Chapter 47 Food list trivia

The food list is different from the recipes seen in restaurants today. It is for customers to order and reference prices, but mostly records about the names and preparation methods of food.From the ancient emperors to the homes of ordinary people who paid attention to food, there are many records in this area. They are not only precious materials of social life history, but also rich heritage of food culture. The earliest food list seen in records today is probably the "Shi Shu" written by He Zeng in the Western Jin Dynasty, which records the dishes He Zeng usually used.During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, extravagance among the noble families was at its peak, and the luxury of drinking and dining even surpassed that of emperors.He Zeng spent tens of thousands of dollars on meals every day, and his son He Shao even worsened. And I wrote down the preparation method of the dishes, which can be said to be an earlier food list, and it is also very practical.Later, many private food lists were compiled following the style of He Zeng's "Shishu".In addition to the "Fresh Book", He Zeng's family also has the "Anping Public Food List", which records the names of the dishes that are usually eaten.The food lists of many famous families are often kept secret, as the pride and show off of "the five elders know the food".Even the emperor's imperial catering official had to "seek from the outside world" and ask the wealthy for advice on how to prepare dishes.In the Qi Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, Yu Yu would rather present the finished product to the king of Yuzhang than give a private food list.

According to "Qingyilu", there are nearly 60 kinds of main and side dishes for a feast in the "Shaowei Banquet Shizhang" written by Wei Juyuan's family when Zhongshu Ling of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, including pasta, steamed food, and various mountain dishes It is rare and fresh, and the shape is unique and exquisite, which vividly reflects the exquisiteness and luxury of the rich and famous at that time. If this is the case for the rich and powerful families, the food list of the emperor's family is even more conceivable.Before eating, there are at least dozens of dishes in each meal, and each meal cannot be repeated, so the food list for backup, reference, and reference must be complete.The "Food Classic" of the Sui Dynasty contained a rich variety and preparation methods of imperial cuisine, and the raw materials used in delicacies also reached an unprecedented range.Later Shu Mengchang was still fond of food, and he used as many as one hundred volumes of "Food Code".

Volume 9 of Zhou Mi's "Old Stories of the Martial Arts" once provided us with a list of the imperial banquet in October of the 21st year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is a very complete historical data of the banquet, including: etc.The food list is listed in an orderly manner, with a total of about 200 kinds of food.In addition, there are food arrangements for Gaozong's entourage.This meal will be eaten from morning to evening. Judging from the order of arrangement, appetizers are served first, followed by dried fruits, common medicines, candied fruit (that is, fried in honey), roast meat, and snacks. Mostly just for looks. After "sit again", it is the beginning of the main meal, followed by Shiguo, Xianmei and Longtangguo.There are a total of 12 kinds of Longzang Fruits. Judging from the listed items, most of them are processed foods of fruits, such as lychee nectar cake, lychee Polygonum flower, Xianglian incident, icing jade beeper, etc. Most of them are some refined desserts.The following "fifteen cups of wine" is the main program. Each cup has two products, and there are 30 kinds of main dishes, among which soup and fried chicken are the main dishes, and there are mountain poultry, seafood, river seafood, and pig and sheep offal.Judging from the names of these thirty dishes, they are all very similar to today's delicacies, so you can tell what they are at a glance. There are only seven kinds of "inserted food", and there are suspected omissions. Among the seven kinds, there are cold meat, hot dishes, and baked pancakes.Since the Han Dynasty, "cake" can be used to describe all pasta, such as drinking cakes similar to steamed buns, hu cakes similar to sesame seed cakes, soup cakes similar to noodle slices, noodles are called Shuyin cakes, and dough cakes are called mianqi cakes. Milk cakes made from goat's milk, marrow cakes made with bone marrow oil, etc.The "burning drink cake" listed here should be a food baked or baked by fire, and it is a staple food similar to fire.Afterwards, the "Guojiu Guozifan" is a dry and fresh fruit for appetizing and sobering up, and most of them are just for show.On the contrary, the "Ten Flavors of Cooking and Persuading Wine" are quite distinctive, mainly Jiangyao, oysters, fragrant snails and the like.Judging from the items, ginger and vinegar are often used in the preparation method, which is probably also to achieve the effect of sobering up.

For an imperial banquet, in addition to the food list of Emperor Gaozong, there is also a food list for the officials and entourages. Although it is not as luxurious as the imperial banquet, it can be said to be extremely rich.Zhang Jun attached himself to Qin Hui, advocated a peace negotiation, and produced perjury evidence for Qin Hui, which contributed to the unjust case of Yue Fei.He is greedy for money, annexing land in the south of the Yangtze River, and the annual rent can reach 600,000 hu. He is an out-and-out villain.Emperor Gaozong came to his home to have a banquet in person, and the courteous treatment was extremely good. This 21-year imperial banquet food list in Shaoxing also shows his ability to flatter and flatter.

Judging from the above materials, the food list can be roughly divided into two categories. One is the practical food list that records the materials and production methods.The other is a named ornamental food list, mostly for people to see.That is the latter, although it is a "meal meal", it also has important reference value for diet research in different eras and regions. Maya Jingshe on Zhishan Road has visited Mr.’s restaurant, kitchen and roasting grass kiosk. The recipes formed by famous restaurants and chefs after long-term practice are also a kind of food list and a brand logo.At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Mao Pijiang was so good at delicacies that he hired a famous cook to cook and treat guests at home.Unexpectedly, this cook is very imposing. When she came, she sat in a sedan chair for four people, accompanied by servants, and even had all the tableware, knives and anvils.Mao Pijiang asked her what kind of dishes she would cook, the cook gave her a thick booklet of food preparation, Mao Pijiang was so surprised that he really didn't dare to underestimate the female cook, so he was very courteous.It can be seen that the recipes for people to watch also have brand effects, which can be very bluffing.

Although Yuan Mei, a talented scholar in the Qing Dynasty, did not do much, he was a famous scholar and the leader of the poetry circle.After retiring to Suiyuan in Xiaocang Mountain, Nanjing, he became famous as a scholar and was known as the "Prime Minister in the Mountain".Yuan Mei is also a gourmet, self-authored, classified according to seafood, river delicacies, special animals, miscellaneous animals, feathers, aquarium with scales, aquarium without scales, miscellaneous vegetables, side dishes, dim sum, rice porridge, tea and wine, and there are instructions and instructions. Quitting the list reflects his diet concept.Yuan Mei is from Qiantang (now Hangzhou), Zhejiang, so most of the dishes listed are the flavors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and at the same time, they have learned from others to form an independent system of style and characteristics. They are more light and less greasy;This book is not extravagant, but aimed at plainness, and it has reference value for guiding today's cooking skills.

Mr. Zhang Daqian in Shuzhong is very good at drinking and cooking, and cooks himself.After moving to Zhishan Road in Taipei from Brazil in South America, the family hired famous chefs to prepare Sichuan cuisine, and often invited chefs from various groups to study food scriptures at home and compare their skills.Every time a distinguished guest comes to the door, Mr. Daqian also cooks in person.I can see Mr. Daqian's delicacy in drinking and dining in Taiwan.Every time there is a formal banquet, he writes the menu himself, so after the banquet, the guests take it back and store it, and those who are interested in it search around and compile the "Dafengtang Recipe".Zhang Daqian always arranges every banquet list personally. The dishes are rich but not complicated, clean but not greasy, and the thickness, meat and vegetables, five flavors, and colors are properly matched. Therefore, some people say that the banquet arrangement of Dafengtang is like Mr. Daqian's painting, coloring, and using. Ink, dot dyeing, and layout all have overall beauty, which cannot be overstated.

The food list of a major banquet takes a lot of work and knowledge.When Premier Zhou Enlai hosted Montgomery, Kim Il-sung, and Nixon, the food list was reviewed and revised in advance by the Premier himself, and he put forward very specific amendments. After the final decision, the food list was printed out. It is extremely exquisite and exquisite, and it is a precious historical material and cultural relic. Over the years, the material is rich, life is stable, and people's requirements for the quality of life are getting higher and higher. Usually, the purpose of small gatherings or festival banquets is not to "satisfy gluttony", but to pursue more taste and beauty.During the Spring Festival holiday, I also like to invite guests at home a few times to show off my cooking skills.The food list is drawn up in advance, and then transcribed in Rongbaozhai's colored paper or sprinkled gold paper in Gongkai. Although it is a game, it is also asked by friends after the meal, and no one has been kept.