Chapter 45 Eating hot pot around the stove

Professor Liang Shiqiu wrote an eloquent article after reading his book "Chinese Food", he said: "The Chinese are greedy, and perhaps the people of Peking are the most greedy." It's enough to make you hungry. I think back when I was in mainland China, as soon as I entered the October Gate, everyone would light a fire to keep warm. As long as the northwest wind blew, the sky would be dark and gloomy. In a poem, I just want to invite three or four friends, find a small restaurant, fan a pot, gather around, eat and drink to cool off the cold and warm winter. When it comes to hot pot, each has its own way of eating, and there are many types.Taking Sichuan as an example, Maodu Hot Pot is the most memorable one. Sichuan people call it Maodu Kaitang, but the so-called Maodu includes all kinds of edible things on the cow, such as liver, tripe, brain, kidney, spinal cord, beef, etc. , but it is mainly beef louvers.The choice of ingredients for eating hairy belly should be fine, the knife should be fine, and the degree of softness and hardness should be just right when eaten in the mouth.Everyone loves pot soup when eating hot pot, but in addition to chili peppers, Maodu hot pot has a lot of prickly ash and ginger, which are both numbing and spicy. Unless you are used to heavy spicy food since childhood, the soup in Maodu hot pot is really strong. .If you can drink a large bowl of hairy tripe pot soup, which is both spicy and hot, hot and fresh, then your ability to eat spicy food is enough to see.

Although Guangzhou in the Pearl River valley is not too cold in winter, it is fashionable to eat hot pot on the side stove during the winter season.Guangdong's diet is relatively refined, so seafood is the main material for edging. Except for fish fillets, shrimps, squid, fresh oysters, waist slices, chicken slices, and belly slices, the proportion of meat slices is very small, and it is limited to pork.Therefore, the side stove in Guangzhou can be said to be smooth, fragrant and delicate, with a light and lasting taste.However, some people who like sweet fat and thick, feel that they can't satisfy their cravings after eating Guangdong side stove.The gourmets in Guangdong say that Shaoxing Baigan with a side stove is not right, and it is best to drink Yangcheng double steamed.

Sand tea hot pot is a special product for people in Chaoshan, Guangdong Province to surround their stoves in winter. Sand tea is a special product of Chaoshan. Each family has its own special and exclusive secret recipe, and the taste has its own strengths. It's really unique.Last year, the author had an authentic Shacha hot pot at a real Teochew restaurant in Qianqiujia (place name) in Bangkok.Pork belly slices are not cut as thin as paper, they are all thick and solid. At first, I thought that such a thick belly and pork belly must not be chewable.Unexpectedly, once cooked, the former is crispy, while the latter is refreshing. The chef's knife skills seem to be unique, and eating hot pot with the north is completely different.The most wonderful thing is that the deep soup in the hot pot boils, and if you boil the ingredients in the pot, isn’t it like a sea of ​​fish and people, and there is no way to catch them?No wonder the predecessors once said that eating in Lingnan.People eat hot pot with a small colander made of special wire braided handles, each of which is rinsed according to the spoon. Wouldn't it be great to put a small colander in front of you and use it, but it's a pity we didn't think of it before.

Although Anhui is not a province that pays special attention to gourmet food among all provinces in the country, in the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras, Huizhou restaurants were famous for jade grits soup and golden dumplings.Huiguan also pays attention to eating side stoves in the middle of winter.In the 20th year of the Republic of China, the author worked in Wuhan, and several of my classmates also worked in the financial sector in Wuhan. None of them brought their relatives with each other.The highest record ever was two and a half months without going to the same restaurant for dinner. One winter evening, everyone strolled from Zhongshan Road in Hankou, and walked to the bridge without knowing it, and suddenly found an antique restaurant with a building. The upstairs seats were actually mahogany tables and chairs. What's more, there are a pair of porcelain cap tubes on the Kang bed.Judging by the ostentation, this restaurant has at least several decades of history.The waiter is an old man in his fifties. We ordered a side stove for six people. He introduced us to a full serving of duck wontons. First serve the wine and vegetables. The duck wontons in Huiguan are bigger than Wenzhou wontons. The whole serving There are six food and drink, which are substantial and authentic, enough for ten people.His side stove uses a green glazed charcoal-fired earthenware stove, a flat and shallow pot with copper bottom tin, the soup is clear and flavorful, and all kinds of pot ingredients are cooked as soon as they are cooked. Three or five chopsticks per person are almost ready Swept away, the soup at this moment is still refreshing but not moist.The next dozen or so duck wontons sober up the hangover, they are delicious and filling, and they are very appetizing.Later, I went there many times and talked with the waiter about the family life, only then did I know that this restaurant enjoyed a great reputation in the late Qing Dynasty. Back then, Zhang Xiangtao (Zhidong) and Liang Xinghai (Dingfen) were high-ranking officials of the Qing school. Most of the literary and wine gatherings held in Hankou are to linger in poetry and wine at their century-old Zuibailou in Huiguan, and have a good talk.Then it's no wonder that this Huiguan, greeting guests, serving Lai hot wine, can be well-regulated, and everything is in order.

The northeastern provinces belong to the frigid zone, not to mention the extremely cold winter, and the time is extremely long. In winter, having a hot pot can solve both hunger and cold.The hot pot in the Northeast is mainly sauerkraut. The winter in the Northeast is early, and before the beginning of winter, there will be ice balls. Soak the frosted Chinese cabbage in boiling water, press it with a big stone for three to five days, and it will become sauerkraut.Although everyone knows how to make it, the techniques are different. The sauerkraut pickled by masters is crystal clear, slightly sour and fresh, and tastes pleasant.The soup pays attention to the use of wild duck, ice crab, locust, and scallops. The soup is delicious and thick, refreshing but not greasy.The main ingredients of the pot are sauerkraut, white meat, blood sausage, pheasant, vermicelli, yellow flower, and fungus. If you can add some white fish fillets and large clams, it will be more smooth and fragrant.Sauerkraut hot pot is fresh but not greasy, because sauerkraut is appetizing and helps digestion, so there is no feeling of bloating and fullness after eating sauerkraut hot pot.In the past few years, the Chinese cabbage that has not been frosted in Taiwan, the sauerkraut that has been soaked, is of course not fresh, and at the same time, the aftertaste is always a bit bitter.Recently, there are Kinmen and Lishan cabbages on the market, all of which have been frosted. The pickled cabbage is clear in color and sweet in taste.Although the large white fish from the Songhua River cannot be eaten here, the cod from the Bering Sea has been sold everywhere in recent years. Using cod instead of white fish is even more palatable.There are a lot of friends in Northeast Taiwan, you might as well try it, and you will know that what I said below is true.

In the area of ​​Pingjin, when it comes to Jiaoqiu, once you change into a velvet robe, it's time to eat a pot of chrysanthemums with chrysanthemums blooming, light yellow lining purple.The capsule flower pot in Beiping is best at Yulouchun, which was on the first floor of Langfang Toutiao.Although Yulouchun is a Henan restaurant, apart from the sweet and sour tiles being their front dish, when they go to the Chongyang Ninth Ninth Festival, friends who like to join in the fun always come to Yulouchun to recommend a new chrysanthemum pot.The chrysanthemum pot seems to be eaten a little differently from ordinary pots. Other pots are eaten while adding meat, so as to be full.The pot ingredients of the chrysanthemum pot are nothing more than sliced ​​chicken, sliced ​​meat, pheasant, gizzard liver, loin slices, fish slices, shrimps, fried vermicelli, and finally pour a plate of white chrysanthemum petals. vegetable.Yulouchun's chrysanthemum pot is different from other chrysanthemums. No one knows the surname of their shopkeeper. They speak elegantly. They may have been a scholar back then. They could write and draw. A famous chrysanthemum breeder.According to him, only white chrysanthemums can be eaten. Among the white chrysanthemums, there is a kind of chrysanthemum called Shanying chrysanthemum. It is best to make chrysanthemum pots. It is not only fragrant and fragrant, but also neither bitter nor astringent.Therefore, his family's chrysanthemum pot was able to stand alone at that time.This kind of dining chrysanthemum can only cultivate ten pots and eight pots a year, and he is not really a customer, so he is reluctant to use it to entertain guests.

Assorted hot pot, called hot pot, is actually a hodgepodge hot pot. In winter, there is a table of wine and wine. Finally, there is an assorted hot pot on the table. Among them, egg dumplings, fish balls, sea cucumbers, chicken nuggets, cabbage, vermicelli, and a lot of alcohol and food. Friends, finally come to a steaming mixed pot that is suitable for wine and rice. It is indeed very affordable. Regardless of the taste, you will always have a full meal in the end. Finally, it is said that the most popular shabu-shabu in winter in Pingjin is all mutton slices (beef can only be eaten roasted, not shabu-shabu). The thinner the better, the better. For a master, one winter's income must be enough to chew grains (living expenses) for a year, and an appointment must be made in the first year, otherwise the real veteran will have been invited.All you can get temporarily are two knives to cut thick slices of mutton. After winter, there will be a lot of losses on the cabinet.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth year of the Republic of China, a plate of meat was said to be four taels, but in fact, it was considered good if there were more than three taels.A master sliced ​​the cold meat very thin and rolled it. It looked like a full plate, but in fact the quantity was not much. Twelve taels of meat could be sold for a catty.After one winter, restaurants like Donglaishun and Xilaishun, which mainly sell hot fried shabu-shabu in winter, if they are top-notch masters, how much money can they save on the cabinet.It was not until the "July 7th Incident" that shabu-shabu and beef and sheep were cooked twice. As soon as someone advocated it, it was ready to cook immediately.

The hot pot in Peking is served at one end. It is a friendship between gentlemen and white water. Later, afraid of the layman's eyes, I make a small plate of dried shrimps, winter vegetables, and ginger flowers and pour it into the pot. It is regarded as soup. what effect.For general diners, those who eat shabu-shabu always drink two cups first.When it comes to eating shabu-shabu and drinking, it must be sorghum Erguotou, or else a bottle of Wujiapi, or at least four liang of rose water.Rarely one of the ten groups of guests wants Shaoxing wine. If they eat shabu-shabu and drink Shaoxing, it is likely that they are guests from other places.Since you have to order a few dishes first when drinking, old Beiping must have a marinated chicken jelly with mushrooms. Even if you don’t want it, the staff will remind you to order it, because jelly chicken is good with wine, and the chicken jelly that can’t be eaten is put into the pot Once poured, the clear water can turn into chicken soup, which is much more hygienic and crowning than negotiating with the waiter for the bottom of the pot.In those days when I ate grilled and boiled meat in mainland China, there were many kinds of meat slices, such as waist, upper brain, three-fork, cucumber strips, and fat slices, you can have whatever you want.

A friend came from Hong Kong last year, and I invited him to eat shabu-shabu. He told the guy to order a few plates of shangnao and cucumber.The poor sheep here are all young goats, and there are no big-tailed meat sheep at all. They eat shabu-shabu, and the meat served can hardly tell which piece of meat it is.If the guy can serve a few plates of fat and thin mutton, it is quite interesting, but how can we talk about the brains and cucumber sticks.It's winter again, and frost falls on the first day of the year. It's the season to eat fried shabu-shabu in mainland China, but restaurants in Pingjin, Taiwan are not very willing to sell shabu-shabu.It is said that the main reason is that the mutton is too bad, I am afraid it will delay the customers, and the other is that the shabu-shabu is very busy, but there is no money, so you can avoid it if you can. It is better to fry and fry, and it is more cost-effective to sell more fresh side dishes.