Chapter 51 Shanghai women like steamed meat

There is a description in Zhang Ailing's novel: Mrs. Xu said to the old lady, let's eat, just me and the lady, the steamed pork with lotus leaf powder on the table does not need to be reserved for my father, let's eat first. The tamales mentioned here, especially the tamales with lotus leaves, are authentic Jiangnan delicacies, and they are also Eileen Chang's best "bite".Her love of tamales has reached a philosophical level. She once said that Shanghai women are like tamales, and Cantonese women are like sweet and sour pork ribs. Using food to describe people is so apt, it can be seen that Zhang Cai's reputation is well-deserved, and it can be seen that she has a unique understanding of food.Not long ago, I participated in the recording of Beijing TV's "Taste of Beijing" series. When I talked about hometown dishes and hometown flavors, I gave the example of Zhang Ailing's steamed meat with rice flour to compare with Shanghai women.Probably inspired by Eileen Chang, when the host asked me what women in Chongqing look like, I blurted out—spicy hot pot, hot and moist, while women in Chengdu look like fish-flavored shredded pork with a little sourness and light taste. Light sweet.Later, the host asked me what I looked like, and I said that I was like a piece of twice-cooked pork that was tender, fragrant and fat but not greasy.

Zhang Ailing said that Shanghai women are like steamed pork, but she herself is not like that. She is more like another famous Shanghai dish "stir-fried shrimp".This dish tastes best when fried in lard.Just like Zhang Ailing's love, it needs to be fried with lard like Hu Lancheng, so that the color is fresh, tender, crisp and refreshing. Steamed pork with rice flour, also known as 醡肉, began in the Qing Dynasty, became popular in the Republic of China, and reached its peak in the Eileen Chang era.Why do you say that?The first is the ingredients of tamales.The pigs in that era grew naturally, and the meat was very tender and tender; then there were lotus leaves wrapped in flour and steamed meat, but now there are no lotus leaves in Zhu Ziqing's "Moonlight in the Lotus Pond" that can be used.

Authentic steamed meat with lotus leaf powder is very particular. Only by using lotus leaves from the "Fenghe in Quyuan" at the northern end of Su Causeway in Hangzhou, freshly picked, wrapped and steamed, can this vulgar and elegant delicacy be made. Nowadays, urban restaurants often have steamed meat with lotus leaf powder and steamed pork ribs with lotus leaf powder, but the dried lotus leaves are used. Not only does it not have the fragrance of lotus leaves, but it has the decayed taste of dead leaves, which is very unappetizing. Steamed pork with rice flour is a delicacy that is popular in the south of the Yangtze River and the southwest, and it is also my favorite since I was a child.The tamales I ate the first were naturally made by my mother.She likes to make it with trough meat, which is cheap, fat but not greasy, and has a good taste.I wrote a special article "Trough Head Meat" to commemorate the delicious food my mother gave me.

Speaking of tamales, my poet friend and gourmet Zhou Qiang also has a sweet story: Thirty years ago, when he was still pursuing his current wife, he went to the prospective father-in-law’s house, and in order to fix his father-in-law, he made a dish of tamales .At that time, fermented bean curd was added on a whim, and the meat became more mellow and tender after steaming.The prospective father-in-law was very satisfied with the meal, and agreed to marry his daughter to him on the spot at the dinner table.Talking about this specialty dish, Brother Zhou is still quite proud now. He said that the trick to making steamed pork with rice noodles is not just a little fermented bean curd. , It takes more than two hours to steam to taste.

Yuan Mei, a great poet and gourmand in the Qing Dynasty, also liked steamed pork with flour. His "Suiyuan Food List Special Animal List" described in detail the recipe of this dish: "Use fine and fat meat, stir-fry rice noodles yellow, and steam them with noodle sauce. After all, cabbage is used as a cushion. When cooked, not only the meat is delicious, but the vegetables are also delicious. Since there is no water, the taste is unique.” Not only Zhou Qiang's father-in-law likes steamed pork, Yuan Mei likes it, but most people like it.The noodles and the meat complement each other perfectly: after the greasy meat is absorbed by the rice noodles, the noodles become more soft and plump, while the meat is pulled from greasy to smooth by the noodles.

Chengdu calls beauties "fenzi", and the inspiration came from this dish.