Chapter 86 Chenxi sour radish

There are many mysterious things in ancient Xiangxi, including its diet.Greater Xiangxi (including Huaihua, Xiangxi Prefecture, and Zhangjiajie) is a multi-ethnic place, gathering more than ten ethnic minorities such as Miao, Yao, Dong, and Tujia. They pay attention to sour, spicy, spicy food in their diet. Xiangxi cuisine is famous in Hunan for its spicy, sour, hot, pickled, smoked, and preserved food, and it has set up the banner of Hunan cuisine and mountain cuisine.Xiangxi people like to make vegetables into pickled vegetables and jar dishes for eating and preservation.The most famous and largest food scene in western Hunan is the gathering feast of the Dong people, with up to 10,000 people eating together.On major festivals, the Dong people collect dining tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks, and dishes from every household in the village. on both sides of the table.After the guests are seated, dance and have a party, and hold a collective drinking order before the meal to add to the fun.

Chenxi is located in the west of Hunan, in the upper reaches of Yuanshui River, connecting Xuefeng Mountains and Wuling Mountains. It belongs to the northern end of Huaihua, connects Xupu in the east, Huaihua in the south, Mayang and Luxi in the west, and Yuanling in the north. The total area is less than 2,000 square meters The terrain is high in the southeast and low in the northwest. It is a hilly and mountainous landform. It is famous for grapefruit, navel orange, black-bone chicken, sour radish and shelduck. Chenxi has a long history. Qin belonged to Qianzhong County. In the second year of Emperor Gaozu of the Western Han Dynasty (205 BC), Chenling County was established. In the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, it was renamed Chenyang County. So far, for thousands of years, the folk customs are simple and the life is comfortable.

It is popular in Chenxi to "eat radish in winter and ginger in summer". Sour radish is the most famous in Chenxi area. , so that the finished radish is bright in color, crisp in texture, hot and sour, sweet and delicious.Chenxi sour radish focuses on sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spicyness, color, aroma, and numbness. When eating, it is chopped and mixed immediately to stimulate the appetite, promote digestion, and increase appetite.Women in Chenxi, in particular, regard sour radish as snack food and beauty food, chewing two pieces of sour radish from time to time to enhance the flavor and replenish water.With the development of the times, the number of people who eat sour radish has gradually spread, and it has become a common hobby of Xiangxi people.Sour radish has become a special snack in Xiangxi. Some people also call Chenxi sour radish Xiangxi sour radish, mistakenly thinking that it is produced in Xiangxi.

Chenxi people pickled sour radishes, choose fresh and solid Dashui radishes, wash them in the stream, cut them into long slices of one centimeter thick under the sun, the big radish slices are about a foot long, and then cut them into four centimeters wide. strips.Some are cut into oblique discs because the ceramic jars are small.Wash and dry the earthen pottery jar, pour boiled mountain spring into it, add coarse salt, liqueur, ginger, Chinese prickly ash and other condiments, and add kimchi pickling agent to fully dissolve.Pour the freshly sliced ​​radish slices into the altar, let the radish slices be completely immersed in the salt water, press the lid of the altar tightly, seal it tightly, and put it on the side of the stove or in a warm cellar to keep it at about 18 degrees.

After pickling for a week, the sour radish becomes sour and delicious.Take out the radish slices, mix with red chili oil and spices and serve.In some old ceramic jars, sour radishes soaked for 50 to hundreds of years will become sour the next day after putting the cut radishes in.The soaked sour radish turns pink, and with the addition of chili powder, the color is bright and charming, which can arouse the appetite.The original Chenxi sour radish is black after soaking, and the sour taste is stronger and more spicy.When I was in Chenxi, I liked to eat sour radishes as snacks. I ate one or two pieces in my spare time. The sweet and sour taste stimulated my sense of taste.

Chenxi is the southern gateway of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It has always been a distribution center for materials from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Hunan, as well as a gathering place for merchants traveling from south to north.Merchants mostly gather in Chenxi to collect mountain goods from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and transport them to Yueyang and Wuhan for sale; they then transport daily necessities and tea from Hunan and Hubei to Chenxi, and send them to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the mountainous areas of western Hunan to earn the difference.With the economic development of Chenxi, the number of merchants coming and going increased, sour radish became popular among merchants, and the recipe was spread.

Merchants also drove the prosperity of Chenxi Chenhe Opera.Chenhe Opera is one of the local operas in Chenxi. It is dominated by high-pitched tunes, and also has low-pitched tunes, Kunqiang tunes, and Tanqiang tunes. Tanqiang tunes were introduced in the 19th century and influenced by Changde Han opera, adding Han opera artists and repertoires. The cavity is dominant.Chenhe Gaoqiang originated from Yiyang tune, integrated into Xiangxi folk songs, chants, and Nuo tune, and independently became a large opera in Xiangxi. , that is, high-pitched, rough, saturated, and full-bodied, which has the indescribable beauty of human voice.Chenhe Opera has simple art, simple makeup, and no complete set of martial arts.The roles are divided into five major roles: Shengjiao, Xiaosheng, Danjiao, Hualian, and Harlequin, and they are good at expressing tragedy.

Because of the prosperity of Chenhe opera, it also brought the development of Chenxi sour radish. The actors of Chenhe opera like to eat Chenxi sour radish. The slightly sour and slightly sweet sour radish soup just complements the dry throat of the actors. , the folks and merchants who watch the opera, in the cold winter, watch the Chenhe opera with charcoal fire, easy to get angry, dry skin, and also like to eat sour radish to moisten the lungs and clear the fire, and pass the time. When I arrived in Chenxi, it happened to be the frosty late autumn, the weather had turned cold, and I wanted to warm up at night. The landlord brought me sour radish from Chenxi. I ate the sour radish while listening to the folk corner of the landlord’s Kanchenhe opera. It was easy at night. Pass.