Chapter 31 Baozi in Peking, Shanghai and Taiwan

No matter which province in China knows how to make steamed stuffed buns, but in some places steamed stuffed buns are used as staple food, while in other places steamed stuffed buns are used as snacks. Let’s start with Beiping first. There is a kind of steamed stuffed bun in Beiping called “Mending”, also known as Rouding Mantou.Generally steamed buns, no matter whether they are sweet, salty, meat or vegetarian, are stuffed by hand and steamed in a steamer. But Mending rolls out the skin of the buns evenly, spreads them in a polygonal wooden mold, and fills them with fat and lean meat and onions. Seal it, knock it out and steam it in a steamer.Mending is most famous for Zhimeizhai on Meishi Street. If you make a business deal with Zhimeizhai, go to a few yards outside the front door to listen to the opera after lunch. Ask the Zhimeizhai cabinet to find out that at about four o'clock, Zhongzhuozi's martial arts show As soon as the game was over, the clerk at the counter brought snacks in a handy box.Either "Scallion and Pork Mending" or "Ham Shortbread", probably hungry after listening to the opera, I think the Mending at this time and place is particularly delicious.They make mending with just the right mix of fat and lean meat, and the scallions are definitely selected, without onion leaves and leaves, so they are particularly plump and palatable.Don't say that you can't eat such diced meat buns in other places, even in Beiping, only Zhimeizhai has such a good door!

"Zan stuffed buns", in Beijing, the larger restaurants don't make stuffed buns, only small restaurants sell stuffed buns, but it's not common.Cuan stuffed buns are most famous for the small building at the corner of West Chang’an Street in Xidan Pailou.There are two small single rooms in the corner of the small building, which can't seat ten guests in total. Every morning when the sun is dim and the streets are quiet, people first make a cup of fragrant tea, sip it by the threshold, and wait for the new stuffed buns to come out.If you like sweetness and sweetness, ask Huozhi to go downstairs to serve a bowl of steaming almond tea, otherwise, come to a bowl of fried liver that is freshly hooked by our shop, and eat it together with hot buns. Out of interest and taste.The stuffing of Zan stuffed buns is mainly chicken, duck blood and carrots, other than tofu vermicelli, yellow flowers, fungus, cabbage, pepper, but the seasoning is well matched. A bag of red and oily soup, people who don't know what's inside think it's crab roe soup dumplings.Another thing is that the skin of the steamed stuffed bun is not smooth, and the wrinkle is quite unattractive, but the more you eat it, the more you like it.The steamed stuffed buns on the second floor are only sold for breakfast, limited to 30 baskets, if they are sold out, you can order early tomorrow morning.After leaving Beiping, I only ate stuffed stuffed buns once in Tianjin Hutong, and I have not tasted this taste for more than 30 years.

In the 15th or 16th year of the Republic of China, a seller of Tianjin steamed stuffed buns with jar meat was suddenly discovered in Xicheng, Beiping, and he would sell them along the street at three or four o'clock every afternoon.At first everyone thought that he brought Tianjin steamed stuffed buns to appeal, and it must be the steamed stuffed buns of Goubuli with a lot of oil and brine.When you buy it back and taste it, you will find it completely different from the steamed stuffed buns that dare to ignore you.The buns he sells have loose skin and plenty of stuffing, the meat is not lumpy, loose and plump, light in oil and heavy in stew, it is indeed a good product for afternoon snacks.As for the jar meat, if the five flavors are too strong, the business will not be as prosperous as the steamed stuffed buns.The steamed stuffed buns he makes not only taste good, but also carefully select materials and keep warm better.He used a small thick jar with a cover and a cotton cover, and the buns were always hot as if they were new.The author got acquainted with him later, only to know that his surname is Feng, his name is Kuizi, and he is close to Yangcun, Tianjin, so his buns are called Tianjin Baozi.His craftsmanship was indeed learned by Tianjin Goubuli, and it can be regarded as the same lineage, and other people's Kuizi can change it with unique techniques.He only sells 120 steamed buns a day, steamed them twice, and sold them down the street twice. He only sells them as a string in the alleys from Xisi to Xidan, and they are sold out in less than an hour.Later, a few Tianjin steamed stuffed buns came out in Northeast City, and they talked about the taste, and compared with Kuizi's steamed stuffed buns, they were far worse.After two years, this person suddenly disappeared. I heard that he made some money selling buns and went back to Yangcun to open a steamer shop.

"Hejian Baozi" is called Dongjian Baozi. In fact, the buns are made by the people of Hejian Prefecture. There is a wooden signboard of "Hejian Baozi" hanging on the stall.His steamed stuffed bun stall is next to the Juggling Field in the South Garden of Dong'an Market, facing Runming Building.The author used to eat at Runming Building every day at noon, leaning on the railing to look around, and saw a fat man wrapping and steaming in a white cloth tent, busy in an orderly manner.The fat man is so fat that his eyebrows and eyes are crowded together, and he is always smiling. He is like a brother to Ge Xiaobao, a famous amphibious artist in movies and dramas. Kneading dough with two hands is like flipping a big meaty bun with two feet. Especially in summer, he wears a A small summer cloth waistcoat, chubby figure, trembling all over, often attracts tourists to stop and watch.The steamed buns he made were unique, with no marinade or soup, the filling was loose but soft, and at the same time ensured that it was not mixed with Ajinomoto (there were no such things as Weiwang Weibao at that time, only Japanese Ajinomoto).His immediate neighbor is the King of Belly Explosion, and he ordered a bowl of Shuibao belly to be eaten with Hejian steamed stuffed buns. Anyone who has eaten it will be able to recall the taste of the past!

"Huaicheng Soup Dumplings", literally, since it is a famous snack in Huaicheng, of course it is the best one in Huaicheng.When the author was in northern Jiangsu, he traveled to and from Huaicheng more than ten times, and every time he went to Huaicheng, he always ate soup dumplings once or twice.I have probably tried all the soup dumplings from well-known restaurants in the area. According to my personal evaluation, the Huaicheng soup dumplings from Yuhuatai in Beiping still come out on top.Yuhuatai's master Baianzi was trained by Yang Shixiang's family, who was famous for their gourmet food in the late Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Yuhuatai's soup dumplings are half-boiled and half-baked, and the noodles wake up well. , Eat it in your mouth without sticking to your teeth.The soup dumplings have enough brine, but they are plump but not greasy. It is said that they have another trick.To make the brine skin, boil the skin until soft first, then clean it with pig hair tongs, hang it in a ventilated place, smear it with old wine, let the wind blow it until it is half dry, and then boil the soup to make the brine.The soup dumplings are made in this way, and the paste is exquisite, plump and not greasy.Yuhuatai's soup dumplings were praised by ordinary diners, and soon became famous in Beiping. Later, three or five people went to have a drink, not familiar faces, and ordered soup dumplings, and nine out of ten the waiter would always say today Not ready.If you want a whole table feast, you will be served with a Huaicheng soup dumpling in the dim sum.

Cantonese people have the habit of drinking tea at teahouse restaurants with one cup or two pieces every morning. In general restaurants in Shanghai, they are all competitive in terms of dim sum.There was a time when it was fashionable to eat big buns, so everyone made a fuss about big buns. Every family made bigger ones, your stuffing was better, and I was more refined than yours.At that time, the author was young and easy to make, so I went to try it with a few friends who were fond of food. The conclusion was: "Jinghua's buns are big, while Xinhua's stuffing is fresh." Jinghua and Xinhua have always been incompatible with each other in terms of business. Since it is called a big bag, Jinghua’s big bag is as big as a five-inch plate. Enough to fill the stomach.Xinhua made a brainstorm, not to compete with you in terms of quantity, but to overwhelm Jinghua in terms of quality. The so-called Xinhua Chicken Ball Bun is really extraordinary.Dabao has been in the limelight for three or four years in Shanghai, but later the supply was insufficient, and it was only available for dine-in, and no takeaway was accepted.

Chatting with a few friends who have lived in Shanghai during my free time, when I mentioned the stall selling big meat buns next to the Majestic Theater on Aiwenyi Road in Shanghai, everyone yearned for it.In terms of size, the steamed stuffed buns of his family are one size bigger than those of Tianjin Goubuli. Not only are the buns well-haired, soft and white, but also the meat is carefully selected, and there is absolutely no muscle or bone.It tastes moist and fragrant in the mouth, and it is very delicious. The steamed buns are released from the new drawer at Tianmengmengliang, and at about ten o'clock, 2,000 steamed buns can be sold out and close the market.There is neither a long table nor a stool in front of the stall, and the diners line up in order, one file at a time, some eat while standing, and some are bandaged and taken away.At that time, Wang Yiting, a famous Shanghai painter from Rilongshan, and Hu Bijiang, the general manager of Central South Bank, were all customers who ate at the steamed stuffed bun stand. That's it.

There is a shop in Yimiao, Nanshi, Shanghai that sells Nanxiang steamed buns. Every holiday morning, if you want to eat Nanxiang steamed buns, you sometimes have to queue up.His Nanxiang steamed buns are a little bigger than normal ones. The advantage is that the top, bottom, and sides of the steamed buns are rolled very evenly, and there is no such thing as thin top and bottom thick.The soup served with steamed buns from other houses is all soy sauce broth and egg skin. His house is a white soup boiled with fish and shrimp, which is thick and delicious.Someone brought some home and brought it down. It is really comparable to the well-known white soup noodles in Taixian County, northern Jiangsu.There are many types of delicious steamed buns in Shanghai, so here are just a few special ones.

Taiwan has just been recovered, and the author came to Taiwan for the first time. I am not familiar with the place, and I want to eat two hot buns that have just come out of the drawer. It is really difficult.One day on Hengyang Street in Taipei, I found a small restaurant called Green Garden that actually sold steamed buns, so I ordered a customer.The shape of the steamed stuffed bun is weird, like a high-piled steamed bun with pleats. Although the dough is well-made, it is too sweet, and the filling is minced meat, which is sweeter than salty.Under the circumstances that nothing is better than nothing, I actually ate four of them in one go. This is the first time I have eaten sweet meat buns since I came to Taiwan.

The Pingtung Night Market is like a specific and small Wanhua Circle, with a variety of flavors and delicacies. There is a Wenzhou native who specializes in Wenzhou wontons and Xiaolongtangbao. It is half-permed and half-haired, with meat filling, pure Jiangsu and Zhejiang flavors, plump but refreshing, smooth in the mouth, eight per cage, and the price is only ten yuan, which can be called high-quality and low-priced.The author has been in Taiwan for 30 years and has traveled all over the island, but among all the xiaolongtangbaos I have eaten, the one in Pingtung Night Market is the first one.It's a pity that the owner of this family has a lot of index fingers. Although he made a small profit, he still couldn't support his family. He switched to another business a few years ago. The so-called Xiaolongbao in Pingtung Night Market has now become a term in history.

On October 10th last year in Taipei, someone introduced that there is a Ding Tai Tang restaurant opposite the Dongmen Welfare Center restaurant that serves crab roe soup dumplings (it used to be an oil shop, but now it has started a business).His family sells rice dumplings, sponge cakes, fried tofu fine powder wonton soup dumplings, etc. These pastries are mediocre and have no special features. The crab roe soup dumplings are sold for 50 yuan per cage, although the price is not high. It’s cheap, but the steamed stuffed buns are very authentic. There are seven meats and three crabs, and there is no cutting corners. Unfortunately, the crab roe is slightly less, because the crab meat used is the river crab raised in Shimen Reservoir, so it cannot be compared with the mainland lake crab.But at this moment, it is very rare to have such crabs on this platform.As I wrote this, I suddenly thought of a small question. We all know that steamed buns without stuffing are called steamed buns, and steamed buns with stuffing are called steamed buns, but Mending in Beiping is called Rouding steamed buns, and Nanxiang steamed buns are also steamed buns with meat fillings. , One south and one north call obviously buns as steamed buns, but I can't understand it.I wanted to invite the China Television Company's variety show "Mind Gymnastics" to study a correct answer, but unfortunately this show has been suspended again, so I have to temporarily doubt it!If there are wise people who know the reason and give instructions, I would be very grateful.