Chapter 33 Liuyang shredded fish

Familiar with Liuyang, I learned about it through Liuyang steamed dishes, and I don’t know anything else.Slowly, I learned that Liuyang has fermented soybeans, chrysanthemum stones, and fireworks. During the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were many generals, and it was named General County.Because of the general, I pay more attention to Liuyang and Liuyang steamed dishes. Judging from the Liuyang steamed restaurants that are open all over the streets, I have a vague feeling that it has something to do with General Liuyang, or it is the childhood diet of the generals.In order to understand Liuyang steamed dishes, I also went to Liuyang several times to investigate steamed dishes. In the 202 restaurant in the center of Liuyang, I ate authentic Liuyang steamed dishes, where I ate shredded fish for the first time.

I heard from some friends in Liuyang that if you know about Liuyang steamed dishes, you will know another side of Liuyang.Based on my understanding of Liuyang over the years, I should understand Liuyang and Liuyang steamed vegetables and shredded fish from three aspects: First, the rich and poor in Liuyang should be divided into two, because Liuyang is rich because of tempeh, chrysanthemum stones, and fireworks. , and some villages and towns are relatively poor; the second is the food in Liuyang, from the spicy taste of steamed vegetables, you can feel the hot and spicy flavor of Liuyang cuisine, but you can’t think that only Liuyang steamed vegetables are spicy and Liuyang are both spicy dishes; The generals are very brave and the basis for their success is related to peppers, which do not affect their bodies. Every Liuyang general has a strong physique. Perhaps steaming vegetables preserves all the nutrients of the dishes and lays a solid foundation for the generals.

Liuyang steamed dishes, it is strange that any dish can be put on the steamer, add some fermented soybeans, oil and chili powder, the taste of the dish is very delicious, attracting countless diners and supporters.After many investigations, I found out that Liuyang steamed vegetables are not the most noble vegetables in Liuyang, and the famous dishes in Liuyang should be mutton vermicelli and so on.Steamed vegetables are the delicacies of ordinary people and are listed as one of the humble dishes. I have been to several villages and towns in Liuyang, and found that steamed vegetables are especially popular in poorer places, while slightly richer towns and villages do not like steamed vegetables.According to this phenomenon, I asked many respected elders in the local area. One theory is that they are lazy or save time. Liuyang has many mountains and land, and the land is relatively poor. It takes a lot of working time to support themselves. The landlord’s family cooks for the long-term workers. , in order to reduce the time, put all the food on the steamer, and it will be hot at any time.Another way of saying is to avoid the war. Before liberation, the people in Liuyang Dongxiang steamed the food in the pot in order to prevent the government from finding out their elder brothers and brothers, so that the family could go home for dinner; Let the men take it to the cave to eat. The salty and spicy taste is for carrying and eating.

Liuyang steamed dishes, there are many fish-related dishes, my favorite is shredded fish.Shredded fish is different from other fish steaming methods, and it tastes special. The attractive fish aroma and smoke aroma are particularly stimulating.A bowl of shredded fish is served on the table, and the aroma can slowly linger for more than ten minutes, which is enough to arouse the appetite of everyone present. After the shredded fish is steamed, the semi-dry fish meat is easier to taste and the meat quality is tighter than the wet or dry fish meat.When eating shredded fish, you can slowly aftertaste and chew the taste, feel the toughness and elasticity of the fish, and fully satisfy the chewing function of the teeth.The tiny fish shreds can also be chewed for a long time.The tip of the tongue can lick the salty taste, and the chewed fish shreds pass through the throat, feeling the obvious creaminess and texture.There is also the spiciness of the chili powder, which is completely soaked in the fish. You can't eat more, you can only eat a little bit at a time, savor it carefully, and your mouth will be instigated by the heat.Eating a small shredded fish piece can completely mobilize all the taste systems, and you will have an endless aftertaste after eating it.

Shredded fish originated in the Qing Dynasty. During the Jiaqing period, a celebrity in Yiyang, Hunan Province became poetic after eating shredded fish by the Dongting Lake. From then on, the fish became famous. Shredded fish is a kind of wild fish in Yuanli Sishui and Dongting Lake area of ​​Xiangzi, Hunan Province. It can be seen everywhere, and it is called differently in each place. , Ma Nen Gong and other names, the common name is Yu Nen Zi or Nen Zi Yu.After roasting, tender fish becomes fire-baked fish. Fire-baked fish is soaked in warm water and shredded into shredded fish. It is called shredded fish. It is actually a kind of fish, but it has a special name in different periods.

Tender fish have different faces, scales, and shapes, but they have one characteristic: they are no more than a few inches long, no bigger than two fingers, more fleshy with fewer thorns, tender skin, not bitter intestines, difficult to grow up, rapid reproduction, easy to kill Endless, stay in the water bay and river beach, good for jumping. Liuyang is rich in resources, beautiful scenery, criss-crossing streams and rivers, dense mountain ponds, breeding endless tender fish, wandering freely in the clear spring water. Liuyang baked fire-baked fish has a long history. The meat is delicious and tender, sweet and delicious, bright in color, natural in color, tangy in aroma, torn into strips, removed from the backbone, and added with black bean sesame oil. It is delicious, tender and boneless, and has a strong aroma of wax.

Taste Liuyang shredded fish, unlike dry and hard fish pieces or salted salted fish.The semi-dry and semi-moist fire-baked fish is yellow on the outside and fresh on the inside. It has the deliciousness of live fish, the refreshingness of dried fish and the saltiness and spicyness of salted fish. It has a complex taste, which is very suitable for the taste of Hunan people. Hunan loves fish the most. There is a saying: fish eat jumps, fish eat small.Hunan people also say that eating small fish is more nutritious than big fish.In addition, Changsha people think that eating fish is smart, so Changsha people cannot live without fish. Those who do business say that they have fish every year, and those who support their families have to have more (fish) every year. Everyone is vying to eat fish.In one family, adults ask children to eat fish during Chinese New Year; in daily life, fire-baked fish has become a home-cooked dish and is generally welcomed by the people.

The raw material of fire-roasted fish must be wild tender fish from the river pond, other fish are not acceptable.Tender fish is easy to catch, it can cast nets, shovel it, drill it, scrape it, and sink it.The most useful thing is to sink the fish pot, put a lump of bran rice in the fish pot, which is a bait made of rice and coarse bran.Then put a few stones on the fish pot and sink it in a river bend or pond overnight, the tender fish will squeeze into the fish pot to eat, and they can’t get out again, and they can be picked up the next morning. In the fish pot, I saw the white fish jumping in the fish pot.In many Heyan families, in summer, the boys in the family like to sink and pick up fish pots, which gives them a high sense of accomplishment.

Baking tender fish is very skillful, don't squeeze the intestines, otherwise the baked fish will be "disfigured".Baking fish is delicate work that requires great care. Clean the pan, heat the bottom of the pan, apply a thin layer of tea oil, pour the tender fish into the pan, and spread it evenly.When the oil in the pan is hot, the fish flips several times, and the whole body is covered with tea oil, so it no longer sticks to the pan.Turn off the open fire, the red pot is hot, and the heat is transpiring. When the water vapor gradually dissipates, only the smell of fish is tangy, and the success is half done.Taking advantage of the residual heat of the pot, bake it for a while, and turn it over several times at intervals.After the pot is cooled, the fish is also baked.Each fish is intact, not sticky, not rotten, not burnt, not dry, oily, smooth, golden, with a strong fishy smell and an attractive fishy smell.

The tenderfish was baked and only half done, and the fish was only half baked.After cooling, it needs to be smoked and roasted. Rice husks, peanut shells, orange peels, wood chips, etc. are often used as fuel, and a steel wire sieve is used to cover the barrel. The color is bright.After being smoked and roasted, 70% of the fire-baked fish is dry, which is easy to carry and store. Farmers often bring fire-baked fish to the city to sell, often spread out dried lotus leaves or newspapers on the ground, pile fire-baked fish into a pile, and charge three or five yuan for a pile, never needing to weigh them.There are also those who carry fish loads back and forth to sell, usually appearing in vegetable markets or at the gates of residential areas. Many fire-baked fish are gathered together by the bosses who buy them, raise the market price, and supply them to hotels and hotels.

Liuyang steamed dishes generally use white porcelain bowls to prevent the lead in the glaze color flower pigment from dissolving in the dishes or soup under high-temperature cooking.The thinly spread white porcelain bowl, with shredded fish scattered in the bowl, looks a bit heavy, but it is actually relatively small, only a dozen yuan, but it is enough for the next meal. There are several food streets in Changsha, which are famous for selling Liuyang steamed dishes. I like to go to Fushou Street next to Tianxin Pavilion. Liuyang steamed dishes are delicious, and the best one is shredded fish. When I eat there, I will definitely order it Shredded fish.In Hexi, Changsha, I like to go to Baishaye Street next to Moon Lake. Every 12 noon or 6 pm, the street is filled with the smell of shredded fish.My wife and I knew each other from eating Liuyang Shredded Fish on that Baishaye Street.I have eaten at Shilixiang a few times, and I think it tastes good. I took my wife to eat it once. She thinks the taste is very rare, and she often misses it after marriage.A few years after we got married, we would go there to eat shredded fish to commemorate the love of shredded fish on our wedding anniversary. To make Liuyang steamed dishes, without exception, several large coal stoves are set up at the entrance of the restaurant, and a large iron pot is set up. On top of the pot, there are five or six layers of bamboo strip steamer or aluminum steamer. The cut vegetables are served in bowls. Salt, oil, monosodium glutamate, chili powder, and tempeh are neatly arranged in the steamer. After the water in the pot is boiled, the vegetables are steamed. It takes more than two hours to steam the vegetables, and they are cooked from the top to the bottom.When it's time to eat, guests order food by the steamer, and the waiter will deliver it.There are more cured meat in steamed vegetables, and shredded fish is its main dish. To make hand-shredded fish, you need to soak the fire-baked fish in warm water for two and a half hours, so that it is easy to tear and shred, first tear it into two pieces, and then slowly tear it into small pieces. If it is steamed, put it in the pot.For frying, you can cut some peppers, cut dried red peppers into sections, and slice fresh red peppers. After the oil is cooked, sauté the ginger and garlic until fragrant, then fry the fresh red peppers. Deep-fry the shredded fish in oil, add water and simmer for a while before serving. Shredded fish and steamed bacon is a famous dish, which is very popular among diners. After the bacon is sliced ​​and dried, it is steamed together with the shredded fish in a steamer. The oil is immersed in the fish, and the aroma of the fish is mixed with the aroma of the bacon. Soft, neither greasy nor dry.With the seasoning of chili powder, the spicy aroma is rich and the appetite is whetted. Eating shredded fish is a lingering memory for me, and it is also a delicacy that is not enough.