Chapter 11 The mutton bed of the old capital

Beiping was the imperial capital of six dynasties, majestic and majestic, the inner and outer cities were vast, the population was large, but the living seemed very scattered.Although there are several large vegetable markets with mixed fish, meat and vegetables in the east, west, north, south, and north, the daily diet of Peiping people is simple and simple. They are not entertaining relatives and friends, and rarely go to the large vegetable markets to buy some rare fish and shrimp. .Every meal has a little meat, and I feel very good.Therefore, there must be an oil and salt shop with Caikui for hundreds of households in Sanwujie Street, a steamer shop, and a bed of mutton diagonally to the pork bar. About three meals a day, you can prepare a complete set of meals.The strangest thing is that the pork bar and the mutton bed are always diagonally opposite, and rarely side by side. What is the reason, even Jin Shoushen, the "Beijing master" at that time, couldn't tell the reason.

For the big mutton bed, ten or eight big-tailed sheep must be slaughtered every day.The imam of the mosque came early in the morning, and after reciting the scriptures, he was slaughtered and skinned.When the author was studying in Chongde Middle School, I had to pass by Niuerwan, Xidan South Street every day, a mutton bed in Bakouer. Every day at this time, the sheep with their heads and skins were placed one by one on the steel hook, and the flesh and blood Dripping is quite an unbearable feeling.The mutton bed is 100% a business opened by Muslim friends.In the early years of Peiping, there was a saying that there were thousands of pigs and ten thousand sheep. Beef did not seem to be included in the list of daily meat. In addition to selling raw mutton by the catty, occasionally there were also beef.Generally, the smaller mutton buns are also sold with honey twist, red bean paste cakes, and mutton buns. According to the season, they also sell roast mutton, mutton offal, mutton intestines, and the most incredible thing is that they also sell Mingmu mutton liver pills.Sauced beef and mutton are available all year round, but the roasted mutton will not be on the market until the cloves bloom and the prickly ash bears stamens!

Roast lamb is the most popular, cool and warm delicacy in summer.First burn the mutton with old soup, and then drench it in hot sesame oil. The length of drenching time is related to the tenderness of the meat. Whether it can be burnt on the outside and tender on the inside depends on the method used in the case.The roasted lamb is usually cooked at three o'clock in the afternoon. Put the roasted lamb's head in the lamb's mouth with a vegetable leaf and hang it on a steel hook to tell everyone that the roasted lamb is out of the pot!Roast mutton is said to be whole sheep, but in fact, sheep face, sheep letter, sheep tendon, sheep's hoof, and sheep offal are the most delicious.Most of the customers who go to the mutton bed to buy roasted mutton will bring a small pot with them, in order to order some broth to take back.Put some fresh pepper pistils in the roasted mutton soup, and use it to mix noodles.

The mutton intestines sold with the mutton bed are also a unique snack.Intestines are made by mixing sheep’s blood with sheep’s brain and pouring them into sheep’s intestines. They are mostly sold in the morning of every day, that is, shortly after the sheep are bound in the early morning (Halalists do not talk about slaughtering sheep, but about binding sheep).Double sausages are washed after buying home, boiled in salt water for a while, then cut into sections, mixed with sesame paste, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and coriander to serve with wine. It is a delicacy for drinking morning wine.Muslims teach people not to eat blood, and the double intestines are specially sold to Dajia people to eat, and they do not move themselves.

The honey mahua sold by the mutton bed is the best fried by Hongqiao Wang's in Sihouniwan, West West.Hongqiaowang's fried dough twist is crispy and transparent, without any oil, and the honey is evenly coated, not sticky or greasy.I heard that during the Japanese Puppet Period, molasses was listed as a military control material. Those who pedaled three rounds sweated a lot and lacked sugar. Take heart and double your strength.Later, King Hongqiao stipulated that only 300 pieces of honey twisted doughnuts would be sold in one afternoon.Later people had to buy a few bean paste sesame cakes. Although they are not as sweet as honey twist, it is not bad to be able to eat sweet bean paste when sugar is scarce.

Once the mutton buns are steamed and taken out of the drawer, those who love it say that it smells ten miles away, and those who are afraid of mutton will simply cover their noses and pass by.Although the author eats mutton, I really dare not learn about the fishy smell of mutton buns.I have a friend, JOHNMITT, who is Caucasian. He does not import pork or beef, and only eats lamb.He said that it is a pity that although the mutton in Peking is tender, it has no smell at all, and it is really not enjoyable to eat.Once he passed by a mutton bed, and was catching up with the newly released buns, which he thought was the real taste of mutton.Last year, I was eating at a restaurant in California. A customer sitting next to me ordered a grilled lamb chop. The fatter and more stinky the better, I found out that some people eat mutton because of its stinky smell!

In the past, there were two old restaurants in Beiping that were well-known both at home and abroad for their sauced beef, sauced mutton, and roasted mutton.One is Deshengzhai in the door frame alley outside Qianmen. His family is famous for its sauced beef. It is a small, exquisite and unpretentious shop. If you don’t know the inside story, it’s hard to see how many sauced beef are shipped from here to all parts of the country every year, even as far as Europe and America. countries.Some foreign friends who have eaten his sauced beef said: "Deshengzhai's sauced beef is sandwiched with bread. It tastes mellow, salty, light and palatable, and it is better than hamburgers and hot dogs." Everyone loves the food they eat.

On Gongan Street in Qianmenli, there is a Yueshengzhai restaurant that specializes in roasted mutton and mutton in sauce. It is next to the city police station, and when you walk in front of the police station, you can feel the fragrance and the smell of meat.It is said that Yueshengzhai has a pot of old soup left over from the previous Ming Dynasty. It is boiled once a day without interruption.This old soup pot is replaced every five years.Legend has it that during the Japanese occupation period, there were hundreds of large iron pots piled up in the backyard of the Yueshengzhai workshop. At the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Japan searched for hardware materials everywhere. Next, all reimbursement.Fortunately, several senior generals of the Japanese Garrison in North China liked the sauced mutton of Yueshengzhai, so the old stew soup that had gone through many dynasties was preserved.After returning to Beiping after the eight-year war of resistance against Japan, Yueshengzhai’s sauced mutton was actually the same as the original soup, and the box that was brought to other places as a gift was made more delicate and generous.

Not long ago, a friend who had lived in the United States for many years returned to Beijing to visit relatives as a foreigner, just in time for Yueshengzhai to resume his business.It is said that when the "Red Guards" rebelled, they put a hat on Yueshengzhai as a product of the capitalist era, and destroyed all the wealth-generating furniture in Yueshengzhai from the inside to the outside, and the pot of old soup was naturally thrown away.It was not until the "Gang of Four" lost power that Yueshengzhai resumed its old business.But the old stew is gone, and the desire to eat the somber and clear taste of the sauced mutton is no longer available.