Chapter 29 steamed fish

The history of steamed food should be a major turning point in human food civilization. From Shennong's burnt valley to steamed food, it marks the revolutionary modernization of drinking utensils.The so-called "burning the grain and eating" means burning hot stones, putting the seeds of plants on the stones and roasting them.Shennong's "Food from Burnt Valley" ushered in a new era in history. This invention enables small grains of plant seeds to become food.Otherwise, those small plant seeds are really hard to swallow.Steamed food is obviously a big step forward. It can steam almost all ingredients, and the pinnacle is Mianyang three steams.The three of Mianyang three steamers represent infinity, which means that any food can be steamed.

The history of human steamed food is obviously after the invention of pottery.Originally, Ge Baihao, a "real kung fu" in Hangzhou, saw a 2,500-year-old steamer made of pottery. Ge Baihao, who is committed to the development of steamed food, believes that steamed food has a history of 2,500 years.However, later I went to the Shangdu Museum in Yanshi, Luoyang and saw 3,600-year-old steaming pots, which were also made of pottery, and they were complete sets of pots.Then, it may be presumed for the time being that at least the Chinese steamed food has a history of 3,600 years. Steamed fish should be a branch of steamed food. From my personal eating experience, steamed fish can obtain the original flavor of fish, including the original shape of fish. This is steamed fish.I remember that when I lived by Daye Lake, I especially liked steamed fish, because the mandarin fish and Wuchang fish there were both suitable for steaming.About half a catty of Wuchang fish, the steaming method can keep the fish fresh and tender, and it tastes better than the big Wuchang fish.

Steamed small Wuchang fish, the patient and delicate method is very different from the simple method.In a delicate way, after the fish is cleaned up, fine lines are drawn on the body of the fish with a knife so that the salt can be added.It is necessary to make quite lean meat stuffing, like the meat stuffing for making dumplings, that is, the meat stuffing is mixed with minced ginger and chopped green onion, and stuffed into the belly of the fish.Use fine salt to rub the fish body, especially the salt must be moderate, because it is salty but not fresh, steamed fish should pay attention to the light taste, and then use lard (now you can also use other refined vegetable oil) to rub the fish body.The simple method is to fill the belly of the fish with sliced ​​ginger and scallions. The simpler method is to smear the fish with oil and salt instead of filling the belly with spices.

The time to steam Wuchang fish does not need to exceed fifteen minutes, because this kind of flat fish is easy to cook.Even for other large fish, for example, in Beijing, people like to eat steamed grass carp, and the length of time needs to be controlled. After a long steaming, the tenderness of the fish will be lost. The meat of steamed mandarin fish is particularly beautiful, white and tends to be transparent, like fine porcelain, while Wuchang fish is white, like white marble.I like to make simple steamed Wuchang fish. This original steaming method will always be the original flavor of Wuchang fish.In the light days of the past, on the shore of Daye Lake, Wuchang fish with the size of a tail and a palm was often steamed, and the rice was steamed with the best southern rice. The rice was fine and white.The meat of Wuchang fish is extremely tender, and its freshness is also the taste that this kind of fish can have.When Su Dongpo was dispatched to Huangzhou, he often crossed the river to Fankou in Wuchang (now Ezhou City) to fish and eat Wuchang fish. Fankou is the best Wuchang fish, which grew in Liangzi Lake.

Steamed salted fish is a home-cooked dish in the south. No matter the poor or the rich, salted fish and cured meat are always prepared. Every winter, every household must salted salted fish and cured meat.Pickled salted fish is mostly grass carp weighing more than a few kilograms, which is what Beijingers call grass carp.However, grass carp is divided into two categories in the south, one is grass carp and the other is green carp. Grass carp is herbivorous carp and green carp is omnivorous carp.However, grass carp seems to be omnivorous, because grass carp can be caught when fishing in the south.

After the grass carp is marinated, it must be sun-dried for a long time.Therefore, in the south, a lot of bacon and salted fish are drying under the eaves or on the balcony.To steam salted fish, cut the hard, woody fish body into small pieces, soak it in water for a while, and then steam it.However, if you consider the taste and texture, you can also fry the salted fish for a while, put it in water for a while, and then steam it.Since ginger, chili and cooking wine can be added when the fish is stewed, and there is also oil, so after cooking and steaming, the taste of this salted fish will be more smoky.Otherwise, the salted fish tends to be lignified and hard to chew.

The marinated grass carp has bright red meat, just like the oily wood fiber of a large pine tree, with layers of meat, bright red color, which is extremely tempting.No one can resist the temptation to poke the skin of the fish with chopsticks.Usually in late winter or early spring, on cold days, the tranquility and remoteness of the south, the sun is still warm, eating rice, or drinking with steamed salted fish can simplify the days into indifferent time .In the old days, the southerners were thin, holding a small wine glass with thin fingers, drinking leisurely, without the burden of power, without the temptation of money, quietly comprehending the meaning of life, living an ordinary and peaceful life, really Not to mention the Southern Barbarians.

In Mianyang (now renamed Xiantao), an important city for steaming vegetables, people also like steaming together.This steaming method uses the three flavors of bacon, salted fish and cured duck to be steamed together, which makes the world mistakenly think that the three steams in Mianyang are the three steams.The significance of co-steaming is to taste each other. Because bacon has a lot of fat, steam it to produce oil, and salted fish and cured duck are soaked in oil. Of course, the taste has a much broader aroma of wax.During the many days when I was wandering in Beijing, I missed the salted fish and cured meat in the south the most, especially in winter when the sun is shining in the winter, there is no such kind of cured meat, and there is no salted fish. The days are really dull Very good, I can't tell.

Steamed fish with flour is more difficult to control. Compared with steamed meat with flour, fish bones must be considered in steamed fish with flour.I think it is best to take the belly part of the steamed fish, and soak the steamed meat powder at the same time, otherwise the steamed meat powder is not easy to steam.The fish is oil-free, not as steamed as the oil and the water in the meat overflows, and the powder is also soaked.The fish belly still seems to contain fat, so the steamed steamed fish will still have the taste of some tamales. The taste of steamed fish with rice flour obviously includes fresh fish in it. Due to the protection of steamed meat powder, it is fresh and tender, which cannot be replaced by other steaming methods.However, people seldom make steamed fish with noodles, because it may not be so convenient to spit out the spines when eating steamed fish with noodles.At the same time, the steaming is not good, and the fishy smell is also strong. It is always a test for the production of rice flour steamed fish. Without considerable leisure and ambition, it is obviously difficult to control.Every time I go back to the south, I see people making and selling fish balls on the street, there are always a lot of leftovers, fish heads and fins of fish belly, which they call fish edges.Because the price of leftovers and processed products is very cheap, I bought the side of the fish back to make steamed fish with rice flour, which happens to be the part that steamed fish with rice flour needs.I found that the fishy smell of steamed fish with flour is not easy to control, but there is less oil. If you stir it with oil and steam it, the fishy smell will be greatly reduced.

When I was in Beijing, the best time I did it, and it could be considered the best time, was when I lived in Fengtai Hanzhuangzi.At that time, we were publishing a series of Kyushu Phalanx at the Writers’ Publishing House. There were Jiang Lin from the Writers’ Publishing House, Wu Liyang, Hong Zhu, and a friend of Jiang Lin’s. Jiang Lin brought a bottle of Moutai that time.I clearly remember that because it was the first time I held a spoon to treat guests, in order to show off my skills, I made a table of fish, saying that this is a whole fish feast, and the steamed fish with flour is not easy for everyone to taste.It's just that in this pot of steamed fish with vermicelli, there are still some places where the vermicelli is not fully cooked. It's a pity, but it's okay, after all, steamed fish with vermicelli is not common.

Grind the seeds of the plant, called powder in the south, and noodles in the north. Later, I found in the north that there are endless things steamed with flour in the north. I ate a kind of "Chouna dog" in Hengshui, Hebei. This is their local pronunciation. I can't understand it. Find the correct word for it, mix it with cornmeal and steam it with elm leaves, chew and eat it with a crackling sound, the aroma of cornmeal seeds and the fragrance of elm leaves are combined, it is very delicious at first taste, my friend Wang Guanyu said this I don't take it seriously, eating this kind of thing every day can be related to the suffering of life, because when he was growing up, he ate more of this kind of food. In addition to the above-mentioned steamed, salted and powdered steamed fish, the best steamed fish I have ever eaten is naked dry steamed.When I was in Daye Lake, there were fishermen on the lake in the early years. They used silk nets to catch fish. There is a kind of fish called gringa, and in the north it is called white striped fish. After the fishermen catch them, they throw them on the Upon of the boat to dry, and then sell them as dried fish.Sometimes, they themselves light a fire and eat on board.Just add some salt to the dried gringfish, because the fish can steam out the oil, soak the flesh with its oil, and it has a full natural color and fragrance. After eating it and drinking some pure grain wine in the country, it is simply delicious. Angry chef.