There was a movie called "Looking for Plum Blossoms in the Snow", which involves sealing bear paws with honey before cooking. It is said that bear paws will absorb the sweet aroma of honey, and the two will complement each other.
Yao Yuan had been craving this dish for a long time, and he wanted to try it when he got bear paws. However, when such a unique ingredient as bear paws actually appeared in front of him, he realized that the movies were all lies and lies.
Chinese food pays attention to the taste that makes it come out and the tasteless thing that makes it go in.
The bear's paws are covered in honey, so how can other smells get in? How can the strong fishy smell be extracted from the bear's paws?
When a dish of red grilled bear's paw was served, Yao Yuan realized that the so-called "complement each other" is only the perfect match between aged Moutai and bear's paw!
Moutai's thick soy sauce aroma, like a leopard's tail, fully stimulates and integrates the wildness from the mountains and forests in the bear's paws. The thick, soft and glutinous taste instantly fills the entire mouth, leaving a long aftertaste.
As if there is no need to chew, the thick meat automatically slides into the stomach, and the slightly choking satisfaction makes people go to the head. Even the tongue seems to be stuck in the mouth, making people just want to savor it and be too lazy to speak.
The so-called "eat without making a sound" is what we are talking about now.
It was Lao Ma who spoke first: "What a sigh! No wonder the ancients said: 'I can do whatever I want with bear's paws'. Anyone who doesn't like to eat such a good thing is a fool."
Brother Dang quickly complimented him and lectured his son who was not good at eating: "Yes, yes, yes, if you like to eat, eat more. Little Dang, can you stop being such a loser?! Eat slowly! Eat the food in the bowl first. Pick up the food when you’re done!”
Lao Ma sighed again: "Let your son eat freely. There are three bear paws. Let this little thing eat as much as he can today!"
The slightly older Fatty Hu already has a bit of shame, and may be used to scolding his little brother: "You're useless if you just know how to eat."
Lao Ma seemed to have remembered something: "Don't say that. Even Kong Laoer once said that 'food and sex are the same'. Eating is the first need of people. Love to eat is not considered useless. An elder of mine once heard Speaking of which, what he is most proud of in his life is that he once ate Tan's cuisine and the braised shark's fin he ate with the Prime Minister of the Republic of China. My relative is now nearly a hundred years old. The most important thing in a centenarian's life is My memories are actually a meal or a dish, do you think it’s interesting?”
At this point, Lao Ma paused for a moment, and saw that everyone's ears were pricked before continuing: "I am an old man who must be ninety-eight this year. He has no hobbies in his life, just delicious food. Back then, his family background It can be said that he is a very rich man. When he was young, he was well educated and did well, and he also went abroad to study abroad. Unfortunately, his family declined later, and he had no money. But what should he do if the old man is still greedy? In order to eat, he has sacrificed his family. The heirlooms are all very clean. I’ve heard of people going to pawnshops because of drugs or gambling, but this is because they were the first ones to eat.”
It can be heard both inside and outside the words that Lao Ma still respects his elder very much, and even uses the honorific "湀" that only people from Pingcheng would say.
"Normally, you are already in despair, so you can just make do with one bite, but he still doesn't like the food in ordinary restaurants. He only follows famous chefs in big restaurants. Back then, Chu Xiang, your master of halal cuisine, founded When he was served "Ma Lianliang Duck", he was the first to taste it. Later, he heard that Tanjia Cuisine opened in Pingcheng, which specializes in government cuisine. The braised shark's fin banquet was very good, so he wanted to have a meal there, but at that time, Tan's Cuisine only accepts reservations for the entire table. He was so depressed that he couldn't afford the entire shark's fin table, so he thought of a way to spend two oceans to bribe a waiter in the store. When the banquet was held, he He hid next door, and every time a dish was served, the waiter would give him a small portion, which was equivalent to eating a meal of braised shark's fin, so that he would not feel shabby at all for the sake of stuttering. It was this meal of braised shark's fin, He still talks about it with endless aftertaste. Later, the waiter told him that the people eating next door were a government prime minister named Xiong who lived in the countryside during the Republic of China and the opera boss Mei. This gave him even more bragging rights. The old man has been talking about this meal for half his life, and the braised shark's fin that came with it made him talk about it, and he still talks about it often."
Telling this story from Lao Ma's mouth is a bit fascinating, especially for a group of cooks. Whose cooking can make the Vice Prime Minister and Boss Mei make a special trip to eat it? It also made an old man who had eaten it talk about it for sixty or seventy years?
Fatty Hu looked fascinated and spoke quickly: "Then the person you are talking about is really greedy."
Yao Yuan hit Little Fatty Hu on the back of the head with a ladle: "Is this called greedy? This is called a gourmet! Just like the protagonist in the gourmand written by Mr. Lu, such a person is a close friend of our chef! We will open a store in the future If we meet him, we should respect him like a Bodhisattva! So what, Mr. Ma, is the old man you mentioned still alive? You can recommend him to me later."
The old horse nodded: "That's natural. The old man is still healthy. Maybe there will be a chance later. If he hears that he can eat bear paws and hash ants today, he will be able to eat them even if he is five miles away."
When the conversation changed, Lao Ma raised his cup and went to Qin Shuhan: "Speaking of which, I have to thank our brother Qin for this good fortune today! How about brother Qin and the two of us do it together? I heard that you have to stay in Pingcheng for a while. , do you have any specific plans?"
Qin Shuhan drank the wine in the glass quite boldly: "I really don't have any plans. Now the mountains in my hometown are blocked by heavy snow, so I have nothing to do in Maodong. I just want to come to Pingcheng to stay for a while and broaden my horizons."
There was a hint of cunning in Lao Ma's eyes: "Brother Qin, I heard that you are a driver. I happen to have a car here that no one is driving. Are you interested in helping me drive? The steering wheel is in your hands, I don't need it. You can still drive around while you’re in the car.”
This sentence piqued Qin Shuhan's interest. How could the former driving company commander not be fascinated by cars? Immediately he asked: "Mr. Ma, what kind of car is it?"
The charcoal fire in the pickled cabbage pot is getting hotter and hotter, the soup base is tumbling, and the whole room is filled with steam. When the steam hits the cold window glass, it forms water droplets, slides down the glass, and then forms window grilles, which are stacked on top of each other. The frost is getting thicker and thicker, isolating the joy in the room in that small space.
…
Michelle's family is also having hot pot tonight, but they prepare the standard Pingcheng hotpot mutton.
The term mutton-shabu-shabu is often translated as "Mongolian hot pot" in foreign languages, which is actually inaccurate.
The so-called "shabu-shabu mutton" originated in Pingcheng and was passed down from the palace nobles. It has nothing to do with Mongolia.
If you don’t believe me, you can ask the elderly Mongolians, which one of them has eaten, seen, heard or heard about boiled mutton as a child?
There is no other reason. Life was too hard in the early years, and no one had the ability to tinker with this kind of exquisite food, let alone the pastoral areas. Only in the capital city, only among the royal aristocrats could such leisure and elegance be found, and the fine food The lamb leg meat is rolled, frozen, and then sliced and rinsed.
And ever since the mutton-shabu hot pot was invented, it has always been accompanied by sesame sauce, soy sauce tofu, and chive flowers. In addition, the braised shrimp oil that adds freshness is also indispensable.
As for soy sauce, vinegar, chopped green onion, coriander, etc., it all depends on what everyone likes.
Michelle's father cooked today himself and put a lot of thought into the sauce.
First, boil several spices such as star anise, bay leaf, angelica root, and Sichuan peppercorns to make a liquid. Then add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil to this liquid to make sesame paste. The sesame paste is not the so-called Erbajiang sauce that is mixed with peanut butter. , but specially selected pure sesame paste from Liubiju, just to pursue the old taste that I have eaten since childhood.
Sauce tofu and chive flowers must also be bought from Liubiju. They must be newly bought and used freshly after opening the bottle to prevent other contaminants from entering.
As for the other seasonings, they were packed in small blue and white bowls and placed in a row around the charcoal copper pot. Several side dishes such as sweet garlic, sweet and sour cabbage hearts, fried red fruits, apple and egg salad were also placed on the table. It's so colorful and beautiful.
Being able to cook a meal of mutton-boiled meat with such care is beyond the reach of ordinary people.
In fact, Michelle's family is really not an ordinary family.
Michelle's family lives in a courtyard in Lingjing Hutong in the Second Ring Road. This courtyard is a standard courtyard with three entrances. It used to be the residence of a certain Baylor in the previous dynasty. Later, it was sold to a wealthy businessman, and now it has become a large courtyard.
However, because of his father's foreign trade work, Michelle's family had exclusive possession of the back garden of this quadrangle. Walking into the front vermilion gate, passing through the front yard, cloister, middle yard, and then through the next cloister, the messy scene suddenly appeared. Become elegant, even a bit quiet.
Several stones from the rockery in the back garden have fallen, and the original appearance can still be vaguely seen.
Although there are no precious trees in the courtyard, the white magnolia flower in the middle has withered to only its branches, and the tuberose in the flower pond has withered to only a short rhizome, but I can imagine that when spring comes, this courtyard will definitely be full of life. .
There are several items on the high stone steps that have been renovated in the north. The carved beams and painted columns and the overhanging eaves still retain the temperament of the residence of a wealthy family. There are two wing rooms on each side, which are a kitchen, a toilet and a boiler room. .
Michelle's family has its own small boiler room for heating. This was one of the important reasons why her father took a fancy to this house. The old-fashioned boiler installed at the beginning of the liberation is still very useful today, and today her mother no longer begrudges those hard-earned things. The coal that had just been brought in was stuffed into the boiler with the best coal, and the room was fully heated in advance.
My father prepared everything on the dinner table, put on his coat and went to the entrance of the compound to wait for the guests in advance.
Michelle, who was left alone in the room, was a little restless and glanced out the window from time to time. The room was very hot, so hot that Michelle's little face turned red.
…
Michelle's family is going to treat a guest today, and there is only one guest, but the identity of this guest is a bit unusual.
First of all, he is Michelle's guest, and it is the first time Michelle invites a guest to her home. Furthermore, this guest's identity is very different because he is a foreigner.
A foreigner from Australia, a genuine white man.
