in taste, coupled with the fame of Nuodeng ham, so salt merchants rushed to buy it, which also made Nuodeng well salt an important commodity on the ancient tea-horse road in western Yunnan. A special ancient road of the Lord - Yanma Ancient Road.

There is a shrine dedicated to the Dragon King in the brine room of the salt well in Nuodeng Village. Every day before the salt workers go down to the well to collect brine, they have to light two sticks of incense in front of the Dragon King for safety.The sources of brine are complex underground, and the wise Nuodeng people invented a system that can separate the sources of brine and fresh water.

In the past, there were more than 80 kitchen households (salt cookers) in Nuodeng Village, and the brine as a public resource was distributed uniformly by the special administrator.Every morning, the brine supervisor began to distribute brine.Each kitchen household can get about seven or eight backs (120 catties per back) of brine. If the brine becomes thinner in the rainy season, each kitchen household can get ten backs.When distributing, the brine supervisor hangs a sign tube marked with the stove number on the window of the brine room, and each brine worker carries a bamboo stick when he goes out, carries it to the agreed stove household, and then puts the bamboo stick on his back. The lottery is placed in the bamboo tube of the kitchen household.Finally, after checking and confirming by both parties, the backer will return the bamboo stick, and the supervisor will check and keep the accounts.

[-]. Lotus root: a gift from the depths of the lake

In October, the Lianghu Plain in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River has entered autumn.The water level of lakes near the Yangtze River in Hubei Province began to drop gradually. This natural law gave people the opportunity to get close to the world at the bottom of the lake.

Shengwu and Maorong are two brothers. Every year when the lake water drops, they will come to Jiayu County in Hubei to start a hard work.For the brothers, new opportunities and challenges lie ahead.

Shengwu and Maorong wanted to dig a natural delicacy and a high-yield vegetable in the lake - lotus root.This kind of plant grows in the deep silt under the lake. It is not easy to dig it out. It requires a strong enough physical fitness.

Labor, survival and food connect people's lives.For Shengwu and Maorong, digging lotus roots earned them money for building a house and for their children's education. At present, they are in good health and can still do lotus digging for a few years.

Digging lotus root requires patience and skill. If you want to take out a complete section of lotus root, you must first find out the trend and length of the whole lotus root, and then remove the silt section by section.If the lotus root is broken, it will lose its appearance, and if it is filled with silt, it will not be sold at a good price. Therefore, every lotus digger must carefully dig out the lotus root completely.

Lotus root is a natural ingredient full of artificial labor, so the value attached to lotus root is higher than that of other vegetables.If you want to get lotus root, the only way is to use people to dig it. No matter how big the lotus field is, there is no mechanized tool for picking lotus root.

During the season of picking lotus root, Mao Rong and Shengwu rushed from their hometown in Wuwei, Anhui, to the place where there are lotus roots. They have to go out alone for seven months every year.Every time he went out to dig lotus roots, Shengwu's wife would tell him to take good care of himself.This strenuous work caused long-term soreness in the waist, legs and arms of the two brothers, and they also suffered from old stomach problems due to irregular work and rest. However, the high wages made Shengwu and Maorong still willing to do this hard work .They understand that the harsher the environment, the greater the rewards.

Before the Spring Festival last year, the price of lotus roots was good, which attracted a large number of professional lotus diggers to Jiayu.People who dig lotus root still prefer cold weather. This is not because it is easy to dig lotus root in cold weather, but because if the weather is cold, more people will buy lotus root to make lotus root soup, and the price of lotus root will rise.

In Hubei, almost all households simmer pork ribs and lotus root soup once or twice a month.Choose thick pork breast bones, cut into pieces and put them in a casserole, boil and simmer for an hour on low heat, scrape and wash the fresh lotus root, cut into pieces and put them into the soup, first boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for half an hour become.

It will take another five months to pick the lotus roots in the whole lake.As professional root diggers, Mao Rong and Sheng Wu have special feelings for lotus roots. Whenever they see lotus roots in the market, they can't help thinking: We dug this lotus root.That indescribable sense of intimacy and pride arises spontaneously.

The history of eating lotus root

Lotus root originated in India and was introduced to China very early.During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the cultivation of lotus root was quite common.There are two kinds of lotus root - lotus root with seven holes and lotus root with nine holes.Lotus root with seven holes is more cultivated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It has excellent texture, strong rhizome, tender meat, fresh, crisp and sweet.

Lotus root is slightly sweet and crisp. It can be eaten raw or cooked, and its medicinal value is quite high. Its roots, leaves, flowers, whiskers and fruits are all treasures and can be used as medicine.Made from lotus root powder, it can relieve food and relieve diarrhea, appetize and clear away heat, nourish and nourish nature, and prevent internal bleeding. It is a good liquid food and nourishing treasure for women, children, children, and the weak and sick.During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, lotus root starch was designated as a royal tribute.

[-]. Catch: the gift of rivers and oceans
On the banks of Chagan Lake in Jilin thousands of kilometers away, a group of professional fishermen waited until the beginning of the working season.The dry air and extremely low temperature caused the freshwater lake on the former Gorros prairie to freeze early, but a wonderful harvest is brewing under the frozen lake.

In a restaurant in Beijing, the chefs are making the most popular signature dish every day - fish head pancakes. The wonderful big fish heads come from the Northeast hundreds of kilometers away.Take a large pot, do not fry the fish head, but only use the pre-made broth to simmer for about 25 minutes, then use high heat to collect the juice, and use freshly baked pancakes.Eating fish heads is a Chinese patent, and the price of good fish heads is much higher than that of fresh fish.

At four o'clock in the morning, the fishermen of Chagan Lake wore cotton socks, felt Gada (boots), and dog fur hats. After fully armed, they set off to the selected netting place in the dark.After a journey, the fishermen already knew that their feet were no longer land, but ice.Drivers are most afraid of encountering unsealed cracks. Once people and horses step on it, it is possible to fall into the water or even lose their lives.Where to go, no one dares to talk nonsense, a "gamble" relying on experience will last for several hours.

After arriving at the destination smoothly, it was already dawn.The sun is shining brightly, the oxygen content under the ice increases, the density of fish schools will be very high, and the 2000-meter-long fishing net will soon sink to the bottom.In such low temperatures, schools of fish will not congregate, but if the positioning is not accurate, bad luck will spread like an epidemic for several days.The fishermen were working on their own, no one spoke, an atmosphere of anxiety and tension permeated the ice, and the heavy clothes made simple movements extremely slow.Yu Baotou is very concerned about whether his judgment is accurate, because it relates to his prestige and face among the crowd.

Shi Baozhu, 77 years old this year, has rich experience and is a well-known fish leader in the local area.He started fishing at the age of 15 and has never left the "fishing world" until now.Winter catchers fix the winch on the ice, then wrap the large rope around the winch, and pull the two-kilometer-long fishing net under the ice through the pull of the animals.The amazing scene began, the fishing net moved slowly under the transparent ice surface, and the net walking under the ice meant that the light was just right and the thickness of the ice layer was just right.But could this be a sign that schools of fish are nearby?
Chinese New Year is approaching. According to the old custom, there will be a local lake and fish sacrifice activity. The demand of tourists and the participation of businesses make the ceremony even more grand.As the main actor, Shi Baotou also performed on stage. The scene in front of him was very different from the sacrifice in the memory of the old man, but he still prayed devoutly to the gods in the lake for a good harvest in the coming year.

The net walked under the ice for eight hours, and finally it was time to collect the net.The underwater world was completely salvaged, and the people who were loved by the heavens were once again blessed.The plump bodies of the big fish stimulate everyone's nerves, but no one will notice a detail: there is not a single small fish in the net pulled up, and almost every fish weighs more than two kilograms.

Only veterans know that this is the strict rule handed down by the fishermen of Chagan Lake.The fishing nets for winter fishing are six-inch meshes, and such sparse meshes can only catch big fish over five years old.In this way, juvenile fish were artificially omitted.There is a saying among the Mongolians of Guoerluosi called "hunting and killing endlessly", which is what they say.

Shiputou's family is preparing to welcome New Year's Eve with big fish that have just come out of the water.According to the old tradition, the New Year's Eve dinner is a table full of fish.In a grand dinner, fish is the absolute protagonist.Shi Baotou's son-in-law is the chef at home, and he cooks well. He completed 14 dishes in the whole fish feast, exhausting all his skills.

The children in the family drink with the old man, and a hard year has passed.Raw fish, sashimi, whitebait, Wuchang fish, fish slices, the mixed taste of fresh fish permeates the night in the fishing village of Chagan Lake.

The gift of lake water certainly nourishes people who live by water, but the ocean is the water world that many Chinese people rely on for survival.The fishermen on the three islands of the Jing nationality in Guangxi use stilt fishing to get fish and shrimp in the shallow sea.Fish usually move in the early morning and evening when the southwest monsoon comes. At this height, a pair of stilts and a fishing net can be used as a fulcrum, which can effectively catch all the fish and shrimp in the offshore.Standing on the coastline, there will always be a feeling that resources will be exhausted. Fishing on stilts, which was well developed in the past, has gradually become a tourist item in folk customs.In Wanyu Village of the Jing people, there are only the last five people who can fish on stilts.

For people by the sea, the deeper temptation is still in the deep sea.

China has a coastline as long as 1.8 kilometers. The farther the fishing place is from the coast, the higher the risk factor.People walked into the Mazu Temple to pray for blessings, which meant that a new voyage was about to begin.

Lin Hongqi, a native of Hainan, is the captain of an ocean fishing team.In winter, Captain Lin's fishing boat has prepared diesel, food and fresh water, and is about to set sail from the seaport of Sanya.Most of the 20 people on board are young adults.The ever-decreasing number of fish makes the captain Lin Hongqi take the risk of getting nothing, but he knows that the gifts of nature often fail to meet people's wishes, and the opportunity must be grasped by himself.

In the evening, Lin Hongqi caught a wolf fish, simply cut it into pieces and served it with instant noodles, and it became a delicious dinner.However, the captain's dinner was not peaceful.The lights attracted fish, but after two hours of fishing, the nets pulled up were empty, only some jellyfish.It is expected that there will be no harvest, but the pressure is on the captain. If there is no harvest after half a month, Lin Hongqi must explain to the crew.

When going out to sea, the crew will bring some mackerel as food.Mackerel marinated with salt can be stored for a long time, and the leftover fish head and tail can be added with sauerkraut to make delicious sauerkraut fish soup.

The South China Sea is the largest and deepest ocean in China.When fishermen go fishing in the Paracel Islands, they have to stop ashore to rest in case of bad weather.The cost of deep-sea fishing is very high, and the opportunity to go to sea in a year is only half a year, so everyone must hurry up.

In this year's fishing season, Lin Hongqi has gone out to sea twice and lost tens of thousands of dollars.Several days had passed since the voyage this time, and he still got nothing, and his pressure was increasing.Everyone pinned their hopes on Lin Hongqi, because he is the captain, and the position of the fish depends entirely on his judgment? ?
From nothing to rapid progress, those who make their living from the sea are once again rewarded.The fishermen's unique way of celebrating is to make a sumptuous sea fish lunch.The cooking on board preserves the original umami taste of seafood.Pan-fried mackerel, without adding any extra seasoning, is completely original; the pond fish is braised with garlic; and the cannonball fish is delicate, which is most suitable for soup, and it is cooked with sour bamboo shoots.

Lin Hongqi returned to land with a boat of fish, but he knew that this was only a short stay.How people will adapt to the marine environment in the future can only wait and see.

During the two-month matsutake picking season, Zhuoma and her mother earned 5000 yuan, which is a reward for their hard work.

In the evening, Shengwu returned to the shore with his boat, and he wanted to cover the lotus roots he picked today with a tarpaulin.

On the first day of the new year, Shibatou is put on the ice alone, and 50 catties of fish fry will be thrown into the lake in spring. The old man is still looking forward to the gift from the ice lake.

When we stay away from nature and enjoy delicious food, we should be most grateful to these labor and wisdom people, and nature uses her generosity and trustworthiness as a reward and reward to human beings.

Chagan Lake Sacrificial Ceremony
The winter fishing in Chagan Lake was well-known at home and abroad during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The history of catching 42 catties of fish in one net endowed this lake with enough spirituality and magic.Therefore, people form a kind of firm worship of the lake god, and they don't say the word "turn" when they take a boat on weekdays.This kind of piety has continued until now, forming a set of rituals for offering sacrifices to the lake with unique religious and national characteristics.

The long dharma name, tall sandalwood, antique incense burner, and the unique hats of the lamas, these beautiful highlights constitute the scene of offering sacrifices to the lake with strong ethnic characteristics.Usually, the ceremony is presided over by a local respected old man or fish leader.On the ice surface with open mesh, put sugar cubes, fried rice, fruits, dried milk and other offerings, light incense and charcoal hot pot, and give praise speeches, hoping that the winter fishing will be safe and safe, and more fish will be produced, and good fish will be produced.

The annual lake sacrifice ceremony is the fishermen's wish for a better life, and it is also a thank you for the gift of nature.

Shoot

Liang Shiqiu

We Chinese eat bamboo shoots. "Poetry · Daya · Han Yi": "Its rusty dimension, dimension bamboo shoots and cattail." It can be seen that bamboo shoots have been regarded as the best vegetables since ancient times.In the Tang Dynasty, there were commissioners in charge of planting bamboo. "Book of Tang Baiguan Zhi": "The bamboo supervisor is in charge of planting bamboo reeds, and the bamboo shoots are used for food at the age of one." Knowing the beauty of fish, good bamboo and mountains feel the fragrance of bamboo shoots", and later the popular saying "No bamboo makes people vulgar, and no meat makes people thin. If you want to be good and not thin, eat bamboo shoots and boil meat", which is even more clear It means that bamboo shoots are indispensable for meals.Not only humans love to eat bamboo shoots, but pandas also have to eat bamboo branches and leaves. If the bamboo forest blooms, the pandas will starve to death if they don't migrate.

Bamboo shoots, bamboo buds also.Bamboos are not the same, and the seasons of bamboo shoots are also different, so there are different types of bamboo shoots.The bamboo shoots of bitter bamboo are of course bitter, but the degree of bitterness is different.Bamboo shoots that are too bitter are difficult to eat, and those that are slightly bitter have a unique flavor. For example, eating bitter gourd, bitter herbs, and bitter wine does not dislike the taste of bitterness.Cook the bitter bamboo shoots first to reduce the bitterness slightly.Su Dongpo is an expert in eating bamboo shoots. He does not reject bitter bamboo shoots. There is a saying: "It is a trivial matter to throw away pine and chrysanthemums for a long time, but how about bitter bamboo shoots and finless porpoise?" He still misses bitter bamboo shoots.Huang Luzhi once ridiculed him: "The public is like a bitter bamboo shoot, and you can take off your spring shirt tomorrow." In order to eat the bitter bamboo shoots, you don't even have to be an official.The fresh bamboo shoots we eat in summer in Taiwan are very crisp and tender, and sometimes people who are not good at choosing will buy slightly bitter ones.It seems that from the appearance of the bamboo shoots, you can know whether they are bitter or not.

Spring bamboo shoots are not only tender and crisp, but also beautiful in appearance.Thin and long, white and smooth, without any blemishes.After the spring rain, the bamboo shoots burst forth, with sufficient water and fine fibers.The ancients described the beauty of women's fingers as spring bamboo shoots. "Under the shallow silver light of the autumn waves, the slender bamboo shoots in front of the jade mirror." ("Jian Deng Yu Hua") This metaphor is not an exaggeration. If you have never seen fingers like bamboo shoots in spring, you have not seen them often.Spring bamboo shoots are good in any way, frying, frying, simmering and stewing are all good.Braised bamboo shoots in oil must be spring bamboo shoots, and the season of spring bamboo shoots is not long, so canned bamboo shoots in oil have always been popular, but most of them are crudely made.

Winter bamboo shoots are the most beautiful.Du Fu's "Fa Qinzhou": "Dense bamboo and winter bamboo shoots", it seems that he digs winter bamboo shoots all the way to eat.Winter bamboo shoots do not grow on the ground, they are hidden in the soil in winter and need to be dug out.Because it is hidden deep, so the texture is fine.There are few bamboos in the north, and the winter bamboo shoots are imported and quite expensive.In restaurants in Peking, a plate of "Fried Erdong" (winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms) is considered a good dish.Dongxinglou's "Shrimp Roasted Winter Bamboo Shoots" and Chunhualou's "Ham Stewed Winter Bamboo Shoots" are famous dishes.During the Chinese New Year, if you give someone a cattail bag of winter bamboo shoots and a cattail bag of cucumbers, this gift is not light, and it is also a favorite of the old gourmets.One of my favorite dishes since I was a child is stir-fried shredded pork with winter bamboo shoots, adding a little chive and fungus, and pouring a spoonful of Shaoxing wine in the pot.

Bamboo shoots are also a good thing, the best in Hangzhou.Sometimes in the deep alleys of Beiping, there was a peddler from Hangzhou who ran the Dan Gang, carrying big bamboo baskets on his back, and selling bamboo shoots from small bamboo baskets.His bamboo shoots are relatively fresh, so they are still a little soft.Stir-fried bamboo shoots with shredded pork are very flavorful, and they are also good in vegetarian assorted or grilled bran. Even roasted tofu with bamboo shoots has a unique flavor.In addition to the bamboo shoot tips, there is also the so-called "vegetarian ham", which is a large piece of processed dried bamboo shoots, which are black and can be eaten as snacks.

After all, the fresher the bamboo shoots, the better.One year I traveled to the West Lake with my uncle, and I ate at a restaurant in front of Lingyin Temple. It was a vegetarian restaurant, but a plate of roasted bamboo shoots with mushrooms was really superb, mainly because the bamboo shoots were fresh.A few years ago, a friend went to Shitou Mountain for summer vacation and lived in a nunnery at the highest place. He wrote to me in his suicide note: "Dwelling on the mountain is very interesting. There are freshly chopped bamboo shoots for vegetarian meals every day. They are delicious. Come and taste them together?" I asked. I didn't go, I still regret it.

Regarding winter bamboo shoots, Mr. Lu Guoji of Tainan gave some amendments to the book. He said: "Winter bamboo shoots do not grow on the ground, but are hidden in the soil in winter." If these two sentences are changed to "Winter bamboo shoots grow in the soil", it will be more concise. Hereby The growth process of winter bamboo shoots is briefly described in the following. The winter bamboo shoots we often eat are Mengzong bamboo shoots (bamboos used for building scaffolding in Taiwan), which are the most delicious bamboo shoots. It can be dug and eaten in winter. The underground stems of bamboo have different depths in the soil. Bamboo shoots born about ten centimeters above the ground have their tips (buds) exposed from the soil. , the soil surface has not been exposed in winter, and the soil surface is uplifted, and there are new slits, which is where the bamboo shoots are. When dug out with a hoe, the bamboo shoots are light yellow. If the bamboo shoots are born below one foot from the ground, there is no sign on the ground surface. Difficult to find. If you are experienced in digging bamboo shoots and watching the bamboo branches unfold, you will know the direction of the underground stems, and you can also dig bamboo shoots. When the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, the rain is sufficient, and the bamboo shoots in the deep soil quickly stick out of the ground, which is called spring bamboo shoots. The actual winter bamboo shoots and spring bamboo shoots were originally One thing, but there is a sequence of unearthed and different seasons. All bamboo shoots are delicious before they come out of the ground, not only Mengzong bamboo." Thank you for this.

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