Chapter 32 Song Ziwen feasted on puffer fish in Wuming Garden

I dare not say whether puffer fish is the most delicious among fishes, but the saying "eat puffer fish desperately" has existed in ancient times, and there are really greedy friends who were bloated to death by caviar because of greedy puffer fish happened before. Fugu, also known as salmon, is not the kind of salmon that Americans like to eat.It was also called abalone in ancient times, and it grows between the salt water and fresh water of rivers and seas. The most delicious Chinese puffer fish is produced in the Huaihai area. This fish has a small mouth and a big belly. It is a scaleless fish. Its belly is snow-white and the most sensitive. , as soon as it touches algae scales, it immediately swells up like a ball, so it is also called bubble fish in the local dialect of Huaiyin.

There are many types of fugu, and although all of them are poisonous, they are divided into two types: edible and absolutely inedible.In the Huaiyin area of ​​Huaicheng, at the end of spring and the beginning of summer, when the puffer fish is fattening, everyone has to eat a few meals to satisfy their hunger. Because there are many people who have seen it, there are a few experts in cutting and cooking.They can see at a glance which ones are fat and can be eaten, and which ones are not only inedible, but must be killed immediately and buried deep in the ground, so as not to be poisoned by others.According to people who are proficient in this way: "The brighter the pattern on the back of the puffer fish, the more severe the toxicity. If the back and neck are light gray, each weighing less than one catty is a juvenile spotted puffer fish. The local name is gray bubbles. You can’t eat it, and you can die if you eat it.” In short, puffer fish is delicious and has a special flavor, which cannot be compared with other fish, so some people would rather risk their lives to eat puffer fish, which is enough to prove the sweetness and freshness of puffer fish How seductive is beauty.

In fact, there are several basic principles of kappo fugu. If you can grasp the principles and eat fugu, you will not kill people.Otherwise, when the puffer fish is on the market, the Huaiyin area pays attention to taking the aunts back to their natal homes to eat puffer fish. If they often kill people, who would dare to take such a big risk to pick up the aunts!When eating puffer fish, we mainly choose puffer fish with mild toxicity. In fact, most of the puffer fish meat is non-toxic. The poison is mostly in the liver, ovary, roe, and fish blood. There will be no problem.The author has been to Huaicheng twice, one time in winter, naturally there is no puffer fish to eat; Seeing the local residents washing basins and buckets, it was a prelude to preparing to eat fugu, and I thought that this time I would be able to feast on it.Unexpectedly, the fish season was late that year, and there was no puffer fish in the market, but the business was urgent and could not be postponed. Fortunately, brother Shen Jindong, who lived in Huaicheng, had dried puffer fish dried in the sun in the next year, and the roast meat and soup were finally relieved. Kiss, but the dryness is different, there is always a feeling of being scratchy.

Served in Hangao in the 22nd year of the Republic of China. Wuhan is also a place where fugu is produced and is particular about eating fugu. In particular, Wuming Garden in Qiaokou is a century-old restaurant well-known in the three towns of Wuhan.It's true that some people came here from Yichang, Shashi, especially to Wuming Garden to eat puffer fish.The Qiaokou area is already considered the outskirts of Hankou. Wuming Garden is a wooden building that can seat 60 guests upstairs and downstairs. There is a large stove at the door, where the soup is boiling and the smell of fish is overflowing.But the walls are dark and mottled with dirt.When I visited for the first time, I suddenly remembered that Li Shizhen said: "When cooking puffer fish, avoid the flames on the wall." After seeing this situation, how could I dare to sit down? Fortunately, Brother Zhao Zhibo, who went with me, visited many times and was unscathed. , Only then did he pick up his clothes and sit down calmly.The large pot of fish soup in Wumingyuan is usually boiled eel, pufferfish is added to the market, boiled all year round, the suet is warm and moist, and its white is better than snow, which is more fresh and plump than Yangtai's white soup noodles.When I go to Wuming Garden to eat fugu, I come here on a special trip. Now that I'm going all out, I naturally eat a big bowl of puffer fish, eating it like eating snake soup.Please think about the delicacy that you can risk your life not to taste, how does it taste, can it be wrong?So after eating, everyone is full of fragrance and warmth, and enjoys endlessly.

In the spring of the 23rd year of the Republic of China, Song Ziwen, Minister of Finance, came to Hankou to inspect the financial and taxation agencies. Xie Fencheng from the Taxation Bureau, Wei Songguan from the Stamp Tax Bureau, Xi Debing from Jianghanguan, and Wang Yiling from Jincheng Bank were all important financial and taxation officials. Accompany the banquet.At that time, there was only one Cantonese restaurant in Hankou, Guanshengyuan, and he was tired of eating two meals. Song repeatedly proposed to eat fugu from Wumingyuan, but none of the dignitaries present dared to answer.When eating lunch on the third day, Song suddenly took out a silver dollar and said with a smile: "I found out the rules of eating fugu. If you want to eat it, you have to touch your own knife (eat yourself), because it is dangerous, so no one dares to treat guests." Yes. I pay for it myself, I don’t need a treat, you old horses who know the way, you should accompany me to taste the strange smell!” After he said these jokes, everyone had no choice but to bite the bullet and accompany me at dinner. He went to Qiaokou Wuming Garden to eat puffer fish.

Song has a lot of energy and eats a lot. One year, he resigned from the position of Minister of Finance due to some political factors. When a reporter interviewed him and asked him if he was in poor health, he said without hesitation: "I am as healthy as an ox. This resignation is entirely based on differences in political views." Mr. Yan Duhe, a straightforward and bold Shanghai journalist, called Song an innocent minister, and it can be said that his criticism was just right.Later, when he took charge of the Ministry of Finance again, colleagues in the Ministry gave him a nickname behind his back, calling him Minister Niu.This time I went to Wuming Garden to eat fugu, since I had been wanting it for a long time, I naturally ate it. Unexpectedly, in a short time, he ate four bowls in a row, as if he was not satisfied. There is a reason for it.

Since eating at Wuming Garden in the Song Dynasty, this restaurant has become even more famous. Important officials from the central government passed through Wuhan, and there were many people who went there to catch up with the puffer fish season. It was even more sensational than eating carp lung soup in Mudu, Suzhou. Victory is still there. Once the resource committee held a meeting at the Central Bank of Shanghai, and he was close to the Song family. He remembered the past of eating puffer fish in Wuming, Qiaokou. There is enough food to sip four bowls in a row.The author told him that during the Anti-Japanese War, Japanese planes bombed Wuhan, and the bridge was severely damaged, and Wuming Garden had been reduced to rubble.Looking at each other, recalling the heroic feat of eating puffer fish, everyone felt an indescribable feeling in their hearts.

Since I came to Taiwan in the 35th year of the Republic of China, I have long forgotten the delicious taste of fugu. Who knows that there are many Japanese who love to eat fugu.A few years ago, Japanese restaurant Yinguo opened in Taipei. The owner of Yinguo was old with his deceased friend Xu Songqing. He brought a batch of puffer fish from Japan. He knew that Songqing was fond of fugu, so he made an appointment with some of us who are not afraid of death. .It's a pity that the Japanese cooking method is different from that of China. They eat it raw, and the ingredients are also the same as that of sashimi.Although it was a pity, it was inconvenient to say it.It's been a few years since this incident, if you want to eat delicious puffer fish, you can only wait for the future to satisfy your cravings!