Chapter 33 Zhang Qunfu’s Shangchuan Cuisine

Zhang Xueliang got used to the taste of Hunan and Guizhou during his confinement in Hunan and Guizhou, which laid the foundation for him to like Sichuan cuisine later.Zhang Xueliang had the most exposure to Sichuan cuisine during his time in Taiwan. After the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, Zhang Xueliang often interacted with Zhang Daqian, Zhang Qun, and Wang Xinheng, and the four families took turns to entertain guests at home, which was sometimes called "three Zhangs and one king transfer".Zhang Daqian and Zhang Qun are from Sichuan, and they prefer Sichuan cuisine, so the taste of the transfer is naturally dominated by Sichuan cuisine.

Zhang Xueliang and Zhang Daqian have been dating for a long time. At the dinner table, the two not only exchanged calligraphy and painting, but also exchanged their own food experience.In Zhang Daqian's house, Zhang Xueliang especially likes his Sichuan lion head, chicken skirt wings, Shaojiu roast bamboo shoots, watermelon sweet soup and other dishes. Zhang Daqian’s food has been introduced in detail before, and here we will focus on the food of Zhang Qun’s family. Zhang Qun is from Huayang, Sichuan, and now Huayang belongs to Chengdu.Therefore, like Zhang Daqian, Zhang Qun also has a special affection for Sichuan cuisine.

As early as the 1920s, when Zhang Xueliang was in charge of the three eastern provinces, Zhang Qun had close contacts with Zhang Xueliang. In December 1928, the Northeast changed flags, and Zhang Xueliang energized the world in the Northeast: he changed the five-color flag of the former Beijing government to the blue sky and white sun flag of the Nanjing National Government, and supported the Nanjing National Government. Zhang Qun was the representative of the Kuomintang stationed in Shenyang at that time.After the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, Zhang Qun had been advocating the restoration of Zhang Xueliang's personal freedom in front of Chiang Kai-shek. In 1969, after Zhang Xueliang's partial freedom was restored, Zhang Qun became a frequent visitor to Zhang Xueliang's home, and he often tasted the exquisite cooking skills of Miss Zhao Si.And Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si also often go to Zhang Qun's house to taste the craftsmanship of Zhang Fu Chuan Chef.

This Zhangfu Chuan chef is from Zhang Qun's hometown and from Huayang, Sichuan. His name is Zhang Guangwu.Zhang Guangwu worked as a chef in a private restaurant in Chengdu in his early years. Later, he was favored by the local warlord Wang Lingji and became Wang's chef.Zhang Guangwu cooks excellent Sichuan dishes. Every time the Wang family comes to the distinguished guests, the king will let Zhang Guangwu be the chef to entertain them. When Zhang Qun went to Chengdu in 1939, Wang Lingji held a family banquet for him. Zhang Qun was very impressed by the boiled fish in the banquet, and met Zhang Guangwu after the meal.Seeing that the two had a good conversation, Wang Lingji immediately made a favor and sent Zhang Guangwu to Zhang Qun.

After 1949, Zhang Guangwu came to Taiwan with Zhang Qun.Every time Zhang Qun entertains Zhang Xueliang, he always serves Zhang Guangwu's boiled fish.Zhang Xueliang was curious about the method of boiled fish, especially frying chili in oil first, then adding seasoning and soup, which was a method he had never seen before.Zhang Xueliang and his wife also like Zhang Guangwu's double crispy fried oil. Ms. Zhao Si must order this dish every time she goes to Zhang Qun's house.The fried double crisp is actually not a traditional Sichuan cuisine, but Zhang Guangwu "transplanted" it from Shandong cuisine.According to legend, this dish originated in Jinan in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. It was transformed from the dish of Baodutou, which was made by stir-frying pork belly and chicken gizzards as raw materials.When Zhang Guangwu made this dish, he kept the ingredients from Shandong, but seasoned it with Sichuan ingredients.Zhang Xueliang commented that this dish is white in color, fresh, tender and crispy.

Zhang Xueliang also likes to eat hollow glass balls made by Zhang Guangwu.This dish is actually the sugar oil fruit in Sichuan cuisine, which belongs to the traditional dessert. During the meeting, Zhang Xueliang and Zhang Qun often discussed their views on Sichuan cuisine.Zhang Qun believes that the reason why Sichuan cuisine has become a famous dish in China lies in its long cultural history.As early as the Spring and Autumn Period to the Western Jin Dynasty, Sichuan cuisine had already formed its own characteristics.Sichuan cuisine flowed into Zhongzhou during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Sichuan cuisine was popular in Beijing and was well received by diners in the north.Zhang Xueliang believes that there are three main characteristics of Sichuan cuisine: first, the spicy taste is attractive, second, the dishes are diverse, and third, it is fresh and honest.It can be accepted by all levels of society, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people. This is what makes Sichuan cuisine so great.

Here we briefly introduce that Sichuan cuisine is composed of three major parts: Chengdu cuisine, Chongqing cuisine and Yancheng Zigong cuisine. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, Sichuan cuisine has taken shape, reflecting the characteristics of one dish, one style, and a hundred dishes with a hundred flavors.Among the four major cuisines, Shandong cuisine has an official atmosphere, Huaiyang cuisine has a literary atmosphere, Cantonese cuisine has a commercial atmosphere, while Sichuan cuisine has a folk atmosphere and is loved by the public. Among the three kings, Zhang Qun pays the most attention to health preservation, so he often uses some special ingredients for his treats.For example, frogs rarely appear in ordinary banquets, but frogs are always served in Zhang Qun's family banquets.Because Zhang Qun believes that frogs can make up for the exhaustion of the elderly, nourish yin and promote body fluid.

Zhang Guangwu likes to add minced mushrooms, minced shiitake mushrooms, etc. to the dishes, so that the dishes can play a health role of invigorating the spleen and appetizing, strengthening the kidney and strengthening the essence. Zhang Guangwu also likes to make fried shredded pork with yam.We know that yams are generally used for stewing and rarely fried.Influenced by him, I once made fried shredded chicken with yam in Tianxiayan, which is to cut yam and chicken into shreds and stir fry. It is fresh and tender, and also has a nourishing effect. There is another dish at Zhang Qun’s family banquet called carrot and lotus root soup.This is also because radish has the effect of invigorating the stomach and eliminating food, and lotus root slices have the effect of nourishing blood and tonifying deficiency.

Every time Zhang Xueliang goes to Zhang Qun's house for a banquet, he will have new feelings, because Zhang's dishes are never repeated every meal, and the ingredients are often different.Moreover, there must be porridge to drink after every meal. This porridge is extraordinary: barley is added to the porridge to nourish and prevent cancer, black beans are added to nourish the kidneys, water chestnuts are added to clear away heat and phlegm, mung beans are added to prevent heatstroke, gorgon seeds and lotus seeds are added to nourish the heart, walnuts are added to nourish the kidneys Brain.It can be seen from this that Zhang Qun puts great effort into food supplements and health preservation, which benefits people endlessly.