Chapter 17 Gossip about Yifu noodles

Whether Yifu noodles belong to Cantonese cuisine or Huaiyang cuisine has always been a matter of controversy.Cantonese restaurants and Huaiyang restaurants both serve Yifu noodles, and they all call for Yifu noodles. We have to start with its founder, Yi Bingshou. Yi Bingshou was a famous calligrapher during the Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty, and his hometown was Ninghua, Tingzhou, Fujian.A Jinshi in the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong, he once served as the head of the Ministry of Punishment and Yuanwailang.During the Jiaqing period, the magistrate was sent out, first as the magistrate of Huizhou, Guangdong, and then as the magistrate of Yangzhou, Jiangsu, so the problem arose.

Yi Bingshou was born in a noble family, elegant and elegant, served as the magistrate of a good place twice, and also had a lot of political voice, and his life was stable and comfortable.Yi Bingshou's official script was influenced by Gui Fu in his early years. During the Jiaqing period, due to the unearthed stone carvings of the Han and Wei Dynasties, the study of gold and stone prevailed, which also affected the calligraphy world.Yi Bingshou began to absorb nutrition from the Han stele.He directly learned from "Ode to the West", "Pei Cen Jigong Stele", "Zhang Qian Stele" and so on, copying and learning, but not imitating the past.He transformed the momentum and structure of Han Li to form his own style. At the same time, he integrated the style and brushwork of seal script into Li Shu.Judging from the calligraphy works left by Yi Bingshou, his characters have outstanding personality, sparse and vigorous, simple and free and easy.Perhaps because he was the magistrate of Huizhou, Yi Bingshou's calligraphy had a great influence in Lingnan. Until today, collectors in Guangdong like to collect Yi Bingshou's works.

Yi Bingshou is also a gourmet. His chef created a special kind of noodles, which are very delicious. Later, it was spread to the outside world, and it was called "Yifu Noodles".This is like Kung Pao diced meat, which is accepted by both Sichuan cuisine and Shandong cuisine. It must be said that Ding Baozhen, who is from Guizhou, was the governor of Shandong and then the governor of Sichuan.It's just that the diced Kung Pao meat in Shandong cuisine is not spicy, while the diced Kung Pao meat in Sichuan is just added with chili peppers to suit the taste of Sichuan people.Yi Bingshou was the magistrate of Huizhou first, and Yifu noodles were introduced to Guangdong; later, he became the magistrate of Yangzhou, bringing the skills of Yifu noodles to Jiangsu, and became a delicacy in Huaiyang.Therefore, it is not wrong to say that it is Cantonese or Huaiyang cuisine.It is also a strange thing that Yi Bingshou's hometown Fujian has not competed for this patent so far.

The method of Yifu noodles is to make eggs and noodles, roll them flat and cut them into noodles, let them dry a little, then plate them into a certain shape, put them in warm oil and deep-fry until golden yellow, and then they become the semi-finished products of Yifu noodles. processing.Yifu noodles can be fried, stewed, or boiled into noodle soup. Dao Xiangchun at the north gate of the old Dong’an Market sold semi-finished Yifu noodles at that time. They were rolled into a circle with a diameter of one foot and a height of about two inches. The outside was wrapped with oiled paper and labeled with black characters on a red background.Yifu noodles cannot be stored for too long because of the oil, and the noodles will become inedible once the oil is simmering.Before the 1960s, the most famous Cantonese restaurant in Beijing was Enchengju, where the Sanxian Yifu noodles were very authentic.First, steam the semi-finished Yifu noodles until soft, put them into the oil and fry them well, then add shrimps, sea cucumbers, magnolia slices and other auxiliary ingredients to make toppings and pour them on the noodles.Authentic Yifu noodles should be flat and wide, about one centimeter wide.

When I went to Yangzhou in 1973, I ate Yifu Noodles with Shrimp at the Caigenxiang Restaurant on Guoqing Road. It was the end of spring and early summer when fresh river prawns were on the market. Fresh shrimps were used as toppings and served with golden-colored Yifu Noodles. It was extremely delicious. . Later, I saw some things called "Yifu noodles" in the self-selected supermarket. They were completely made of instant noodles, and they were said to reduce fat without frying. In fact, they were egg noodles. Where? What is Yifu noodles. In the early 1980s, my family had a nanny named Xiao Lazi from Wuwei in Anhui.I don’t know where I learned to make Yifu noodles. After I came back, I tried it out and it turned out to be very successful. Later, it became a repertoire of my family’s treats. They were all semi-finished products prepared by Xiao Lazi in advance.Since Xiao Lazi went back to her hometown to get married, she has never eaten authentic Yifu noodles.