Chapter 19 shark fin and meat

Shark fin and meat are two of Zhang Daqian's favorite ingredients.Generally speaking, Zhang Daqian likes to dry-boil shark's fin without adding spicy food, because the flavor of shark's fin should be outstanding; Zhang Daqian also likes to make pork balls and beef for steamed beef or beef ball soup. Among the dishes made of shark fin, Zhang Daqian especially likes the yellow braised shark fin of Tan’s cuisine in Beijing. He likes it so much that he spares no expense. Then it was airlifted to Nanjing immediately, and the shark fin was still hot when it was served on the table. In fact, this dish of dry roasted shark's fin is a famous Sichuan dish, and it is a representative dish of Chongqing chef Zeng Yaguang during the Republic of China.Braised shark's fin belongs to the unique recipe of Tan's family cuisine. Zhang Daqian couldn't clone it, so he became addicted to it, and sometimes he would cook it by himself.

This dish pays attention to the deep yellow color, bright texture, soft and refreshing taste, thick juice and strong flavor.The method is to use the fermented shark's fin, cut into thick slices of chicken, duck, pork knuckle, ham, chicken soup, and cooking wine, first cook it on a high heat, and finally turn it to a low heat to collect the juice naturally.Zhang Daqian's method is basically the same as Zeng Yaguang's method, but Zhang Daqian's shark's fin rise has its own unique features: he usually chooses large rows of fins produced in North Africa, and uses the method of the royal chef of the Qing Dynasty to put the shark's fins in a jar. Put a layer of net oil and then a layer of shark's fin, then a layer of net oil and a layer of shark's fin, and then simmer for a week.

The so-called one week does not mean stewing 24 hours a day, for example, stewing for 12 hours today and another 12 hours tomorrow, so that it lasts for a week.The shark fins treated in this way are both tough and soft. There is also a dish that Zhang Daqian likes to make to entertain guests, which is braised black ginseng with green onions.Whenever there are important guests, there will be black ginseng with green onions on the Zhang family menu.This dish borrows the practice of roasting sea cucumber with green onion, a famous dish in Beijing.Braised sea cucumber with scallions originated from Shandong cuisine, and later developed into a representative dish in Beijing.Sea cucumber itself is tasteless, so it needs to be cooked with chicken broth and scallion oil to taste. The most important thing is the heat.

Zhang Daqian also likes a dish called Nankumaojie.The south leg refers to Jinhua ham, and the "hat knot" originally refers to the knot in the middle of the top of a male hat in the Qing Dynasty, which is an ornament.The hat knot in this dish is a kind of slender young bamboo shoots, which are dried when bought, soaked first, and each one is tied with a knot before being put into the pot, so it is called hat knot.In fact, this dish is stewed bamboo shoots with ham, and Zhang Daqian named it "Nan Leg Hat Knot".The soup of this dish is thick and white, the gravy is fat and crisp, and the umami taste is mellow, which is very palatable.

After researching, I used cured pork knuckle, native chicken and dried bamboo shoots to simmer together, and the taste should exceed the thickness of "South Leg Hat Knot", because I put native chicken. In the 1930s, Zhang Daqian often went to a Fujian restaurant called Chunhualou in Wudao Temple outside Xuanwumen, Beijing.But in fact, this restaurant does not cook Fujian cuisine, but Subei cuisine.Mr. Bai Yongji, the owner of Chunhualou, is also the chef.Bai Yongji likes to socialize with literati, especially famous painters. Whether he knows him or not, he entertains them for free.It’s okay for a painter to eat for free, but he often feels embarrassed after the second meal, so he pays for the meal with paintings.Among the painters, Zhang Daqian is the one who has the best friendship with Bai Yongji, because Zhang Daqian is also very forthright and likes to make friends.

Every time Zhang Daqian came to Beijing, Chunhualou offered to deliver his daily meals.Once Zhang Daqian wanted to eat the crispy duck from his hometown, so he went to Chunhua Building and told Bai Yongji how to make this dish. Bai Yongji added his own understanding, fried it first and then baked it in the oven. The duck came out fragrant and crispy , This dish later became the signature dish of Chunhua Building.In Sichuan cuisine, crispy duck is first steamed and then deep-fried. Maybe Bai Yongji thinks this is too slow, so the duck is deep-fried first and then roasted. Zhang Daqian also taught Bai Yongji a beef dish called Yinsi Beef, which later became the housekeeping dish of Chunhualou.The method of this dish is to cut the beef tenderloin into thin shreds and coat with thick gorgon powder, then put the shredded beef in a mesh-shaped spoon made of wire, and embed the spoon in the oil.The oil is preferably lard, or a mixture of lard and canola oil.The spoon is constantly shaking in the oil, and it will be lifted out in about 30 to 50 seconds. At this time, the beef is tender and fragrant.

Zhang Daqian later went to Taiwan, and the Maya Jingshe in Taipei was a place where he often invited friends for dinner.There is a dish called Maya Stir-Fried Beef Slices, which was also created by Zhang Daqian.After this dish is out of the pan, the meat slices are white and bright, and they are black and white with the fungus.Once a friend asked Zhang Daqian after he was full of wine and food, the beef slices are all red, why do you fry them white?Zhang Daqian said with a smile, cut the tenderloin beef into thin slices and wash it under the tap water for 20 minutes with a sieve, then add a little gorgon powder to adjust the water, and then heat the oil and put the fungus in the pan at the same time, it will have this effect.

Zhang Daqian is also addicted to eating chicken butt, and the representative dish is roasted mushroom cocktail.He fell in love with this dish when he was in Shanghai. When he returned to Chengdu during the Anti-Japanese War, he specially asked the chef to find twenty cocktails and made a whole plate by himself. The ready-made recipe for this dish can no longer be found. I accidentally found a record of the cocktail in the "Diao Ding Ji" compiled by Tong Yuejian of the Qing Dynasty.What he remembers is, "Cocktail: the liveliest and fattest, it can be bad, drunk, and delicious when cooked."Even "Jianghu Cuisine" rarely sees roasted cocktails these days, probably due to the influence of public psychology.I used to burn the duck tail with hot green pepper and ginger, which was surprisingly fragrant.

Another dish that Zhang Daqian himself likes to cook is soft fried fingers.This dish is made by washing pig fat intestines, steaming them in a cage and then frying them softly.After the dish is finished, the color is golden red, the skin is crispy and the inside is tender, soft and fragrant.Wrapped with lettuce and dipped in sweet and sour sauce when eating, it has a special flavor...