Chapter 44 we love pigeons

----- Excerpted from "China Reading Network" Except in restaurants and John Woo movies, pigeons are becoming less and less common. Mr. Wang Shixiang criticized that there are often scenes of pigeons on Chinese TV, but most of them are wrong, and they are all pigeons for meat.China is a country with a rich collection of pigeon culture, and there are countless rare and magnificent ornamental pigeons and carrier pigeons. On the contrary, foreign pigeons dominate the scene on TV. I don't understand pigeon culture, but what is certain is that the pigeons on the screen of "We Love Peace" are probably not meat pigeons, because at that time we did not have the culture of eating pigeons.The correct pigeons did not fall from the sky. The group of incorrect pigeons released by "Oriental Time and Space" were created by the modern and dense living environment, and their shape is similar to that of pigeon cages.In Beijing, where the "pigeon culture is a great collection", according to Mr. Tang Lusun's recollection, the pigeon cages have "ten floors, eight floors, three rows and five rows", and they all "sit north and face south", while Mr. Wang Shixiang said in another article However, in such "residential buildings", there will be no crickets, but there are quite a few cockroaches.

The activity of dishing pigeons is still popular, but compared with eating pigeons, it is really a super cold niche entertainment.In the 1970s and 1980s, pigeon racing was also very popular in Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, in addition to gambling in disguise, the dead arrows in the concrete forest were even more hated by neighbors. therefore.If pigeons still have culture, then all hope of cultural revival may rest on eating pigeons. Most of the so-called unpopular meat pigeons are American white king pigeons, which are one of the most common meat pigeon species.Even the best local edible pigeon species in China, the Zhongshan Shiqi Pigeon, is a cross between the white-feathered king pigeon brought back from the United States by overseas Chinese in 1915, the Home pigeon and the local pigeon.This kind of hybrid pigeon has white feathers wrapped in white feathers, a long beak and a plump body. After death, the meat is tender and the soup is delicious.Breeding meat pigeons has developed into a great cause in the past 15 years. The "Regulations on the Administration of Livestock and Poultry" promulgated by the State Council in April 1994 also listed meat pigeons as the top of the six breeds of poultry.Since only white-feathered parent pigeons can produce white carcass pigeons, and the pigeons produced by other feather-colored pigeons usually have dark brown skin, which is difficult for the market to accept. Therefore, the American king pigeon with pure white feathers is not only suitable Dressed up to be photogenic, she also looks great when naked.

With the joint efforts of the breeding industry and the catering industry, the way of eating pigeons is about to catch up with the breed of pigeons.All the pigeons for food are young pigeons, that is, young pigeons aged seven to twenty-five days, named after receiving semi-digested secretions from the crops of parent pigeons.From birth to "on the plate", all the pigeons were trapped in the cage for fear that their bones would harden. The famous Macau "cartilage pigeons" use pigeons on the 13th. The pigeons at this time are the most tender and crispy. .As for the "young young pigeon" invented by the people of Guangzhou, the birth period is further shortened to 10 days, and the weight is only about 210 grams. "More delicate.

Roasted pigeon is the most common way to eat.It is said to be roasted or braised, but it is actually deep-fried. The pigeon is small in size. The "roasted" squab is crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside.In fact, most of the cooking methods of squab are borrowed from chicken and duck, such as stewed squab, soy sauce royal squab, camphor tea pigeon, salt-boiled pigeon, salt-and-pepper pigeon, wine lees pigeon, and so on.Some people even imitate the practice of "Feng Tunyan", stuffing the pigeon's chest with bird's nest, and then putting it in the soup to simmer.

Pigeons are tenderer than chickens, but the taste is different depending on the taste.I think the popularity of squab is due to the fact that some people believe that pigeon meat is flatter and less dry than chicken, and can benefit qi and blood, strengthen the lungs and kidneys. In terms of style, what he imitates is the chicken-eating chicken in the world, the hawkish kind; after wearing transparent gloves, he looks like the chief surgeon in the operating room-of course it is pediatrics. The two "pigeon cultures" whose connotation is fear of emotion and nourishment and which are marked by "peace and holiness" do not belong to the cultural tradition of the Han nationality.

The former one was created by the Eight Banners.Before entering the customs, the pigeons were born with a GPS system and have excellent battery life. It is said that they were the military communication tools of the Qing army. Therefore, the Eight Banners later played together in groups, which meant military exercises or inheriting the glorious tradition. , parents are not prohibited.The latter comes from the Bible.Although the dove has always been a symbol of divinity, since 1949, under the joint transformation of Picasso and Neruda, the dove has finally been completely secularized. The creators of "We Love Peace" and "Wild and Snowy Fields" had something to do with it.

In the orthodox Han culture, the bird that performs communication tasks is not a pigeon but a swan goose, and it is still the identification mark of China Post, but you must say that it is actually a delicious goose, and you can’t go wrong. Spanish-speaking people (including singer Iglesias) seem to have a special affection for pigeons. Picasso not only loved to paint it, but also named his beloved daughter after it. At the same time, he also loved to eat it .The famous Spanish dish "pigeon with peas" is often found on Picasso's menu.The French also regard pigeons as a symbol of love. "Squab stewed with peas" is a classic food on the Valentine's Day menu. Pigeon meat does have an aphrodisiac effect.

In fact, "Jijiu" is the oldest Chinese love mascot. Whether this "bird of prey is different" is a fierce osprey or a loving and gentle "dove" of some kind of dove. The most knowledgeable Song Confucianists can't figure it out. clear.Zhu Xi said: "And like Jujiu, I don't know what it is." But we still eat pigeons. At the very least, the turtledoves of the pigeon family, the pigeon family, must have been eaten often in ancient times.The "hundred birds facing the phoenix" used by Empress Dowager Cixi is a mysterious Chinese box in which white (capon) chickens are set with black-bone chickens, black-bone chickens with squabs, squabs with quails, and quails with sparrows.

"Red marinated pigeon breast" and "golden silk pigeon strips" have also been seen in Manchu banquets. Of course, Manchu nobles love ducks more.I guess, because the meat of adult pigeons is really not easy to bite, and the artificial breeding technology of young pigeons has not been mastered and promoted, so although pigeon meat is a rare thing, it has not become the mainstream.I only remember that "pigeon is simmered with ham, it is very good. It can be used without ham", and the next "pigeon eggs", the total does not exceed forty, compared with the chicken and duck, it is simply two classified advertisements.

Suckling pigeons are rare, and it is not easy to seek the upper reaches of the pigeon's life. The pigeon eggs that were mistaken for "handsome chicken" by Grandma Liu thirty-five times are also snacks for wealthy families. Roasted pigeon is the most popular dish now, but it appeared in western restaurants run by Guangzhou people as "Western food" at the beginning of the last century. Roasted Young Pigeon has been the signature of "Taipingguan Western Restaurant" in Guangzhou for nearly a hundred years.Because Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao held a wedding tea party here in 1925, and they went to the "Taiping Pavilion" to eat roasted pigeons during their two visits to Guangzhou in 1959 and 1963, so the "Prime Minister's Set Meal" in Taiping Pavilion today is based on roasted pigeons. Pigeon is the main course.However, the Roasted Suckling Pigeon, which is known as "Western food" and called "barbecue" in southern China, is actually different from the European one.The "truffle pigeon" recommended by the French Michelin Guide and the "roasted pigeon with cress" served as the fourth main course of the first-class final dinner on the "Titanic" are all roasted pigeons slowly instead of oil fry.The Portuguese are also good at roasting pigeons. Therefore, from Macau to Shiqi Zhongshan (the breeding base of the first generation of meat pigeons in China) to Guangzhou may be a basic route for the spread and transformation of Western-style pigeons.

As for the white pigeons flying over the heads of Runfa Zhou, Nicolas Cage, John Travada and Tom Cruise in slow motion, I believe they are also the "American meat pigeons" criticized by Mr. Wang Shixiang, but they are It was released by a Chinese.John Woo recently explained that he has a soft spot for white pigeons because he was a hippie in the 1970s. What is a hippie dove, ask Bob Dylan: "How many sheets of water must a dove cross before it sleeps peacefully in the sand? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind. "