Chapter 77 Peking Fried Liver

Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Beijing has been an important town in northern my country. The Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties established Beijing as the capital, where politics, economy, culture and diplomacy were concentrated. Unique, self-contained distinctive Beijing cuisine, including Halal dishes based on beef and mutton, palace dishes handed down from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Tan family dishes with exquisite workmanship and seafood, and classic dishes introduced to Beijing from other provinces and cities.Halal cuisine plays an important role in Beijing cuisine. With cattle and sheep as raw materials, there are whole lamb mats, barbecue, mutton boiled, simmered mutton, etc.; palace dishes have precious materials, delicate seasoning, elegant names, poetic and picturesque, and stir-fried dishes. Fish slices, matchmaker's own mix, preserved yellow croaker, etc.; Tan's cuisine pays attention to the original flavor, moderate salty and sweet, no expense is spared on ingredients, and the heat is sufficient, such as yellow braised shark's fin.Beijing cuisine is a fusion of local dishes, Muslim dishes, palace dishes, and government dishes. Get the essence of various cuisines.

After the Qing army entered the customs and established the capital in Beijing, a large number of Manchus entered Beijing.The Manchus believe in shamanism, and have the custom of killing pigs to worship gods. After the sacrifice, there is a tradition of sharing the sacrificial meat. The intestines, tripe and other internal organs are stewed into a pot, and everyone shares the food.After the Manchu princes and nobles, Baqi Zuoling and other rich families came to Beijing, they still slaughtered pigs every day according to the Manchu custom. The remaining sacrificial meat and offal such as liver, intestines, stomach, and lungs could not be eaten up, so they were sold to street vendors. A variety of snacks have been developed, such as boiled meat, fried liver, and stewed fire.The word "炒" in Fried Liver does not mean frying with oil in Chinese, but "colambi" in Manchu, which means cooking and tormenting.Stir-fried liver is first boiled in water and then boiled into a thick juice. There is very little remaining soup and it becomes a transparent paste.

The current fried liver in Beijing is a fusion of Manchu fried liver and Song Dynasty folk boiled liver. It uses pig liver and large intestine as the main ingredients, garlic as auxiliary ingredients, ginger, star anise, garlic, yellow sauce, soy sauce, cooked lard, vinegar, Alum, pork bone soup, salt and other ingredients are thickened with starch.Pig fat intestines are the mainstay, and pork liver only accounts for one-third.During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Huixianju made stir-fried liver without thickening with cornstarch. There is an allegorical saying in the capital: Fried liver without thickening with glutinous rice-boil the heart and lungs.

Huixianju was founded in the first year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1862). Liu Yongkui and his wife opened a tavern in the south of the middle road of Xianyu Hutong. live. In 1900, Yang Manqing, the host of "Beijing Morning News", often came to Xianju to taste and drink. Made into sauce color, then thickened with cornstarch, named fried liver.After Huixianju fried liver became famous, small restaurants and snack bars in Beijing's Sijiu City added fried liver one after another, and the reputation spread far and wide, and there were many diners. In 1930, a fried liver shop opened opposite Huixianju, named Tianxingju. In 1956, Huixianju and Tianxingju merged, and the plaque of Tianxingju Restaurant was hung. Sha Deliang, the descendant of the former manager of Tianxingju, was hired as the manager. Intestinal cleansing workshop enables Tianxingju fried liver to be inherited and spread. In 1992, Tianxingju fried liver was rated as one of the top ten famous snacks in Beijing. In 1997, Tianxingju fried liver was rated as a famous Chinese snack and won a medal from the China Cuisine Association.

In the Qing Dynasty, there were two ways to produce and sell fried liver, one was for shop operation, and the other was for shoulder-to-shoulder business. The first shop operation was Huixianju.Stir-fried liver is very particular. Soak the pig intestines with edible alkali and salt, rub them, wash them with water and vinegar, make them into bundles, tie them with ropes, cut the intestines from one place, put them in a pot of cold water, and boil them over high heat , use a slow fire to simmer until the chopsticks can pierce through, cover the pot so that the intestines are cooked without oil, remove and soak in cold water, wash off the fat on the skin of the intestines, and cut into thimbles.Wash the pork liver, cut it into willow-shaped strips or diamond-shaped slices with a knife, pour the cooked lard into the pot and heat it with high heat, add star anise, yellow sauce, minced ginger, soy sauce, and mashed garlic to make a thin paste, put it in the pot spare.Make a good mushroom soup.Bring pork bone soup to a boil, add pig intestines, garlic sauce, chopped green onion, minced ginger and mushroom soup, wait until boiling, skim off the slick oil, add pork liver and soy sauce, cooked garlic, raw garlic, salt and mix well, after the soup boils, Use starch to evenly thicken, boil again, sprinkle with monosodium glutamate and stir well. Serve.

Pork liver is divided into four types: yellow sand liver, oil liver, pig mother liver, and blood liver. Hepatic congestion often has bloody water oozing with a bluish tint and fishy dryness. "Thousand Gold Food Treatment" contains that the liver can improve eyesight, and those with high blood pressure and coronary heart disease should not eat it. Avoid eating it with pheasant meat, sparrow meat, and fish meat, which will cause carbuncles. "Suixiju Diet Spectrum" contains pig liver to improve eyesight, treat various blood diseases, avoid other diseases, and eat it in a hurry.

Pork liver is rich in iron and phosphorus, which is the raw material for hematopoiesis.It is also rich in protein, lecithin, trace elements, etc., which is beneficial to children's intellectual and physical development.Pork liver is rich in vitamin A. Regular consumption of pork liver can gradually eliminate eye diseases.Pork liver has a variety of anticancer substances, vitamin C, selenium, etc., and has a strong ability to suppress cancer and resist fatigue.The liver is both a nutrient storage organ and a detoxification organ, which constantly exerts its detoxification function. After being metabolized by the liver, toxic substances and detoxification products can be excreted with the secretion of bile.Pork liver is suitable for people with weak qi and blood, sallow complexion, and iron deficiency anemia; it is suitable for people with blurred vision caused by insufficient liver blood, night blindness, xerophthalmia, corneal softening after measles in children, internal and external nebula, etc. Edible; suitable for cancer patients and after radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

When I went to Tianxingju, I realized that the shop is not big, with a construction area of ​​about 100 square meters and a business area of ​​only about 40 square meters.There are several long tables with round stools, the windows are bright and clean, and the environment is quiet.The prepared fried liver is placed behind the counter, and customers can serve it as they want.The two of us each ordered a bowl of fried liver and half a catty of buns to supplement our appetite.Watching the waiter serve the fried liver in a small and exquisite two-inch porcelain bowl, it looks like a treasure cup containing crystals, crystal clear, very attractive.Looking at the crystal clear stir-fried liver soup and smelling the fresh aroma of the pork liver, I couldn't help but salivate, and my gastric juices wriggled.We chose our seats and sat down, smelling a strong smell of garlic, but there was no garlic in the fried liver. The waiter told me that it was garlic, which had been melted in the fried liver.

Beijingers eat stir-fried liver, and they are very particular about how to eat and how to move. They don't use chopsticks and spoons.We old Beijingers held the bottom of the bowl with one hand, and sucked slowly along the edge of the bowl with our lips.I also learned to drink it slowly. The fried liver soup is thick and smooth, and it slowly flows into the mouth.Zhu Zhici's "Yandu Small Food Miscellaneous Songs" says: "Boil fat intestines in thick sauce, and the transaction is fair, and you can taste it. The proverb spreads the pig eight precepts, and the liver is fried in the market."