Chapter 29 Shortbread Hot Carrot Fragrant

According to "Miscellaneous Records of the Government and the Field since Daoxian" written by Chong Xun'an (Yi), a recent person: "Zhimeizhai was originally a dim sum shop. The shredded radish pancakes and small pancakes made in the oven are excellent..." Mr. Chongxun'an By the time this note was written, Zhimeizhai was no longer a dim sum shop, but a well-known restaurant in the capital.Zhimeizhai operates delicacies, which are authentic Shandong dishes, and are especially good at fish dishes, such as sweet and sour tiles, fish fillets, middle sauce, hot and sour soup with fish offal, stir-fried shrimp, braised shredded chicken (that is, raw chicken Shredded chicken with smoked chicken), etc., are very popular in Beijing.In the 1970s and 1980s, I often consulted Mr. Liu Yeqiu (Tongliang), a lexicographical expert from the Commercial Press. The area around Luxi said that it was the former site of Zhimeizhai.When mentioning Zhimeizhai, Mr. Liu praised it very much, especially the shredded radish pancakes and braised oven pancakes there. The shredded radish pancakes are made of clear oil and flour, filled with shredded radish, meat oil, green onions, and salt, and served hot after they are out of the oven. Eat, the skin is crispy and the stuffing is fragrant.The stewed oven biscuit is as big as a bull's eye, with sesame seeds on one side, and the filling is jujube paste, red bean paste and sweet-scented osmanthus sugar.These two kinds of dim sum are the signature dim sum of Zhimei Zhai, attracting diners from many cities in New Year.

Zhimeizhai closed down on the eve of the liberation of Beijing. It was restored for a short period in 1950 and then closed down. Yusheng is also late, and I have never tasted Zhimeizhai’s shredded radish cakes. Later, I also ate ham and radish shredded cakes in restaurants in Shanghai and some restaurants in Suzhou. The taste was acceptable, but I was not impressed.In my memory, the best shredded radish cakes were made at a small stall near Donghuamen in Beijing in the mid-1950s. From the early 1950s to the end of the 1950s, in the north of Donghuamen Avenue in Beijing, near the south entrance of Beichizi, there was a trust company named "Amway".This kind of trust bank is rare today. Its main business is to sell some relatively high-end goods on behalf of customers, and at the same time, it also buys second-hand goods, and then resells them. "Amway" is mainly engaged in the trust business of imported goods, selling everything from cameras, telescopes, radios, record players, watches to foreign handicrafts, imported cosmetics, surveying and mapping stationery, etc.Its owner is Gu's father and son. The father is Lao Gu, whose name I can't remember clearly; the son is Xiao Gu, whose name is Gu Zhen.Old Gu was already seventy years old at the time, while Young Gu was only in his thirties.Originally, the father and son jointly operated the business, but later on, Xiao Gu looked down on Lao Gu more and more, acting as if he came from behind, making decisions on his own, and completely ignoring Lao Gu.Old Gu Daquan was left alone, so he could only sit in the shop occasionally, or bask in the sun in the Donghuamen area with his stick.Gu's father and son are from Jiangsu, and they are extremely shrewd.Lao Gu has a mustache and never wears dentures, so his mouth is sunken and his face is short, but his eyes are piercing.Xiao Gu is very handsome. He once studied in a certain university, can speak a few words of English, and can understand the brands and English descriptions of various products.In my impression, Xiao Gu always feels good about himself, and he speaks eloquently and eloquently.At the end of the 1950s, the "Amway" public-private partnership ceased to exist.Old Gu lived until the eve of the "Cultural Revolution", while Xiao Gu was transferred to the "Sanyang" Trust Bank in Dongdan and became a clerk.

In front of "Amway", every afternoon around three o'clock, there is a small stall selling shredded radish pancakes. Except when it rains or snows, the stall always opens regularly, and closes the stall on time around six o'clock. Sell ​​for three hours.The owner of the stall is an old man in his sixties. He both makes and sells noodles. From rolling noodles, stuffing, putting in and out of the oven, to settling accounts and collecting money, he does it all by himself. His movements are very quick and he seems extremely busy.The old man never spoke, at least I haven't heard him speak for several years.A small wooden sign was erected on the stall, and it read, "10 cents for shredded radish with scallion oil, and 20 cents for shredded radish with ham." Just this announcement saves a lot of tongue-in-cheek.

Two kinds of fillings are pre-made. The radish is shredded and fried with meat oil. One of them has a small amount of minced Jinhua ham.His shredded radish pancakes are not stuffed one by one, but the oil and good noodles are first rolled into a large sheet, which is very thin, and then the shredded radish is evenly spread on it, and then rolled up layer by layer to form a long strip. , this long strip can be divided into twenty or thirty shredded radish pancakes, and then put them in the oven to bake.While waiting to come out of the oven, the second batch of cakes is also working at the same time.Repeatedly, more than a dozen batches of shredded radish pancakes can be produced in three hours.The shredded radish cakes made by this method have layers of fillings, layers of crisp, crispy and delicious, especially when bought and eaten now, the fragrance of the pastry and the fragrance of radish are integrated.Radishes are the most oily, which can relieve the greasy feeling of shortening, which is just right.

Due to the excellent quality of shredded radish pancakes, there are always customers waiting in front of the stall, ranging from three to five people to as many as a long queue of more than a dozen people.The old man selling shredded radish pancakes set his sights on the place in front of "Amway" and never changed his business.Once when Xiao Gu was renovating the facade, the old man moved to the opposite side of the road. As soon as Xiao Gu's side was completed, the old man moved back immediately. This has been going on for five or six years without interruption.Someone once asked Xiao Gu, why he tolerated his smoky sales of shredded radish cakes in front of the "Amway" door?Xiao Gu always said with a smile: "Then what can I do? He didn't leave, maybe it's because I have good feng shui here, or it's good to attract more customers for me."

Whenever the first batch of shredded radish pancakes comes out of the oven in the afternoon, the aroma can be smelled within fifty meters, tempting the appetite.Later, "Amway" ceased to exist, and the old man did not come to sell shredded radish pancakes at a stall, and the fragrance disappeared forever.