Chapter 45 eat your head

The head, also known as the first level, has a very prominent position on the body, and once it is served, it becomes a bit more ambiguous. Compared with the body and limbs, in general, the head of most animals is not the main meat of human beings.It's not that he doesn't taste good, the problem is that there is usually no meat or sensuality on the head, and there is nothing to eat.In addition, the structure of the head is relatively complicated, and it will take a certain amount of time to cut and cook it.Although we didn't stop eating the head, after all, it is a kind of poor and lowly thing, which basically belongs to the category of "off water". At least, no one would "eat the head and eat it".

What prevents us from eating heads smoothly is also the weird behavior. This is because the face is a part of the head, and as the only entrance for food, the mouth happens to grow on the face, and it uses its own "stealing" to eat another "Head", especially a head whose basic structure is similar to ours, this kind of "face-to-face" feeling, can't be said that he is very happy.In addition, the biggest problem with eating the head is the "expression" left on the face of the eaten head, which is the expression of "his" before his death.The rapid heartbeat, muscle contraction, increased blood concentration, and rapid secretion of adrenaline during death all happen in the muscles and internal organs. You can’t eat it, but the expression written on the face, the eyes, the corners of the mouth, Facing our bleak life.

I once saw the male protagonist tell the female protagonist in a Korean drama that I forgot the title that in the industry of selling pig heads, those smiling pig faces can be sold at a higher price. Cantonese people also have similar black humor. In the food stalls selling dog meat, there will be a few roasted dogs hanging in the window, grinning their heads and laughing wildly. Therefore, Cantonese uses "cooked dog's head" to describe a person's presumptuous smile. . In October 1999, American Mattel Toy Company, which was celebrating the 40th birthday of "Barbie" and preparing for the "Barbie Art Exhibition", received a work from the British sculptor Quint: a Bloody decapitated Barbie.Quinn explained to the horrified organizers: "I'm throwing the rest of his body away... I'm not going to go inside Barbie... You guys have to have a sense of humor, it's just 'pediatric' work."

This old incident reminds us that heads can be cut off and eaten, but those who eat them need a sense of humor. Fish heads and pig heads, one on land and one on water, are the two most common and edible heads.There is more edible meat on the pig's head than the fish head, not because the pig's head is naturally larger than the fish's head, but because the pig's head is more like a human head than a fish's head, and it has a head and a face. In addition to the head and face, the mouth also contains richer connotations . Pork head meat (Shanghai people call it "caotou meat", which is a delicacy for the common people), and Thai-style charcoal roasting is also very effective (you can try the "charcoal-roasted pork neck" produced by "Sampan Thai Restaurant" on Huanshi Road. ), pig ears and pig noodles are also very chewy.The so-called pig noodle refers to the left and right cheeks of a pig. Cantonese call it "face pig lantern". For example, Mr. Cai Lan, a gourmet, loves it so much that the two "face pig lantern" on his face are becoming more and more rosy. .I have only eaten "Mian Zhu Deng" fried noodles at the food stalls in Zhongshan, and they are very delicious.Because the output of "Mianzhudeng" is not high, the price is high. In addition, "Mianzhudeng" fried noodles are called "pig noodles" in food stalls, and this word can be understood in a simplified Chinese environment, that is, In other words, a dish of noodles fried with pork butt meat can also be "pig noodles". Dichotomous spirit.

In northern China, there is a custom of "eat pig's head" on the second day of the lunar calendar. "February 2" is also known as "the head of the dragon". It is the day when everything on the earth begins to recover. Farmers offer the most delicious sacrifices to the Dragon King who is in charge of rain, in order to get good weather.Of course, this is just a theory. In fact, every household cooks pig's head on "February 2". To put it bluntly, it is also "people-oriented", and there is not so much "interaction between heaven and man".I am embarrassed to say that it is because the first and fifteenth day of the lunar new year are over, pigs are killed and meat is eaten. Once the first lunar month is over, and it is "February 2", the last festival of the Spring Festival, the pork in the twelfth lunar month is basically gone. It was all eaten up, and there was only one pig's head left in every household. Who could eat it if they didn't eat it on "February 2"?

Cantonese people also use pigs to pay homage to their ancestors during the Ching Ming Festival. On this day, not only must all members of the family be present, but even the roasted pigs used must be "whole roasted pigs". Respect for the ancestors is not enough to satisfy the filial sons and grandchildren. The key to the fact that the head is edible is that it does not actually eat the head. As far as "meat" is concerned, except for a few facial muscles, there is basically nothing delicious left in a head.However, although the meat on the head is not thick, let alone "big", it is rich in gelatin and not fatty. Therefore, although the meat is not meat, there are still many people who like it. exist.

In addition to pig heads, cattle heads and sheep heads are also eaten among domestic animals. However, because the hair on the head and face is extremely time-consuming and expensive to clean, the selling price naturally keeps up. There is a very famous Sichuan official dish in Beijing called "Three Yuan Niu Tau".Of course, the "bull's head" here is not cut off whole like the bull's head in the "Yuanmingyuan National Treasure Series" auctioned by Sotheby's in 2000 and then sold to you. Only the muscles of the forehead and cheeks are used. It takes a total of seventy-two hours to cook.In my opinion, during these three days and three nights, half of the time the chefs were busy plucking hair.

There is a way of eating boiled sheep's head among the folks in the Northeast. First, the hair is shaved, and after the skull is opened, it is boiled in water, and the bones are removed. Chicken soup, add mushrooms and bamboo shoots, etc.Before serving, sprinkle with peppercorns, shallots, garlic cloves, and a little water, vinegar and sesame oil. It is said to taste very delicious, crisp and crisp like beef tongue. It's a pity that I have never eaten a cow's head or a sheep's head, but this will never damage my image as a stubborn carnivore-I am not simple, because I eat with the head of the king of beasts, everyone Audience, that is "lion head" - this is of course a joke, "lion head" sounds bluffing, but in fact this kind of meat is seven points thin and three points fat without leaving any entangled tendons, and the more it is cut, the more it is cut. The loose meatballs kneaded from fine and tender pork, the nephrite jade is extremely warm and fragrant, it is really "baiting", and it is most suitable for the teeth of children and the elderly.Liang Shiqiu said: "Lion's head is called Sixi meatballs in northern restaurants, because there are four in a plate. The method in the north is not as good as Yangzhou's lion's head."

Besides the meat, the most edible part of the head is the brain.Compared with watermelon, it can be said that the head is the rind and the brain is the flesh. Among the brains, the most edible one is the pig brain, which is the most "brainless" stupid thing in the eyes of human beings.Although the white pig's brain is very viscous and is the closest to the brain's body, Chinese people mainly start from the concept of "form tonic" when eating pig brain, that is, "to supplement the brain with the brain", although we often call a stupid person a "Pig brain".Of course, "pig brain" is always better than "no brain", so "gastrodia elata stewed pig brain" has always been a popular dietary supplement in Guangzhou.

Compared with pigs, fish heads are smaller, but fish heads are also considered to nourish the brain. Even if they can't replenish the brain, at least they can cure a headache. Anyway, fish head hot pot restaurants everywhere say so . In fact, the deliciousness of fish head does not lie in the meat, let alone in the brain, it is entirely in the word "slippery", rich in gelatin, but also has a certain skinny feeling.As for the purpose of skinny existence, it is also to contrast the word "slippery".The fat content of the fish head is generally very high, accounting for about one-third of the whole body. It is smooth enough in itself, and the smoothness in the mouth is even more enjoyable when repeated sucking on the cartilage with gelatin.However, in order to add a "soft" pleasure to the "slippery" and finally form a wonderful state of "soft and smooth", fish head hot pot restaurants in Guangzhou also sell pig brains together with shabu-shabu while serving fish heads.The pig's brain itself is also a bit fishy, ​​and it tastes very harmonious with the fish head.

What a shame, fish heads and pig brains are things that are never in contact with each other, and finally held a "summit level" meeting, but both of them have fallen into the dire straits. Carrying on the strength of 1991, Anthony Hopkins staged a bloody scene of eating human brains in "Silent Murder".Facing a living person tied up in front of the dining table, Hannibal, the perverted cannibal doctor played by Hopkins, took a scalpel and cut along the hairline on the opponent's scalp, and then easily sliced ​​the skull away. Cut open, a part of the human brain was eaten raw first, and the rest was fried. The most shocking thing was that the man whose head had been cut open was still able to talk to Hannibal in a coma.I wonder if Hollywood's inspiration this time was stolen from the legend of Cantonese people eating monkey brains. There is a saying: the head is thrown with blood spots.However, in addition to flesh and blood heads, there are all kinds of virtual heads without blood for our entertainment. The edible "fake heads" mentioned here certainly do not include canned food. In fact, most of us are just a gimmick, such as taro. The custom of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Guangdong is to commemorate the history of killing Tartars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.It is said that after the Han people killed the Tartars on the Mid-Autumn Festival, they cut off their heads to sacrifice to the moon, and later replaced them with taro.To this day, Cantonese still call it "peeling ghost skin" when peeling taro skin. Steamed buns are also simulated heads.According to "Three Kingdoms": "Zhuge Liang returned to Lushui Pingman, and the stormy waves raised his troops and could not cross, so he returned to Liang. Liang asked, Meng Huo said: "The rampant gods in Lushui are a disaster, and the people of the country use seven or forty-nine human heads and black Cattle and white sheep are sacrificed, and the natural waves are calm and the territory is fertile.' Liang said: 'My current class teacher, how can I be killed? I have seen it myself.' So he ordered the chef to slaughter the cattle and sheep and make noodles into medicine, and mold it into a dummy head. Eyes and eyebrows are all there, and beef and mutton are used instead, and the Lushui is laid out as a 'mantou', and Kongming on the shore sacrifices it. After the sacrifice, the clouds will gather and the mist will roll, the waves will subside, and the army will cross Yan." Known as "the first bowl of snacks in Xijing", the gourd head steamed bun is also a kind of "Chinese famous head". The gourd head is also the pig's large intestine. Shaanxi writer Jia Pingwa is very fond of this bun, and he does not forget to mention its deliciousness repeatedly in his works.It's just that according to his close friend, whenever Jia's host invites to eat this thing, he often takes the initiative to explain to the guests: "The gourd head is a pig hemorrhoid."Those who don't understand pig hemorrhoids think it's bad food, so they lose their appetite, and the owner saves "a few yuan, a few dimes, and a few cents." As for the "chicken head meat" highly appreciated by Tang Minghuang and An Lushan, I have been confused for nearly 20 years.I used to eat chicken heads when I was young, the kind sold in deli, stewed.Only the marinated chicken brain tastes good, a bit like liver, no wonder there is a saying that the liver and brain are muddy.Other than that, there is nothing good that can help me to deepen my understanding of the beauty of the "chicken head" mentioned in the book.It was not until many years later that I learned that the "chicken head meat" abundant in the south of the Yangtze River is the fruit of a water lily plant with the scientific name "Gorgon". tonic.According to "Tea Smoke Break": "The girl who sells Gorgon gorgon "goes to the market at dawn every time she goes to the market at dawn, her starry eyes are hazy, her temples are messy, and there are those who pretend to be cute and naive to confuse others. If you say, my flesh is white and tender, it is suitable I'm worth it."