The most interesting folklore

Chapter 7 The most interesting food culture (2)
In the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a popular "Four Happiness Poem" among the people: "When there is a long drought and sweet rain, when you meet an old acquaintance in a foreign country, when you are in the bridal chamber, when you are named on the gold list." It seems that people at that time regarded these four things as the most fortunate. There are four happy events, so people use "Sixi meatballs" as a metaphor for these four happy events.Sixi meatballs on general banquets are made of minced meat, starch, five-spice powder, monosodium glutamate, salt, etc., kneaded into round shapes, boiled in water or deep-fried, with excellent color and taste.When opening a banquet, put a big bowl on the table, how many people are there, usually how many people, one for each person, I wish everyone happy things often.

14. Was the candied haws invented by the emperor?
Candied haws are related to Emperor Guangzong of the Southern Song Dynasty.Song Guangzong is the third son of Song Xiaozong Zhao Xing.One year, Huang Guifei, the concubine of Emperor Guangzong, fell ill.When the emperor saw this, he frowned, posted the imperial list, and recruited doctors from all over the country. A quack doctor should be recruited into the palace, saying that he has a way.After the doctor's diagnosis, he said that there is a simple method available, that is, torment with rock sugar and red fruit (that is, hawthorn), and eat 5 to 10 pieces before each meal, and the disease will be cured after half a month.After Huang Guifei took it according to the law, her appetite recovered.Since then, this practice has been spread among the people, and the common people string up the small hawthorns one by one, which is more festive, and it has been passed down, and it has become the popular candied haws today.

Studies by later generations have shown that hawthorn also has the effects of lowering blood fat and serum cholesterol. Therefore, it is not surprising that the sweet, sour, and beautiful candied haws are favored by the people.

According to legend, during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a girl named Fusang, who was the maid of Zhang Yaxian's family, a big sugar mill in Neijiang, Sichuan.Once, when Zhang Yaxian was away, she scooped up a bowl of syrup and was about to drink it. Zhang Yaxian came, and Fusang quickly poured the syrup into a lard jar, hid it in the woodpile, and put some chaff on top to cover it up. .A few days later, when Fusang took out the lard jar, the jar was full of crystal-like things, which were crunchy and sweet when smashed into the mouth, and its taste was better than white sugar.Fusang told the story of this strange phenomenon, and many people followed suit.Because the sugar made looks like ice and is as sweet as honey, people call it rock sugar.

15. Why is roasted tofu also called white meat?
Roasted tofu is a unique traditional food in Gaoping, with a history of more than 2000 years.According to legend, in the Battle of Changping in 2 BC, Zhao Kuo was defeated by Qin general Bai Qi-ju, and 40 Zhao soldiers were killed by Bai Qi.The local people hated Bai Qi for generations. In order to commemorate the dead who were starved and killed, they used rice as a dish, tofu as meat, and grilled it on the fire. Pound Baiqi's brain into mud and eat it together with tofu, which is called "Baiqirou".It can be seen the depth of its hatred and the depth of its limitations.Unexpectedly, people feel quite fresh after eating it, with a unique flavor.So "burning tofu" has been handed down in Gaoping.Now, "burning tofu" is not only quite popular in Gaoping, but also in other places.

16. Who stipulates four dishes and one soup
During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a famine all over the country, and the people's life was very difficult, but some high-ranking officials and dignitaries still lived a life of luxury and debauchery.Zhu Yuanzhang decided to rectify the wasteful eating and drinking from top to bottom, but it was difficult to find the right time for a while. He thought hard and finally came up with a good solution.

This day coincided with the queen's birthday celebration, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the opportunity of all the ministers coming to celebrate her birthday, and intentionally served a banquet with rough dishes and light meals to alert the civil and military officials.When more than a dozen tables were seated, Taizu ordered the maids to come to Lai. The first dish was fried radish, radish, and a variety of medicines. There is a folk saying that "the radish is on the market, and the medicine shop is closed."The second dish is fried leeks, which are vigorous and evergreen in all seasons, symbolizing the long-term peace and stability of the country.Then there are two big bowls of green vegetables, which are used as a metaphor for the official to be clean and honest.Finally, a very ordinary green onion tofu soup.After the banquet, Zhu Yuanzhang announced in public: "In the future, all the ministers can treat guests with at most 'four dishes and one soup'. This time the queen's birthday banquet is an example. Anyone who violates the rules will be severely punished."Then the banquet was announced.

Legend has it that since that banquet, none of the civil and military officials dared to break the rules, and the style of honesty and thrift prevailed.

17. Who invented steamed buns?
According to legend, during the Three Kingdoms period, Meng Huo, the master of the Nanman Cave in the south of the Kingdom of Shu, always came to attack and harass him. Zhuge Liang personally led troops to conquer Meng Huo.There are very few people in Lushui area, miasma is very heavy and Lushui is poisonous.Zhuge Liang's men came up with a superstitious idea: kill some "Nanman" captives and use their heads to sacrifice to the river god of Lushui.Of course, Zhuge Liang could not agree to kill the "Nanman" prisoners, but in order to boost morale, he came up with a way: use the flour and flour paste brought by the army, steam them in the shape of human heads, and use them as sacrifices instead of "Nanman" prisoners. "The head went to sacrifice to the river god.

Since then, this kind of pasta has been handed down and spread to the north.But the name "mantou" was too scary, so people replaced the word "man" with the word "man" and wrote it as "mantou". Over time, mantou became the staple food of northerners.

The records about steamed buns in history began in the Jin Dynasty.But at that time it was not called steamed buns, but "steamed cakes". "Book of Jin · He Zeng Biography" said that He Zeng was "extravagant in nature" and "he would not eat steamed cakes without making crosses on them", which means that he would not eat steamed cakes without steamed cross cracks.Xiao Zixian said in "Book of Qi" that in the ninth year of Yongping in the Western Jin Dynasty (the 9th year of A.D. A.D.), it was stipulated that "cakes from flour" should be used for sacrifices in Taimiao.In the Song Dynasty, Cheng Dachang explained in the book "Yan Fan Lu" that "mian qi cake" is "in the fermented noodles, the pine is loose".Undoubtedly, "mianqibing" is fermented pasta, that is, steamed buns.Steamed buns are fermented noodles and then steamed. If you don’t master the biochemical reaction of yeast, you can’t make steamed buns.

18. Is the dry layer of crispy crisp to commemorate Xuanzang?
According to legend, the thousand-layer pastry is closely related to the translation of Buddhist scriptures by Xuanzang, an eminent monk in the Tang Dynasty, in the Temple of Mercy.Tang Gaozong Li Zhite respected Buddhism. When Master Xuanzang translated thousands of volumes of Buddhist scriptures, he ordered the royal chef to make "thousand-layer pancakes" and reward Xuanzang in recognition of his achievements.Later, when Xuanzang died of illness, on the day of his burial, more than one million people came to pay his respects near Chang'an, the capital city.

Later, chefs in Chang'an, the capital city, revered Master Xuanzang, and carefully improved the "thousand-layer pancake", named it "thousand-layer pancake".For more than a thousand years, after several wars, it has lasted for a long time and has been passed down to this day.

19. When did the ancient sugar making start
It was known in China in the Western Zhou Dynasty 3000 years ago that starch was hydrolyzed to produce sugar.The earliest sugar in my country, except honey, is mainly maltose.Generally speaking, plant seeds will produce saccharification enzymes during the germination process, and this saccharification enzyme will hydrolyze starch into maltose.There are many names of maltose in ancient times, such as glutinous rice, glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice flour, rice cakes, etc.Maltose made only from rice is called San.The sugar mixed with maltose and watercress is called "over".my country has a long history of manufacturing maltose. This aspect has been recorded in the "Book of Songs".By the Han Dynasty, folk brewing of maltose was quite common.

my country has a long history of using sugarcane to make sugar.Before the Han Dynasty, sugarcane did not exist independently as the main variety of sugar, but was regarded as a category of glutinous rice.During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the technology of sucrose manufacturing gradually matured, and crystalline sucrose was already produced.

In the Tang Dynasty, on the basis of the original sugar-making technology, China absorbed the advanced technology of India, thus bringing the sugar production into a new stage.According to "Tang Hui Yao", sugar production began in the Tang Dynasty.There are detailed records of manual sugar making in Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" in the Ming Dynasty. This manual sugar making method was used until the founding of New China.

Sugar beet production began in Europe in the 18th century.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, sugar beets began to be used in Northeast my country.There are some other names for tea. According to the introduction of tea sage Lu Yu in "The Classic of Tea", in addition to tea, its names are Jiong, Bo, Ming and Shun.In addition, according to the records in other ancient books, there are also titles such as Qi, Gaolu, Gualu, Shui'e, Guoluo, Wuluo, Xuan, Tuo, Tu, Jiatu, Kutu, and Dainu.

There are also many nicknames for tea, such as "Buyehou".Jin Zhanghua's "Natural History" stated that "drinking real tea can make people sleep less, so tea is called the night marquis, and its merits are also beautiful."

The elegant name of tea is "Qingyou". According to Song Suyi's "Study Books", "Ye Jia's character is Qingyou, and his name is Mr. Yuchuan. Qingyou is also tea."

The name of the tea is "Emblica", according to Li Wei's "Weiwen Suoyu", "The world calls olives Emlical, and tea is also called Emlical. Because of Yi Yiyu, it was renamed as Emlical."

Tea is also known as "Senbo" and "Difanzi".

With the emergence of famous teas, they are often named after famous teas, such as "Longjing", "Oolong", "Dahongpao", "Yuqian" and so on.

Why is cucumber called cucumber because it is green? The original name of cucumber is cucumber, which was brought back by Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty when he was on an envoy to the Western Regions.Courgettes were renamed cucumbers, which began in the Later Zhao Dynasty.

Shi Le, the founder of the Later Zhao Dynasty, was originally a member of the Jie tribe.After he became emperor in Xiangguo (now Xingtai, Hebei), he was very annoyed when people in his own country called the Jie people Hu people.Shi Le formulated a decree: no matter what he said or wrote, the word "Hu" was strictly prohibited, and those who violated it would be pardoned.

One day, Shi Le summoned local officials in Shan Yuting. When he saw Fan Tan, the governor of Xiangguo, came to see him wearing patched and torn clothes, he was very dissatisfied.He immediately asked, "Fan Tan, why did you come to court with disheveled clothes?" Fan Tan didn't know how to answer in a panic, so he replied casually, "It's all because the barbarians are immoral. They robbed all their clothes and killed them." I have no choice but to come here in rags." As soon as he finished speaking, he realized that he had violated the prohibition, and hurriedly kowtowed to plead guilty, and Shi Le stopped criticizing him when he saw that he was guilty.When they were summoned for the routine "lunch given by the emperor", Shi Le pointed to a plate of courgettes and asked Fan Tan, "Do you know the name of this thing?" Fan Tan saw that Shi Le was deliberately questioning him, so he said respectfully He replied: "Purple table delicacies, silver cups of green tea, golden cups of nectar, and jade plates of cucumbers." After hearing this, Shi Le smiled with satisfaction.

Since then, courgettes have been called cucumbers, and it has spread among the ruling and opposition parties.By the time of the Tang Dynasty, it had become a common vegetable in the north and south.

20. Are Tanchun Banquet and Quilt Banquet an ancient women’s picnic gathering?

"Exploring Spring Banquet" and "Qunyu Banquet" are two kinds of outdoor banquets and dinners that ladies often held between Kaiyuan and Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty. They usually choose places with beautiful scenery in the wild, so that people can enjoy the natural beauty and meet the aesthetic needs. , You can also taste delicious food to satisfy your appetite.

Most of the participants in the "Exploring Spring Banquet" are officials and young women from wealthy families.The banquet is held every year between the two solar terms "Lichun" and "Rain" after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.First of all, go for a walk in the green, enjoy the beautiful mountains and rivers, and then choose a suitable place, set up a tent, set up food and wine, while ordering and tasting spring, while conducting recreational activities such as guessing puzzles, telling stories, and composing poems and couplets around the word "spring".

Every March, the royal Qujiang gardens are also open to officials and common people for people to visit and hold banquets.For example, in the "Spring Exploration Banquet", women come here to have a feast of "fighting flowers" first, and then set up a "skirt feast".The so-called "fighting flowers",?It is when young women are visiting the garden, they compete to see who will wear the most expensive and beautiful flowers.After playing for a certain period of time, they choose a suitable place, use the grass as a mat, insert bamboo poles around them, and then connect their skirts and hang them on the bamboo poles. This is a temporary banquet tent, where the women hold banquets.At that time, people called it "Qun Wei Banquet", which was similar to the current picnic in the park.

In order to make the banquet more interesting, women pay great attention to the color, aroma, taste and shape of the dishes, and strive to be innovative in tableware, wine vessels and food boxes.Therefore, the "Tanchun Banquet" and "Qunyu Banquet" promoted the development of ancient Chinese cooking techniques and tableware shapes to a certain extent, and enriched the variety of food, becoming a beautiful landscape in the history of Chinese food life.

21. Is the water banquet in Luoyang mainly for drinking water?
Luoyang Water Banquet originated in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1000 years. It is one of the oldest famous banquets preserved in China so far.

The water mat originated in Luoyang, which is directly related to its geographical climate.Surrounded by mountains, Luoyang is located in a basin with little rain and dryness.The reason why it is called a water banquet is that every dish is inseparable from the soup and water, and the second is that it is served on the ground one after another, just like flowing water, so it is called a water banquet.

The whole set of banquet includes 24 dishes, so it has the title of "three eight seats".Among the 24 dishes, there are 8 cold dishes, and the cold dishes are further divided into "four meat and four vegetarian dishes".There are 16 hot dishes, 4 of which are table-pressing dishes, and for the other 12 dishes, each 3 with similar taste is a group.Luoyang water mats are divided into high, medium and low grades.Nowadays, high-end water mats include sea cucumber, shark fin, and wide belly; mid-range water mats include chicken, fish, and meat;Due to the unique flavor of Luoyang water mat, delicious taste, salty, sweet, sour and hot, one dish has one taste; from delicacies of mountains and seas, to vermicelli and radish, all can be made into a dish, which can meet the needs of consumers at different levels. Therefore, Luoyang water mat has gone through thousands of years. , enduring.

22. Is the teppanyaki invented by Qi Jisihan?

The Mongolians live on animal husbandry and have a long history of eating mutton.The roasted whole lamb and hand-carved meat they make are very delicious.Among them is a dish called "Genghis Khan Teppanyaki", which is made with the traditional Mongolian barbecue method. It is also called Genghis Khan Hot Pot, commonly known as "Genghis Khan Teppanyaki".

(End of this chapter)