Chapter 35 The scent of flowers on the table

The Chinese not only have a high sense of taste, but also a nation that can eat, loves to eat and knows how to eat.Whether it is flying in the sky, running on the mountain, swimming in the water, or jumping in the grass, it can be eaten.In addition to these delicacies from mountains and seas, even some flowers can still be served on the table after being skillfully prepared by chefs. When the ancestor Ci was alive, he would invite Tonghetang restaurant to have a meal every year on his birthday.There is an ancient elm tree in the front yard of the house. Liu Si, the cook of Tonghe, is very funny. One year, he suddenly became very excited and picked some small green elm coins (the fruit of the elm tree looks like money, so it is called "elm coins"). Knead into the fermented wet flour, add fat oil, pine nuts, and rock sugar, knead evenly, roll out slices, stack them layer by layer, sprinkle with red silk, steam in a pan, and cut into diamond shapes.In terms of color, it is soft red and green, but after the entrance, the taste is clear and delicious, not sticky but loose, and it is more delicious than the sponge cake in the south.It's a pity that this restaurant closed down soon, and Liu Si didn't know where he went.Although the family cooked it in the same way, it was either too oily or too dry. A few days ago, when I talked to some old friends who had eaten the Yuqianer cake made by Liu Si, everyone's mouth watered.

The lilac and vines in summer attract mad bees and drunken butterflies to dance back, and a red note saying "newly added fresh wisteria cakes are on the market" is pasted on the door of the pastry shop.The method of the wisteria cake in the pastry shop is similar to that of the flipped moon cake, but the jujube bean paste is replaced with wisteria flowers, which has a faint floral fragrance when eaten.Because wisteria is not an ordinary flower in Peiping, and it is hard to come by, it is especially cherished and refused to use in large quantities. I live in the east courtyard of Fenzi Hutong in Beiping. There are three couplets in the hut. There is an old vine over a hundred years old in the east and west. Under the support of a giant vertical frame, the vines are each attached to the steeply carved Taihu stones. Lingxiu will end.It is said that the older the lilac wisteria, the earlier the flowers bloom, so the flowers in other places have not yet budded, but these two old vines have already bloomed full of flowers.There are stone tables and benches under the wisteria trellis. It is said that Sheng Boxi liked to play chess and bet with others under the flowers when the flowers were in bloom, so he named the hut "Shuangteng Old House".And the wisteria cake made by She Xia was tasted by famous masters and unanimously praised, so it became a famous dish for a while.

When wisteria flowers seem to be in bloom, remove the pistils, leaving only the petals, wash with water, roll out the all-purpose flour and roll it into round thin slices, apply a layer of peanut oil, mix small fat oil, sugar, pine nuts, and petals , spread a layer of wisteria flower stuffing, add a layer of skin and stack it for steaming.Steamed and cut into pieces to eat, the flowers are soft and fragrant, making people want to be drunk.It's a pity that I have been in Taiwan for 20 or 30 years, but I have never seen Ziyu's strings of wisteria flowers. Sanbeizi Garden in the western suburbs of Beiping is the former site of Leshan Garden.The Changchun Hall in the garden is surrounded by piled stones into mountains, surrounded by locust trees, willows, peaches and apricots.At present, there is a flower garden surrounded by stone fences, full of hosta flowers, the leaves are as green as oil, and the flowers are as clean as snow.

Zheng Manyun, the owner of Binfengtang Tavern, runs Yulouchun on the first floor of Qianwai, and his business is booming.One year in the late spring and early summer, I had a few Shanghai friends who went sightseeing in Beiping. They wanted to see the temporary Summer Palace of the Empress Dowager Cixi. The hosta flowers that came down, I plan to fry some hosta flowers for us to drink, and let the friends in the south taste the rare things in Peking.The hosta flower in front of Ganqing Changchun Hall is a famous species transplanted from Heze, Shandong Province by Zai Taobeile, and planted in front of the hall for the Lafayette to smell and watch.This kind of flower is divided into plants every two years, and it happens that many hosta sticks have been picked off from the divisions, so we must keep it for us to try.

He cut open the hosta flower, cleaned it and removed the pistils, diluted the flour and stirred it into peeled and chopped walnut kernels, dipped the hosta flower in the batter, fried it in an oil pan until golden brown, and fried the bean curd dregs in boiling oil over high heat. Add ham crumbs into the pan and serve with fried hosta flowers.This dish does not need to add salt. Only by using the fresh and salty ham crumbs can it bring out the fragrance and softness of the hosta buds.After tasting this delicacy, I saw that there are hosta flowers cultivated in the south of Hebei and even in the Pearl River valley, but I just let the fragrance disperse in the flower bushes surrounded by fences, but I can't bear to pick the flowers and pinch the pistils...

There is a temple called Dajue Temple in the balcony mountain of Hot Spring Village outside Xizhimen, Beiping. It is said to be an ancient temple in the Liao and Jin Dynasties. It was originally a small temple called Lingquan. Emperor Xuande of the Ming Dynasty loved it. , So it was repaired again, and the Edajue Temple was given, and a "Tripitaka" was awarded, and it will be supported forever.In the Qianlong era, a relic pagoda was built on the back mountain, and behind it was the famous Longtan in the western suburbs.There is a ginkgo tree on the left side of the hall, which can be seen at a glance as a relic from hundreds of years ago.There are two magnolia trees on the right in front of the Jingshi steps in the south courtyard. They are tall and straight, covering the whole courtyard. In early summer, the flowers are brilliant and dazzling, which is even more luxuriant than the fragrant snow sea in Wuxi.Abbot Yixin is capable of poetry, painting, chess, and has a large number of interesting characters. Every April before the Jinding Miaofeng Mountain Temple Fair, well-known people from Pingjin and Tianjin are always invited to Dajue Temple to enjoy the blooming flowers. Magnolia, and chanted poems, painted, and took pictures in front of the flowers, and Yixin even went into the kitchen to fry the magnolia flowers.The famous dishes are served on the table, a large plate of goose yellow wrapped jade, slightly soft and fragrant, crisp and crisp, for everyone to feast on.Li Zanhou (Sihao), an important person from the Anfu department of the Beiyang government, and Yixin are good friends. Every year, the temple dried and stored magnolia flowers and gave them to Mr. Li.Back then, when Li Zanhou was in the Anfu Club, the crisp fried magnolia slices were still a famous dish!

When Song Mingxuan presided over the "Jicha Political Affairs Committee", although the Japanese were always finding trouble and provoking, the business of the restaurant was quite prosperous.Dongxing Building has a good reputation of "rising sun in the east", so the Japanese have a good impression of Dongxing Building, and nine out of ten treats are held in Dongxing Building. The "Jicha Political Committee" and its affiliated agencies, because Taifeng Building has Leling people's shares, Song Mingxuan always patronizes Taifeng Building in order to take care of the little fellows.There was a cook named "Er Zhangzuo" Liu Xi'er in Dongxing Building. He was originally a helper in the kitchen of Li Lianying's family. Come to Dongxing Building.Li Lianying was the major shareholder of Dongxing Building, so he had no choice but to put him on the stove because of sympathy.However, this Xi'er is so self-proclaimed, as if he came from the imperial kitchen, everyone sees it, and no one wants to argue with him, and even nicknamed him the second-in-charge, just to ridicule him Just like a second shopkeeper.One day a Japanese celebrity was having a banquet in Dongxing Building. Liu Xier made a clear soup with boiled bamboo fungus and fresh jasmine flowers. .Once the reputation was high, the airs were raised, arguing about the salary every day, and then the manager was really annoyed and dismissed him, so he went to Taifeng Tower, and it happened that Song Mingxuan ate his jasmine bamboo fungus soup, and he was also very appreciative. In addition, this dish became a famous dish at that time, and the Shandong restaurant in Pingjin and Tianjin, this soup dish is indispensable at the banquet.I remember that when Liu Jinyong, the director of military supplies of the "Political Committee", celebrated his deceased mother's birthday in Changzhuan Temple, there were more than one hundred tables for the feast, and jasmine bamboo fungus was used for the soup, because there were too many tables. First, the jasmine was overheated by the heat, and the taste was greatly lost. Since then, this soup dish is rarely seen on the table.

As soon as Taiwan enters winter, although the weather is not cold, all kinds of hot pots are coming into market one after another.In addition to the popular assorted hot pots in the whole province, there are mutton shabu-shabu hot pots in old Peking, white meat and blood sausage hot pots in Northeast China, bad taste hot pots in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, maodu hot pots in Sichuan, sand tea hot pots in Chaoshan, even stone hot pots in Korea, and birthday cakes in Japan. There are all kinds of hot pot, but it is not so easy to think of the authentic chrysanthemum hot pot.The Shandong Pavilion in Beiping will prepare chrysanthemum pots for the market when it arrives in Chongyang. It is said that there was a river governor in the Qing Dynasty who was stationed in Jining to supervise the work. He saw several pots of chrysanthemums and chalcedony in a squire’s house. Juechen, where it is fragrant and beautiful.The governor of the river suddenly had a whim, if chrysanthemums were added to the food, it must have a special flavor.The host immediately sent someone to pick a few white chrysanthemums that were in full bloom, and handed them to the chef to leave the pistils and petals, and made a chrysanthemum pot and served it on the table.There was an old master on the seat who was quite familiar with medicinal properties. He said that only the white ones of autumn chrysanthemums calm the liver and relieve depression, while those bright red and purple ones are only suitable for viewing, especially the stamens and pollen are disturbing and should be avoided.So later, only white chrysanthemums were used in the chrysanthemum pot, and all other variegated chrysanthemums were picked and not used.

Among the chrysanthemum pots in restaurants in Beiping, Baozi Street Tonghetang is the most famous. It is said that the chef of this restaurant used to be an official servant, and white chrysanthemums are prepared on the cabinet every year for picking.At the same time, the clear soup of the chrysanthemum pot must be clear, mellow and clear, and ingredients such as pork liver and shrimp are prohibited, so as not to muddy the soup.Fish fillets, loin slices, squid, pheasant, etc. are all sliced ​​as thin as paper, and cooked as soon as they are hot, so that they are fresh and delicious. One spring before the Anti-Japanese War, my close friend Li Zhusun suddenly became very popular when he was not in charge of affairs. He invited me and two other friends to travel from Shanghai to Yuantouzhu in Wuxi.After visiting Liyuan, everyone was a little hungry. There is a small teahouse outside the garden, but unfortunately it only serves tea and does not sell snacks.My friend Zhou Diyin is a young man who is easy to cook. He smells that the stove is lingering, and an indescribable fragrance blows from time to time. Later, he found out that there are rose-scented steamed dumplings in the steamer, which is an afternoon snack for their family.I once ate the meringue rose cake from Beiping Bobopu. Although it has a floral fragrance, it is too sweet and greasy.Brother Zhou's EQ asked him to transfer a cage. The owner saw that we were all visitors from Shanghai, so he gave a cage generously.The dumplings are not more than an inch in size, the clear powder is crystal clear, and the soft red is hidden, refreshing.It turns out that they mixed the dried purple rose petals of the next year with walnut powder and honey to make stuffing wraps, which are more quiet and moist than fresh roses.At the same time, it is quite strange, why the village farmers make these exquisite desserts to enjoy by themselves, the owner of the Ganqing Teahouse has a famous family, these desserts are used to entertain their relatives and serve their mothers.We planned to give tea generously, but they refused to accept it. Brother Diyin often wears a famous Sichuan clove rattan bracelet inlaid with gold on his wrist.Although I have eaten a lot of sweets stuffed with roses later, compared to the steamed dumplings with rose flavor, I always feel that they are much inferior.

In recent years, some people have cut the petals of marigolds, carnations, and tulips into pieces, and put them in drinks or snacks, which are also delicious.Not long ago, I had a drink at a friend's house. They spread slices of violets on a salad with cheese.