Chapter 40 Reminiscence of Lanzhou

China is based on agriculture, the south plows the fields with buffaloes, and the north uses yellow oxen to plow the fields. Therefore, except for a few provinces in the north and the south, most of them do not eat beef. People with strict family rules do not even allow beef to enter the house, because the cattle work hard for us. After living for a lifetime, in the end, he became famous and couldn't bear to eat, so he was forbidden to eat beef.At the beginning of Taiwan’s recovery, most ordinary people did not eat beef. Only foreign restaurants could sell beef. If you want to eat a bowl of beef noodles, you can only patronize a few noodle restaurants on Taoyuan Street.At that time, the source of cattle was not smooth, the meat was good and bad, and there were no certain standards in those noodle restaurants. La.

Among my friends, one who likes beef noodles told me: "Near the circle of Longshan Temple in Taipei, there is a stall that specializes in selling beef noodles. It has been passed down from generation to generation and has a history of 100 years. , always keep the original taste of the soup, and it is recommended to be the best choice among the beef noodles in Taipei." The author went to look for it one day, but unfortunately there are many such food stalls near the circle, and I don't know which one is a century-old stall.Since I couldn't taste it all, I had no choice but to go back and wait until I found an old horse who knew the way, and then tasted it.

The beef noodles in Taipei City have been tasted by several people who know the taste, and they all agree that the beef noodles in Long Live Restaurant are good. According to the general standard of Taiwan, their tastes are of course quite reasonable, but if you have eaten Gansu Lanzhou Ma Baozi Beef noodles, a comparison will separate the ranks. In the 21st year of the Republic of China, the government was preparing to open up the Northwest. The Ministry of Finance specially sent Xie Qi, the Director of Taxation, to the Northwest to inspect finance and taxation to formulate a plan.His secret is from Cantonese, and although he knows nothing about the customs and people of the Northwest provinces, he is afraid of long-distance trekking, and he also thinks that beef and mutton are smelly, so the accompanying diary room falls on me.During the trip to the northwest, when you arrive in Lanzhou, you must first visit General Zhu Yimin, the director of appeasement, and Chairman Gu Zhenglun to be polite.The provincial government is where Zuo Wenxiang lived in the northwest and stationed in Jielanzhou. There is a garden behind it called "Jieyuan", with water pavilions and red corridors, green willows blending together, and the elegance of the garden.In the boat hall, there are many couplets inscribed by celebrities, all of which are carved out of wood and hung on the four walls for preservation.After the Republic of China, the Gansu Provincial Government used Fuhou Festival Garden as the Yanbin guest house. Because of the introduction of Minister Song Ziwen and the special care of Zhu and Gu, we were allowed to stay in Jieyuan, so we could enjoy browsing the poems, calligraphy and paintings on the wall.Inadvertently discovered that when Mr. Xian Wenzhen was transferred to be the general of Ningxia and stayed in Jieyuan, he sang two verses and a seven-character couplet with the governor at that time.The next day General Zhu learned that I was the grandson of Duke Zhen, he said in a daze that we had a long-term friendship with each other, but he couldn't tell where the friendship came from, since he didn't say anything, I couldn't ask further.In the evening, he invited us to have a whole lamb mat, which he specially invited Chef Hu Guanyi, Lanzhou's first cutting and cooking master, to make.I have eaten the eel banquet and the whole snake meeting, and the whole lamb banquet can be said to be the first time to open foreign meat.The so-called whole sheep mat is to use a big fat sheep to make dozens of dishes from the beginning to the end, such as braised scalp, steamed sheep brain, slippery mouth strips, stewed sheep eyes, stewed sheep tail, braised sheep's feet, the ingredients of each dish. The recipes have their own special features and different tastes. With Lanzhou's famous Wujiapi, it is natural that it will not be boring.Although I am famous for my delicious food, I don't eat much. I eat a chopstick for each dish, and I am already drunk from the wine.Xie Gong has lived in Lingnan for a long time, and he has never eaten such rich and fat mutton. As soon as he served it, he felt that the taste of the dishes was clear and delicious.Later, when he returned to Shanghai, he told people that this whole lamb feast was the most beautiful meal of mutton he had ever eaten in his life.

We went to the Northwest for inspection. Before we left for Shanghai, we heard that there was a world-famous beef noodle restaurant in Lanzhou called "Ma Baozi".At that time, Shui Zi, the director of the Civil Affairs Department, and Huang Chaoqin, the special commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited from time to time.Since I came to Lanzhou, I had to try it, and there were two guides, Shui and Huang, who greeted me very attentively and thoughtfully.Ma Baozi is a small brick building with no signboard or door plaque. Upstairs, there are a few small Eight Immortals tables and a few low stools for guests, and there are many couplet banners written by famous people on the walls.In addition, there is nothing except tableware, oil bottles, and vinegar jars.This small shop has been passed down from generation to generation and has a history of more than a hundred years, so the stair railings, square tables and benches are all polished, and the downstairs kitchen is quite clean. A ball of dough about the size of a duck egg was put aside and kept awake, allowing the water to blend slowly.The noodles are fully awake, and they can be stretched and turned freely, and they are only strong when they are eaten.There are six kinds of stretched noodles in his family. The common one is called "Ba'ertiao", which is the most popular among the locals. For supplies, the thin and flat ones are called "leek bian'er", the thicker ones are called "curtain sticks", and there are also "big wide" and "medium wide", which are almost noodles.Which kind of dish the guests like to eat is called fresh stretch, which is fast and quick.The water in the big iron pot below the kitchen is always clear and tumbling. Dozens of bowls of noodles are put into the pot at the same time, thick or thin, round or flat. He used a pair of longer chopsticks to scoop up and pick up the bamboo fence. He scooped up a bowl with no more and no less, and the portion and heat were all just right.The most wonderful thing is that even though the noodles are tumbling in the pot, they are never mixed, and they do their own thing. No one has ever been able to pick out two kinds of noodles in their own bowl.It is said that this set of kung fu requires one to stretch evenly, two to throw it quickly, and three to catch it accurately. These three steps seem simple, but if you want to learn this skill, you need to learn it for three years to be able to do it well. Well, the family is a father-to-son business, and they don't accept apprentices with other surnames!

The beef and mutton in Lanzhou are tender and fat because of the strong wind and grass, and there is no smell.Ma Baozi selects meat strictly, only using top-grade leg meat, separated fat and thin, all cut into domino-sized pieces, stewed on a low heat all night on the first day, never adding water in the middle, let alone seasonings such as celery, bean sprouts, and monosodium glutamate , so Qing drunk fat lotus, self-contained Xinyi, soup heavy like gold, clear to the end.Around 11:00 a.m., when the big pot of beef soup is sold out, the market closes on the upper board. Please wake up tomorrow morning, everyone!Brother Shui Zi is a native of his hometown, and he knows Ma Baozi best. His family has a long-term vision in business, careful preparations, hard work and dedication. With his spirit, he will never fail in any business.Brother Shui’s words of wisdom, I have always kept them firmly in mind and dare not forget them.Not only in business, but also in life.There are more than a thousand noodle restaurants selling beef noodles in Taiwan. How many of them have survived in the past 20 or 30 years?

Clouds approach the tree at dusk, looking around, thinking of the vast sky and the vast land in the northwest where no grass, trees or cattle and sheep can be seen, old feelings come to my heart, I think travelers who have lived for a long time will occasionally have this indescribable feeling, probably the so-called Be homesick!