Chapter 42 Cultural Dishes at Tong Chun Yuan

Mei Lanfang also often goes to Tongchun Garden, which has attracted many literati with its famous Jiangsu dishes and unique cultural atmosphere.Huaiyang cuisine itself is very refined. People often say that Shandong cuisine is official, Cantonese cuisine is commercial, Sichuan cuisine is popular, and Jiangsu cuisine is elegant. There is a reason for this. Most food classics in the Qing Dynasty were written by southern literati, such as Zhu Yizun's "Food Xian Hong Mi", Yuan Mei's and so on.In terms of dish names, Jiangsu cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine are also very particular, such as Mingyuesheng Knocking Eel, Dragon Playing Pearl, Xiangu Lazy Sleeping on a White Cloud Bed, and Chuansha Dongxiao.These names are very poetic, but not far-fetched, but very appropriate, which enhances cultural taste.

Among the contemporary cultural delicacies, Dadong Roast Duck is very good. It incorporates Tang poetry and Song poetry into the dishes.But I think it's not enough, and we need to go deeper into modern poetry, environment, and humanistic feelings. Mei Lanfang especially likes to eat squirrel mandarin fish and squid eel paste from Tongchun Garden, which are also famous dishes in Jiangsu.On the opening day of Tongchun Garden, Feng Shu, then the manager of the Beiping Electric Lamp Company, was also invited. He was also a famous calligrapher. The "Eight Great Springs" are famous all over the capital, and Tongchun Garden also occupies the core.

Guo Ganchen, one of the bosses of Tongchun Garden, sought talents everywhere, and dug Wang Shizhen, the chef of Chunhua Building, to come here. Wang Yi made famous Su dishes such as squirrel mandarin fish, squid eel paste, crab powder and lion head, and crystal meat. famous. For example, the method of Tongchunyuan Xiangyou eel paste is to stir-fry the eel silk, then place it on a plate with shredded ham and shallots, and pour it with hot oil of fried peppercorns, which is full of aroma.According to traditional Chinese medicine, eel is sweet in taste and warm in nature, and has the effects of tonifying deficiency, eliminating rheumatism, and strengthening bones and muscles.

At the same time, Tongchun Garden also pays attention to culture. For example, when serving squirrel mandarin fish, it is served with the quatrains of Zhang Zhihe from the Tang Dynasty, "Egrets fly in front of Xisai Mountain, peach blossoms and mandarin fish are fat in the water", beautiful sentences and delicious food.Not only that, in 1936, after the expansion of the store, the boss began to arrange various banquets and banquets, and invited famous actors at that time to sing jokes to add to the fun. A restaurant's business will prosper more and more in a good food and cultural atmosphere.I think that on the basis of good food, a restaurant must also have good culture, so as to have long-term appeal.

Mei Lanfang's 60th birthday was held in Tongchun Garden. It is said that the menu on that day included squirrel mandarin fish, crystal meat, Wensi tofu, crab powder lion head, and ham crispy waist; , fried spring rolls, etc. Qi Baishi is also a fan of squirrel mandarin fish.This dish is now available in all cuisines across the country, including Sichuan cuisine.But this dish originated in the Suzhou area. Legend has it that Qianlong ate this dish when he went to the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, the boss deboned the fish, wrapped it in egg sauce and deep-fried it, poured it with sweet and sour sauce, and looked like a squirrel.

Mandarin fish is also called flower fish, cross fish, sow shell, etc. It is also known as the four famous freshwater fish in China together with four-gill perch, Xingkai Lake white fish and Yellow River carp.There are famous mandarin fish dishes in many cuisines across the country, such as stinky mandarin fish in Anhui, steamed mandarin fish in Jiangxi, chaiba mandarin fish in Hunan, stewed mandarin fish in Fujian, etc.Traditional Chinese medicine believes that mandarin fish is sweet in taste and flat in nature, suitable for the spleen and stomach, and good for food and drink. This is also the nutrition that Mei Lanfang pays attention to.