Chapter 13 Chrysanthemum before Guihou recall catfish

China has a vast territory, and there are many kinds of squash produced in rivers, lakes and seas, but there is a common disadvantage, that is, the more tender the meat, the more redundant spines.Once the author was stuck in the throat by a fishbone, and couldn't get up and down. I had to find a doctor to perform a minor operation before the fishbone was tweezed out, so I was wary of eating fish.No matter how delicious the fish is, any fish with many thorns will not be eaten. One year, I went to Qianyi Yongyan in Taixian County to hold an annual meeting of shareholders. After the meeting, the manager Zhou Zhian invited me to have a drink. At the meeting, a bowl of braised fish was served in a white blue and white No. 3 sea bowl. The head was cut off, like a bowl of oil. hoof epiphysis.The owner declared that this was a special dish cooked for me by the handsome head chef in the kitchen, "Winter Bamboo Shoots and Rotten Catfish".Mr. Zhou Zhi said: "Catfish is a specialty of Lixiahe. The silver osmanthus will thank you and the chrysanthemums are just blooming. It is the time to eat catfish. Friends who like to eat catfish in Yangzhen really come to try it. The handsome master Yuan It is Lingzu's home cook, and he is known to be good at making abalone. He heard that Shaodong's family is here, and it happens that there is a new catfish on the market today, and I offer it to you. You should eat more, and don't disappoint his sincerity!" The catfish made by the handsome master is moderately salty, the meat is tight and thin, fragrant but not moist, refreshing but not greasy. After eating four large pieces of fish, only one big thorn emerges. Among the fish I have eaten, the catfish is the most delicious. Fish is the most delicious delicacy.

Later, he served in Wuhan, and often went to the Wuming Garden at Qiaokou to eat puffer fish, and got acquainted with the waiters.He told me that catfish is the fattest fish, and when catfish is on the market, please invite me to taste it, and you will know how delicious it is!Brother Zhao Zhibai, a colleague of the Wuhan Appeasement Administration, his respected person runs a fishery company, so he has a lot of research on various fishes. He said: "Catfish is called 'abalone' in the middle of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. One species, also considered to be of the genus Sturgeon, has a head and tail similar to a sturgeon, a short nose, a mouth under the jaw, a belly like a catfish, and a body with fins. On the contrary, the term abalone has become uncommon, and no one knows about it." Brother Zhibai quoted scriptures, and his words were trustworthy and meaningful.Brother Zhao thinks that although Wumingyuan is very famous in Hankou, people who have eaten puffer fish in his family have never had any accidents, but the catfish in Wumingyuan is just thick and delicious, and it is really not as good as Liu Kaibang, the king of catfish. If you have a chance, you Once you eat at Liu Kaibang Restaurant, you will know that he is different!

Sure enough, within a few days, Chen Chixin (light group), the director of the General Office of the Appeasement Commission, greeted Brigadier Liu Duoquan at Liu Kaibang Restaurant, using a whole table of catfish mats, fried, fried, cooked, deep-fried, steamed, boiled, stewed, etc. Braised, all with catfish as the main body.Liu Kaibang has a deep relationship with the Chen family. At that time, Chen was a hot figure in Wuhan. The dishes on this table are sweet, fresh and fat, with different tastes.His family's most popular stewed tofu with fish offal, Mrs. Liu ate three bowls in a row, as if she was not satisfied.Liu Shaoyan, the manager of Jiji Hydropower Company in the same seat, is known as a big hand in Wuhan's catering industry, and also admits that he has never eaten such a rich and fragrant catfish mat.

Brother Liu Shaoyan said: "Su Wangong, the chef of the Huangshi Port Cement Factory, is the head chef of Taibai Building, one of the four major emblem halls in Wuchang. There is something unique about making catfish. Because catfish have to wait for it to go back to the river to catch it on the net. Come and eat, and when you swim to Yichang to lay eggs and come back, the meat will be old and shriveled, so it will not be called catfish but crack.” So it was decided that next week, Brother Shaoyan would sit in the VIP room of the Huangshi Port Cement Factory, and have a good time again. Eat catfish quickly.An uninvited guest also came that day, Lu Hanyun, the general manager of the Peasant Bank, who was originally from Hangzhou and sent to Hubei, and his family has a bad shop.He brought half a dozen of "Jiuyin Osmanthus Flower Dew" brewed by himself, which is as amber in color and tastes sweet when splashed on his teeth. The wine and food complement each other.

In addition to food and wine, Chef Su's main course is "braised in soy sauce" and "simmered in white" catfish, each with a pottery helmet.The helmet has two ears, and a tiger sits on the top of the helmet. It has an ancient style and is extremely heavy. It is used to simmer and stew dishes without releasing fragrance and air.Generally, those who eat catfish and love braised fish are addicted to its ointment, moistness and freshness, and those who love to eat white stew enjoy the true taste of it. Therefore, red and white dishes are served together, allowing guests to sip and enjoy, and each can choose what he likes. "Catfish shepherd's purse soup", catfish has no small spines, remove the spines on the middle bone, boil it in chicken broth, thicken it with white pepper and green coriander, and add a plate of deep-fried vermicelli. Take it, heat it and turn it into shreds, which is similar to the silver shredded beef in Beiping Chunhualou.The last big dish is called "Wei Huan Cai". Brother Guangzu said that the name of this dish is very ancient.The catfish juice is exquisite, which is even better than the other first-class pot Buddha Tiaoqiang.

This feast of fragrant wine and exquisite food, the wine glass is completely drunk, pushed away, and the aftertaste is mellow, decades, about seven or eight or more than ten years ago, I sat with Chen Chixin in Qionghua Building, Taipei City, and he bet on wine with me He said, "Thinking of the grand occasion of eating catfish in Huangshi Port, everyone was so happy, as if it was yesterday, and now I am afraid there are only you and me." Not long after he knew it, he also drove back to Daoshan.I have never seen catfish in Taiwan, even if someone set up a table of catfish seats, now I am just old and dejected, and I don't have the pride and joy of the past.