Chapter 36 Chicken feet, your shrimp dumpling

In China, the custom of going to teahouses to drink tea is not unique to Guangdong. What is special is that the so-called "dim sum" in Cantonese teahouses is far from the original meaning of "dim sum". According to the explanation of "Ci Hai", "snacks" are "something to eat when you are hungry or snacks such as cakes".The second volume of "Chicken Ribs" by Zhuang Jiyu, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, said: "When I felt a little discouraged, Sun saw it, and immediately came out of my arms to steam cakes and said: 'You can have snacks. Wen Qing is healthy, I would like to invite you for a snack, how about it?"

All in all, "Dim Sum" is originally something to eat and play with. As far as tea and food are concerned, there are usually only peanuts, melon seeds or dried fruits in teahouses in places such as Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Chengdu. Only teahouses in Guangdong Therefore, this leisurely eating method is regarded as a "serious" food, not only "snacks" but also enough to satisfy one's hunger.American English transliterates "Dim Sum" as dimsun, based on the Cantonese pronunciation. In the early Guangzhou teahouses, there were only 20 or 30 kinds of dim sum, but for outsiders, it is already spectacular.Up to now, the variety of dim sum has increased to more than 1,000, and even shark fin (shark fin dumplings) and bird's nest (bird's nest egg tart) are impressively featured on the dim sum list.Drinking tea can not only serve as a meal, but even serving wine in a tea house is not necessarily a big faux pas.In a sense, as long as you don't stick to the concept of "refreshment", it is not difficult technically to make these "dim sum" of all kinds of meat and vegetables. , actually can be sent into the belly with tea.

Even so, there are generally no more than 20 kinds of dim sum that tea drinkers often eat in teahouses today, such as shrimp dumplings, siu mai, chicken feet, fried (steamed) radish cakes, water chestnut cakes, powdered fruits, barbecued pork buns, lotus root cakes, etc. Paste buns, glutinous rice chicken, taro corners, salted water corners, char siew crisps, rice rolls, rice noodles, rice noodles, porridge, noodles, etc.Among these "basic snacks", shrimp dumplings and chicken feet are the well-deserved "main dishes".These two kinds of dim sum not only have the highest appearance rate, but also are representative dim sums that tea drinkers use to consider the quality of a teahouse’s products.I guess, the "two pieces" in the so-called "two pieces in one cup" that old Guangzhou people used to say is most likely referring to shrimp dumplings and chicken feet.In addition, these two words can also be regarded as common codes in the popular culture of Guangdong.In a Hong Kong-produced film produced by Wang Jing in the mid-1980s, in order to overcome the problem of swearing, the male protagonist had such dialogues: "I will make you a glutinous rice chicken with barbecued pork!" and "My chicken feet You shrimp dumpling!" Just cursing and cursing like this, after a few rounds, the overjoyed audience wondered if they would feel very hungry.

If the dumplings stuffed with chives and pork are the masters of the daily diet of northerners, then the shrimp dumplings stuffed with fresh shrimp are the heroes and leaders of Cantonese dim sum. According to Guangzhou's cultural and historical data, shrimp dumplings seem to be the only Cantonese-style tea with a "provenance", and it is by no means a "fudge".In the 1920s, Wufeng Township near Shuzhugang, Henan, on the outskirts of Guangzhou, was a prosperous city with abundant aquatic products. Fishing boats often sold fish and shrimp on the river.So, the owner of a family-run tea house in the countryside used local ingredients, stuffed with fresh shrimps, and made skins with high-quality sticky rice flour, and developed extremely delicious shrimp dumplings, which are in short supply every day.After continuous improvement, the city is finally surrounded by the countryside, and it has become one of the most representative beauties of Guangzhou teahouses.

Fresh shrimp is the filling of shrimp dumplings, and it is undoubtedly the main selling point of shrimp dumplings.As far as all kinds of "wrapped" foods are concerned, the dominance of fillings is self-evident. Whether it is dumplings in the north or hamburgers in the United States, the differences in taste and price are all due to "external factors acting through internal factors". .As the saying goes, "content is king".For some favorite "non-wrapped" food, we usually have the urge to chop it into stuffing and wrap it up, as long as it is chopped enough.Just a cook living in the outback who will never be inspired to stuff with fresh shrimp.In addition, he couldn't even imagine that the shrimp used for stuffing must be the original shrimp to maintain a high degree of elasticity in the taste, and it must not be smashed and chopped like meat and vegetables. (In the early days, the fillings of shrimp dumplings were also minced shrimp, but it was a later innovation to use whole shrimp.)

The beauty of shrimp dumplings is not only in the integrity of the shrimp, but also in the crust.Different from the northern dumplings that use flour as the skin, the shell of shrimp dumplings is made from Cheng (Cantonese Deng) powder.The so-called "Chengfen" (also known as Chengmian) is the product of flour after washing away gluten (colloidal substances). It is white in color and smooth in texture. After steaming, it feels more crystal clear.If the shell of the shrimp dumpling is thin enough, the pink-red baby shrimp inside will be even more rosy, looming and mouth-watering. The appearance of the shrimp dumplings kneaded into a comb shape is also very lovable. There was a famous chef of Panxi Restaurant who had the courage to innovate and made a variety of "pictographic white rabbit shrimp dumplings", and the white rabbit was decorated with ham. Then use coriander and yolk shreds as the "lace" of the weekly weave.A reporter from the "New York Times" was shocked, saying that it was "not only food, but also art".However, it seems to be like, and art is also art, but the deliberate pictogram has lost its natural heart so far.Some gourmets believe that "the white rabbit dumplings and the curved comb-shaped shrimp dumplings are completely different in terms of filling and shape, and they can only be regarded as clones of a genetic mutation."

Although shrimp dumpling is a basic dim sum that every Cantonese teahouse must have, making it delicious is a very challenging skill.The so-called "knowledge" must first ensure that the ingredients are high-quality, that is, the main ingredient is fresh shrimp and the ingredients are just right.Authentic shrimp fillings should mainly include raw and cooked shrimp meat, pork fat and shredded bamboo shoots, etc. In addition, the noodles used to make the crust should be prepared by adding lard, salt and water, and must be thin enough Enough.Shrimp dumplings steamed in this way will have a fair amount of fresh and sweet juice when eaten, and the perfect combination between the softness of the Chengfen and the springiness of the shrimp can be fully expressed.In order to please those diners who can’t see the forest for the trees, today’s shrimp dumpling producers often emphasize the size and integrity of the shrimp, while ignoring the completeness and quality of the rest of the ingredients.The most depressing thing is that under the pressure of the trend of healthy eating, the essential lard ingredients in the crust and fillings have been greatly reduced or even completely disappeared. As a result, the taste of shrimp dumplings has become boring. , Only the "bouncy teeth" of the shrimp are left.

In fact, it is not difficult to have bamboo shoots and shrimps. Shrimp dumplings with a whole fresh shrimp hidden inside are sold in many teahouses in Guangzhou.To put it bluntly, the bamboo shoots, shrimp and the crystal-clear thin skin must be infiltrated in the "juice" to stimulate the delicacy that shrimp dumplings should have. Fat pork or lard is the key.In fact, the general greasyness of Cantonese tea is not "greasy for the sake of greasy", but just to make the drinking of tea acquire the meaning of "releasing greasy".This kind of thing is a bit absurd and ridiculous, but life is not like this.

In addition, in order to ensure the beautiful appearance, kneading is also a process that cannot be sloppy in the process of making shrimp dumplings.A carefully shaped shrimp has clear and slender folds, so that it can look like a "curved comb". Mr. Wei Ling, a Hong Kong gourmet, pointed out: "The standard of dim sum, Lao Xingzun only needs to look at three things to know the outline: 1. Shrimp dumplings; 2. Char siew buns; The skin is thin and tough, crescent-shaped, with at least 10 folds. The stuffing should have bamboo shoots, shrimp, and juice, and the shrimp should be smooth and springy with real flavor.”

Today, when most teahouses buy directly from food processing factories, it is really a luxury to enjoy such shrimp dumplings.For shrimp dumplings made with care, there is only "Huacheng Seafood Restaurant" in Guangzhou. "Huacheng Shrimp Dumpling Emperor" (30 yuan/half dozen, 18 yuan/cage, three pieces) is a bit expensive in terms of the price in Guangzhou, but the quality is high.Of course, bird's nest and shark's fin are the main products of "Flower City", dim sum seems to be just a sideline, but it can be imagined that they probably make shrimp dumplings with the attitude of making bird's nest and abalone.

Phoenix feet is a kind of beautifying rhetoric for chicken feet (of course, if you are a sports fan, you can also call it "women's football"), but it is said that "phoenix" in the legend The sacred and noble bird is really nothing but a pheasant. No matter what the status is, chicken feet are still a lowly thing.Even in Cantonese tea, the taste cannot be compared with shrimp dumpling.However, the reason why chicken feet are indispensable in refreshments is first of all because of its unique taste.Except for the bones, which is the gelatin in the skin, there is really no meat to eat in the chicken feet, let alone delicious.Therefore, dim sum chefs are very willing to use heavy hands when cooking chicken feet.Chicken feet in teahouses are usually deep-fried first, then marinated with tempeh, oyster sauce, Zhuhou sauce, red pepper, star anise, onion, garlic, ginger and other spices, and finally steamed.Therefore, the chicken feet that appear in the teahouse all look heavily made up, and it is completely impossible to recall their appearance in life. In fact, since chicken feet are easy to "taste", there is no fixed rule on the taste.As long as it is steamed soft enough (called "drenching" in Cantonese) and chewy enough, you can receive the goods. From this point of view, apart from the good name of the association, there is actually nothing delicious about the chicken feet.But tea drinkers like this one.As a gag in this dim sum drama, the chicken feet are meatless and not delicious, but they are quite chewy.You open your teeth, it dances its claws, and between hesitating and uttering, the bones fall to the ground silently, and there is a lot of fun between the lips and teeth.Speaking of fun, Gu Long mentioned a weapon called "Chicken Claw Sickle" in the book, which appeared in the fighting scene between Lian Xing Palace Master and the Cockscomb Man: "The Cockscomb Man's eyes were full of fierce light, and he suddenly shot With a gesture, the remaining three pairs of chicken claw sickles immediately rolled towards Palace Master Lian Xing like a gust of wind... Palace Master Lian Xing shook his long sleeves, and the five chicken claw sickles fell to the ground with a 'crash'. He still held a handle in his hand, looked at it, and said with a smile: "It turned out to be double chicken feet. I don't know how it tastes?" He slightly opened his mouth and took a bite on the sickle of the chicken feet, but heard a "click". , this well-known outer sect weapon made of fine steel and feared in the world was bitten off by her. Palace Mistress Lian Xing shook her head and said, "Oh, these chicken feet are not tasty!" With a 'spit', gently He spat out half of the iron claws in his mouth, a silver light flashed, and the wind rang slightly. The remaining man in Chinese clothes suddenly let out a miserable cry, covered his face with his hands, and rolled all over the ground. Blood continued to flow from between his fingers, and rolled over. Roll a few times and never move again." Phoenix claw is actually a verb. In the sense of rhetoric, "Shrimp dumplings, you have chicken feet", seems to be changed to "Phoenix feet, you are shrimp dumplings". Chicken feet are not only an indispensable traditional refreshment in Cantonese-style teahouses, but also have a foothold in the cooking of home-cooked Cantonese cuisine. Its gelatin increases the mellowness of the soup.However, what I have never understood is why the same thing is collectively referred to as "phoenix feet" in tea houses, but it is always reduced to "chicken feet" when cooking soup (for example, the common "chicken feet with peanut eyebrows and beans" is never Read it as "Peanut Eyebrow Peas Potted Chicken Feet").Are chicken feet only worthy of the name "phoenix feet" when served as a refreshment? Although people from other provinces eat chicken, there is not much left from the inside to the outside, but they have some opinions on the "phoenix feet" that Guangzhou people love to eat.First of all, this food is not only meat-free, but also a bit troublesome to eat, which is especially disdainful for northerners who advocate "big atmosphere".There is also a cultural taboo.When I was very young, I heard adults say that if you eat chicken feet, you will not be able to write well.Later I read that Jacklyn Wu said in an interview that she was afraid to eat chicken feet since she was a child, because her mother said chicken feet would tear the book cover and "it is easy to forget what I learned from books".After arriving in Hong Kong, every time I go to a teahouse, I salivate when I see the delicious chicken feet in black bean sauce and white cloud chicken feet, but I have never tasted the taste of chicken feet. As for the astonishment of the friends of foreigners, it is even more out of the question.Pearl TV once aired a game show Don't do this at home produced by the British, Hong Kong translation "Dare to Play Club", the content is all thrilling and adventure games designed with painstaking efforts, such as people who are afraid of spiders in a closed room. Cope with a swarm of spiders in a small space, jump through the air for those who are afraid of heights, and more.Among them is a routine link, where the audience comes on stage to taste various "extremely frightening" foods, and chicken feet and silkworm chrysalis have appeared in these foods.I remember the time when Phoenix Claw came on stage, after the cover on the plate was lifted, the six British men and women on the stage couldn’t understand what was on the plate at first. I couldn't help but feel like vomiting, and a woman screamed uncontrollably.Later, a brave middle-aged man finally plucked up the courage, squeezed it up and asked for a bite, and then took another bite... Needless to say, the big prize belongs to the brave man.As for the other woman who also took a bite, she was kicked out of the air by the host: the bite was a bite, but she secretly vomited again.