Chapter 26 Bee Tang Cake and Emerald Siu Mai

Although I am an authentic northerner, when I was young, I often ran around the north and south of the river with my family, so I ate a lot of meat, vegetable, sweet and salty snacks in Zhenjiang and Lixiahe in Yangzhou, so Impression is deep, too.After coming to Taiwan for several years, every county and city has a large restaurant called Huaiyang noodles, but there are a few kinds of noodles, and I have never seen any restaurant sell them. Every time I have a drink with my friends in northern Jiangsu, I talk about this A few kinds of pasta, everyone has the idea of ​​returning to their hometown early and having a gluttonous kiss.

Speaking of "honey cake", it can be regarded as a historic dessert, and besides Yangzhou, I haven't heard of it selling honey cake anywhere.According to the legend of Yangzhou fathers and elders, Yang Xingmi of Hefei in the Five Dynasties (during the time of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty, he served as the governor of Huainan, because of his benevolence and profound knowledge, was deeply loved by the common people. He was later named King of Wu and reigned for fifteen years.) He was fond of honey cakes, Because "mi" and "honey" have the same pronunciation, everyone avoids his name, and because the cake is full of honeycombs after it is ready, it is called "bee sugar cake".Now the younger generation of friends in northern Jiangsu say that some have eaten honey cakes, and some have heard of them. If it is honey cakes, the next generation of young people may know very little about it.

There is a joint office of salt merchants in Yangzhou called Si'an Office. Salt merchants are famous for their expertise in drinking and food.Salt merchants in Yangzhou, because Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty went to the south of the Yangtze River three times to visit Yangzhou, and the salt merchants supplied the emperor's envoys, and everything was in order, so they feasted and drank, the delicacy of the soul, and the jade food were famous all over the country.In the place where they manage their affairs, there is a master chef who is very famous for making bee sugar cakes.The author has eaten the bee sugar cake made there. I was still young at the time. I remember that a piece of bee sugar cake is bigger than a twelve-inch cake. It may be because of the size of the cage. The cake is steamed according to the size of the cage. Therefore, the size of the cake is It matches the size of the cage.At that time, I only felt that the cake was soft and sweet when I ate it, and I didn't need to chew it. It was the most delicious kind of dessert.Later, every time I went to Yangzhou, because I was very impressed with the bee sugar cake when I was a child, I would eat it once or twice, and I would buy a few pieces to bring back to Beiping as gifts for relatives and friends.

I live in Yangzhou, and most of them live in Zuowei Street. Not far from where I live, there is a Wuyun Zhai. I heard that the bee sugar cake made by his family is the first one in Yangzhou. The dispute was declared over, and a Qilin Pavilion in Yuanmen Bridge became famous.Qilin Pavilion is a tea and food shop that deals in groceries from the north and the south. It does not specialize in bee sugar cakes, but because their bee sugar cakes are exquisitely made, Qilin Pavilion is famous in Beijing and Shanghai for its bee sugar cakes. At that time, there were many restaurants in Shanghai that called for fine dishes in Yangzhen, but I haven't heard of any restaurant in Yangzhen in Shanghai that sold bee sugar cakes.Later, a "Rose Recipe" was promoted to attract customers with Yangzhou pastry. He thought it was a fly in the ointment not to sell honey cakes, so he sent people to Qilin Pavilion in Yangzhou to find the master chef who made honey cakes at several times the salary. He came from Shanghai, but he valued righteousness over profit and was not tempted, so he refused straight away.Someone said it well: "For a person who is nearly seventy years old, it is enough to have a bowl of simple tea and light food. Why do you want to make a lot of money? If you throw your old bones to a foreign land in order to earn more money, then it is not worth it. What's more, the old boss treats me badly. Bo, just eat a stable Taiping meal in your hometown!" Pan Songping, a well-known person from Yangzhou, said this himself, and it is expected that this is true.It can be seen from this that the older generation's style of friendship, morality, and commitment is indeed admirable.

What is the secret to making honey cake?According to the owner of Fuchun Tea House, Chen Buyun, "The flour needs to be sieved several times in a fine basket, and real flour fertilizer (called starter in the north) should be used for the dough. If you use a leavening agent such as baking powder, the steamed honey cake , just like Guangdong’s Mala Cake, although the hair is good, but the taste is bad when you eat it.” Mr. Chen has a lot of research on pasta, and what he said is based on experience, not casually . One year, Mr. Li Zhenqing, a relative, had a son in his later years. The child was half a month old, just in time for the ninth day of the ninth lunar month when Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva became a Buddha. The soup and cake feast was all vegetarian, and the dessert was vegetarian bee sugar cake.At first, I thought that bee sugar cake must have diced lard to be moist and delicious. Unexpectedly, other people’s vegetarian cake does not use diced lard but uses fat big pine nuts. Another taste.Li Zhenlao said that in the early years, the pure vegetarian bee sugar cake made by the Datong Tea Shop in Duozi Street had a unique flavor. It was a delicacy in the tea and food eaten by vegetarian friends. have to.The vegetarian cakes we eat now are nothing more than comfort.

Recently, whenever I get together to chat with friends from northern Jiangsu, when it comes to eating, anyone who likes sweets will think of honey cake.Everyone thinks that bee sugar cake is delicious, but it is not a dessert. It requires some special craftsmanship. Why is there no one in Taiwan?Not long after we talked, a relative gave me a piece of bee sugar cake. It is said that it was specially made by the chef of a well-known person in Yangzhou. The shape and taste are not bad.Probably because the elderly are afraid of affecting cholesterol and blood pressure, and avoid eating too much oil and too sweet, so they feel that the oil and sugar are slightly less, and the taste is slightly lighter, but when they are full, they still feel relish.

Emerald Shaomai is called "Shaomai" by northerners, and "Shaomai" by Yangzhou people.The first time I ate southern jade siu mai was at Yuemingxuan in Yangzhou Jiaochang.Traditionally, northerners eat sweet steamed food, most of which are fermented noodles. As for steamed food made with hot and dead noodles for sweet stuffing, it can be said that there are very few. Brother Hu Guohua, my friend, works for the tax collection agency, and he is a well-known figure in Yangzhen.He is a regular customer of Yuemingxuan who must visit every day, so from the boss to the waiter, he has friendship with Fourth Master Hu, and they are obviously very close when they meet.Brother Hu invited me to have morning tea at Yuemingxuan, and told the waiter as soon as he entered the door that I just came from Beiping, and he made a basket of emerald siu mai and let me try the famous Yangzhou delicacies.People have eaten and seen it, so let the case be done well.It doesn’t matter if you take care of it, this basket of dim sum is naturally specially processed and carefully made. The siu mai stuffing is made by chopping young green vegetables and mash, adding cooked lard and sugar. , steamed thoroughly, and the side flowers are not like the northern siu mai piled up with thin noodles (in the north, it is called thin noodles).I have the experience of eating Sichuan green bean paste. It doesn't look very hot on the outside, but it can burn you to death when you eat it.Pick up a siu mai and try it slowly. Sure enough, the jasper melts into the pulp, and it is fragrant and not greasy. Since then, the perception of steamed noodles with sweet stuffing has changed a lot.However, although this kind of sweet food is too hot to eat immediately, it can't be eaten after it is cold, otherwise the oil will stagnate and the stuffing will be stiff, and the taste will be bad.

Shanghai later opened an exquisite restaurant, which was run by people from Yangzhou. Steamed dumplings with bean paste and peas, simmered noodles with wild duck and cabbage, steamed stuffed buns with five tings of shrimp, pot cakes with jujube paste, and all Yangzhou pastries can be said to be everything, and they are all well-made. Delicate and delicate, the taste is not inferior to the craftsmanship of several noodle restaurants in Yangzhou.There is only one item of jade siu mai. Although there is a notice that the jade siu mai will be on the market soon, it has not been brought out to the market. Although I don't know the reason, it is guessed that it may be difficult for the master to invite!