Chapter 8 It turns out that there really is Yangzhou fried rice

After successfully registering the trademark of "Yangzhou Fried Rice" under the pressure of colleagues all over China, Yangzhou culinary circles immediately launched a "unified technical standard" for Yangzhou Fried Rice, and even announced a "recommended market price" (25 yuan per serving) ), seriously, really the same. Although the name of this fried rice is called "Yangzhou Fried Rice", it does not mean that Yangzhou people have enough reasons to take it as their own through the "registered trademark".Otherwise, Chaozhou people can apply for the registration of Chaozhou people's "Chaozhou Da Leng" trademark, and Taiwanese people can monopolize Taiwanese "Taiwan sausages", and Beijingers have a reason not to allow you to roast "Beijing Roast Duck". As soon as it is baked, the Beijingers will immediately beat you as a fake.At the same time, wouldn’t the Fujian people be able to openly announce the “unified technical standard” and “recommended market price” of “Fujian Fried Rice” to the world tomorrow morning?Fortunately, after accepting the registration of Yangzhou Fried Rice, the administrative department for industry and commerce immediately clarified to the media: As a registered trademark, Yangzhou Fried Rice is not a generic term, and the names of food and beverage recipes are generally only registered trademark names, not commodity names. .Therefore, other catering businesses can also operate Yangzhou fried rice.Even if these things are put aside, if Yangzhou Fried Rice is to be registered as an exclusive trademark, at least it must have a definite origin like "Beijing Roast Duck" or "Hong Kong Leg".The following is the textual research results of relevant parties on the historical evolution of "Yangzhou Fried Rice":

"Yangzhou Fried Rice, also known as Yangzhou Egg Fried Rice, was originally spread among the people. According to legend, it originated from the broken golden rice that Yang Su, Duke Yue of the Sui Dynasty, loved to eat, that is, egg fried rice. When Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty visited Jiangdu (now Yangzhou), he also introduced egg fried rice. Yangzhou, after gradually innovating by master chefs, blending the characteristics of "rigorous material selection, fine production, exquisite processing, emphasis on color matching, and original taste" of Huaiyang dishes, finally developed into one of the famous staple foods of Huaiyang flavor .Yangzhou-style restaurants in Europe, America, Japan, Hong Kong and other places are also selling this delicacy, which is quite popular.”

Yu Sheng is also late, and ignorant and ignorant. Apart from Xie Xie's record of "Yue Kingdom's Broken Gold Rice" (Note: Fried Rice with Eggs) in "The Book of Food", the rest are "handed down" and " handed down from hand to hand".To put it bluntly, at least in non-serious books such as "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record", I have never smelled the legendary sweet fragrance of this bowl of egg fried rice. During the long years when Yangzhou fried rice was welcomed in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong and overseas, the words "Yangzhou fried rice" were not seen on the menus of restaurants of all sizes in Yangzhou.Therefore, Yangzhou people said today that "Yangzhou-style restaurants in Europe, America, Japan, Hong Kong and other places have also listed this delicacy, which is quite popular."This is only half true.At least before 1990, Hong Kong people who had been to Yangzhou would announce their great discovery to others after they came back: "It turns out that you can't eat 'Yangzhou fried rice' in Yangzhou."

In fact, not only can you not eat Yangzhou fried rice in Yangzhou, as the most common "single tail" at banquets, "Fujian fried rice" that is usually listed alongside "Yangzhou fried rice" in Hong Kong restaurants is also available anywhere in Fujian Province Can't eat.For Chinese restaurants opened by Hong Kong people, the so-called "Yangzhou fried rice" and "Fujian fried rice" refer to two different ways of fried rice. The former is dry and the latter is wet, similar to risotto or Shanghainese fried rice. The rice bowl, that's all, has nothing to do with Yangzhou's geographical inland and Fujian's coastal areas.At the same time, in addition to the "dry" and "wet" methods of fried rice, which are as strict as laundry, the ingredients of "Yangzhou fried rice" and "Fujian fried rice" in every restaurant are also different. There are no rules.

Even if "Yangzhou Fried Rice" really comes from Yangzhou, it would be an act of desperation for Yangzhou people to stand up and announce the "product standard" and "recommended price". The following is the "product standard" that the Yangzhou Culinary Association established "Yangzhou Fried Rice" as a scientific research project and then invited culinary experts to finally establish after several months of experimental analysis: main ingredients, 500 grams of white rice, four eggs; ingredients , including 20 grams of water-fat sea cucumber, 30 grams of cooked grass chicken thigh, 10 grams of cooked ham, 10 grams of water-fat scallops, 50 grams of starched lake shrimp, 20 grams of water-fat mushrooms, and 30 grams of cooked fresh bamboo shoots 10 grams of green beans; seasoning, 10 grams of minced shallots, 1 gram of lake shrimp roe, 6 grams of salt, 6 grams of Shaoxing wine, 100 grams of chicken broth and 60 grams of salad dressing.

No wonder "Oriental Daily" used such a lead when reporting this news: "It turns out that Yangzhou really has Yangzhou fried rice." As a foodie, especially a loyal fan of Weiyang cuisine, I certainly look forward to going to Yangzhou one day to try the "standardized" Yangzhou fried rice, but before that, I am worried that after being inspired by Yangzhou people, Will Hong Kong people be happy and register their "Hong Kong foot"? Of course, it is still legal for any non-Hong Kong permanent resident to obtain "Hong Kong foot" from now on. They just want to produce and sell all treatments for "Hong Kong foot" Drugs that are available in Hong Kong probably have to refer to the "standards" and "recommended prices" promulgated by Hong Kong people.

In addition to the historical research of Journey to the West, another reason for Yangzhou people to trademark "Yangzhou Fried Rice" is to "learn the standardization of Western fast food and formulate a unified product standard to promote the progress of the Chinese fast food industry." . Unifying standards and ending the so-called "mixed fish and dragons" situation that Yangzhou fried rice has been in for a long time may really help promote the development of the Chinese fast food industry. Tastier, tastier, and more varied is another matter. In fact, as the world's most successful example of standardization and industrialization, hamburger can only realize its "unity" in the dictionary.According to "The Concise Encyclopedia Britannica", the definition of hamburger is "a kind of cooked beef pie brought to the United States by German immigrants in the nineteenth century and later became a typical American food". According to Cambridge International Dictionaries and Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word hamburger Like beefburger and burger, it refers to ground beef or minced meat pressed into round slices and served alone or on two slices of bread.However, in a "hamburger survey" conducted by the Hong Kong Consumer Council together with 14 European countries in 1999, it was found that although the hamburgers sold by international fast food chain stores in Europe are basically beef-based, the Belgian non-chain restaurants Fast food restaurants found the most non-beef hamburger samples, including horsemeat, pork and chicken, and even no beef at all.Two of the three large local hamburger chains in Hong Kong add pork or soybeans to the hamburger patty, the latter accounting for about 1.5% of the patty.

Although hamburgers are "not standard" to the point where "you can choose your own meat", the Hong Kong Department of Health still stated at the time that hamburgers are not prepackaged food and do not need to be labeled. There are no uniform regulations on the composition of hamburger patties. To put it bluntly, Yangzhou fried rice is essentially fried rice with eggs, which is the "broken gold rice" recorded in "Shijing".Yangzhou fried rice is just adding other seasonings on the basis of egg fried rice, which makes the fried rice richer in content and taste.

According to Mr. Yang Guanyi, a famous chef in Hong Kong, in fact, there are no specific ingredients for Yangzhou fried rice in Hong Kong. Generally, char siew, green beans and green onions are used. More special, shrimps and sea cucumbers are also added.In other words, if Yangzhou Fried Rice is a platform whose original code is completely open and can be played by anyone at will, then the "standardization" efforts for Yangzhou Fried Rice seem to have to turn Linux into Windwos. Although fried rice with eggs cannot be classified as a simple meal, it is actually the most common home-cooked meal in all parts of China, and Yangzhou is no exception.This point may be the only non-ridiculous one among the thousand ridiculous reasons for Yangzhou people to register the "Yangzhou Fried Rice" trademark.

The earliest fried rice with eggs can be seen in the literature of the Han Dynasty.The "egg rice cake" mentioned in the Mawangdui bamboo slips, according to textual research, is the ancestor of fried rice with eggs. What is the taste of "egg rice", how to arrange the ratio of eggs and rice, or whether there is a suggested price? These things are not known today, but in terms of name, the later "broken gold rice" is better than " "Egg 熇" is much more money-worshipping.Later generations may think that "broken gold" is lost to "wet broken pieces", so they carried forward on the basis of money worship, and gave a vulgar name to the new generation of egg fried rice, called "gold wrapped with silver", even gold with silver We simply bowed together.

Since he dared to call such an alchemy-like name, the production must not be sloppy.A qualified plate of "gold-coated silver" not only needs to fry the rice until the grains are distinct, but also must ensure that every grain of rice is covered with egg yolk and the color is golden.The key to this is that the egg paste must be oiled, otherwise it will become more and more scattered, and the egg paste will not be able to cover the rice grains; Before the paste is solidified, put the rice on the rice, and use a strong fire to make the "gold" cover the "silver" and make the egg paste solidify on the rice grains. Egg fried rice may seem simple, but to achieve the "gold-covered silver" standard, it actually requires a lot of chef skills.It is said that in the past, a rich family tested a chef who came to apply for the job. They didn't look at his delicacies from mountains and seas, big fish and meat, but they judged a dish of fried rice with eggs.According to Mr. Tang Lusun: "In the early years when the family hired a chef, when they tried the cook's skills, they must first let him simmer a chicken soup. When the fire is high, the soup will be cloudy, plump and not tasty. Stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, the shredded pork should be tender and delicious, and the green peppers should be crisp but not overcrowded. This master chef Wu Huocai is considered a pass. Finally, there is a bowl of egg fried rice. The masterful chef must first look at the body of the cold rice How about the bones, and then stir-fry. After frying, it should be moist but not greasy, not oily, the eggs should be tender and tender, and the chopped green onions should be fried to remove the smell of raw green onions. It can really make the chef of the three-legged cat flustered, and it's called "practice" (called "practice" means assessment in Beiping dialect)." Everyone knows how to fry rice. For a rice nation whose cooking technique is based on "stir-frying", fried rice has become a part of nature, as if everyone can quarrel. "Know how to fry" does not mean "good at frying", and everyone has their own fried rice experience.However, those who often fry rice will probably have such a common experience: it is best to use leftover rice for fried rice, which is the so-called "cold rice hot pot".This is because: the first leftover rice is relatively dry, and it is easier to stir-fry the grains, and it will have more "bones"; as for the second one, it is a psychological factor: a pot of freshly cooked rice is full of fragrance. Fresh rice can be eaten right away, but if it is fried in a pan, it will feel a bit unnecessary.Furthermore, frying the leftover cold rice has a certain symbolic meaning of "stealing", and if so, it will spontaneously give rise to the pleasure of "better to steal". Cold rice should be fried, but it must be eaten while it is still hot.After the fried rice is frozen, it not only tastes like raw, but also extra greasy.Therefore, those who are good at fried rice and those who are good at eating fried rice will definitely choose to use bowls instead of plates. Although a plate of "gold and silver" is spread out on the whole plate, although it is visually beautiful, it is not easy to keep warm. It became sad. If you want to fry a bowl of exquisite fried rice, "cold rice and hot pot" are far from enough. It is best to use steamed rice to fry. Compared with boiled rice, steamed rice has a tougher texture. If steamed in a steamer made of bamboo or cypress, it will have a special fragrance of bamboo and wood, which is most suitable for fried rice.In addition, the rice soup decanted from the wooden steamer before starting to steam the rice is simmered over a low heat throughout the whole process, and it is reserved for serving fried rice, which is a perfect match. In fact, to stir-fry a bowl of rice, as long as it is good rice, adding an appropriate amount of egg yolk and chopped green onion oil and salt is enough.In the sense of pursuing "rice aroma", those extra ingredients in Yangzhou fried rice are just fancy, and if they are not done well, they will cover up the inherent aroma of the rice.As for the egg fried rice itself, the purpose of the egg is nothing more than to increase the creaminess of the rice, and it will not taste too lonely. It is too much to ask for "gold" to cover every grain of rice. The egg is always only a supporting role, and it must not be overwhelming. "Chicken wrapped in paper" can be transformed into "chicken wrapped in paper", but fried rice with eggs cannot be transformed into scrambled eggs with rice. A few days ago, I saw a program on TV introducing fried rice from various places. The owner of a small shop added more ingredients and seasonings to the fried rice based on the products produced by Chinese restaurants, and launched a popular and exclusive Secret fried rice, when served, in addition to the large stack of fried rice, there is also a bowl of white rice.This unimaginable way must be that fried rice has been regarded as a "dinner" dish.