Speaking of Wuxi, the first thing people outside think is "sweet".
Crazy sweet?
Not really.
This kind of sweetness, you have to sit by the canal and listen to the soft Wu language to taste something else.
Not that straight-up sweet.
It's the saltiness that comes out of it, seeping into the bones bit by bit, that kind of stubborn sweetness.
Like this city, underneath the lukewarm water there is violence hidden.
Wuxi Sauce Pork Ribs, are the bones really more flavorful than the meat?
right.
They are all called "meat and bones".
More than a hundred years ago, at the Mo Xingsheng Tavern on the other side of Sanli Bridge, the master chef saw the leftover ribs after making sauce meat and thought it would be a pity to throw them away.
I tried adding seasoning separately and simmered it thoroughly over low heat.
Who knows.
The bits of fine meat between the bones, soaking up the sauce, are even more tempting than pure meat.
The color is red, the meat is crispy, and the bone flavor is rich.
You have to eat it with your hands, and when you're done chewing it, you have to suck it with your fingers, and that's when it's done.
Liangxi crispy eel, can eel also be made into a "snack"?
able. And it was a "snack" more than a hundred years ago.
During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, in Huishan Zhi Street, there was a man named Zhu who made a living selling oil products. He removed the bones from the eel and fried it to an extremely transparent level.
The appearance is sauce brown and shiny.
Pick up a chopstick and put it in your mouth,
"Click".
Sweet and salty, crunchy and delicious.
When putting it on the plate, it should be set up like a pagoda, elevated, and a handful of young ginger shreds should be placed on the top.
It is said to be a dish, but in fact it is more like a pastime.
After the cruise ship passed the Liangxi River, it wandered into Taihu Lake. At this time, the water outside the window was rippling, and a plate like this was placed on the table. This was the particularity of the literati in the old days.
Pork stuffed with gluten, how many of Wuxi people’s “homely meals” are there?
Let's put it this way, during the New Year and holidays, it is indispensable on the table.
When guests come, they are indispensable.
Even when I usually go home from get off work, I am too lazy to start a fight.
Buy some water and oil gluten and dig a small hole with your fingers.
Stuff the mixed meat filling into it until it is eighty full.
Throw it into the pot, add soy sauce and sugar, and cook over medium-low heat for about twenty minutes.
Serve it up, take a bite, and the meat juices will overflow.
The gluten has absorbed the soup, making it soft and a little tough.
The most amazing thing is the soup and bibimbap, which can last for two bowls.
Mirror box tofu, why is it called "mirror box"?
Because they look alike.
In the 1940s, chef Liu Junying of Yingbinlou Restaurant improved the fried tofu stuffed with meat.
Cut the tofu into cubes and fry until it forms a crust.
Hollow out the middle and fill it with meat filling.
On top, a large shrimp with tail shell is embedded horizontally.
The fired products are placed on a plate and piled up, taking on the shape of small golden containers. The shrimps are tilted upward, and this tilted state is the "copper handle part" similar to the container.
At that time, this dish almost had its name changed due to the "breaking of the four olds". It was originally called "Gold-Inlaid White Jade Box".
It sounds rich, but actually it tastes fresh and tender.
Crispy whitebait, isn't the whitebait used to catch eggs?
Taihu Lake has three whites, whitebait is white.
But Wuxi people insist on frying it yellow.
Whitebait is completely translucent and will die when it comes out of the water. The most important thing is the word "fresh".
Put a thin layer of paste on it and put it in the pan.
Crispy on the outside but still tender on the inside, it almost melts in your mouth.
Dip it in some pepper salt or vinegar,
The umami flavor was stimulated by the hot oil and was completely locked inside.
People ate this during the Tang and Song Dynasties. It was not so complicated at that time, and it might just be simply grilled.
Fermented bean curd and meat, is it fermented bean curd or meat?
It's meat.
In the 32nd year of Guangxu's reign, Master Wang Rongchu of Jufengyuan Restaurant created it.
At that time, red fermented bean curd was used to roast meat to get its color and aroma.
Later, red yeast rice was used, which made the color brighter.
Fat but not greasy, crispy and tasty, sweet and salty.
The best thing is, later it was cooked with braised duck.
The fat of the meat penetrates into the duck meat, and the delicious flavor of the duck meat is fed back to the meat.
Interpenetrate and achieve each other.
When serving the meat, it is sometimes served with lotus leaf tongs to hold the meat.
Pasta mixed with juicy and juicy meat,
It has a unique flavor.
Taihu boat dishes, what kind of magical way is that?
The boat is in the middle of the water, and people are swimming in the painting.
The cook is at the stern of the boat, cooking the dishes using the ancient methods of stewing, steaming, simmering and boiling.
The ingredients are freshly caught from Taihu Lake.
White fish, white shrimp, whitebait, crab, and turtle.
Pay attention to "true taste" and original taste.
The dishes were served one after another, the boat rocked,
The water outside the window touches the sky,
What you eat at this time is not just food, but elegance.
Mr. Zheng Yimei once wrote that it was fashionable to eat boat dishes, and the boats were parked at Duanping Bridge, waiting for people to hire them.
Unfortunately now,
Scenes like this are rare.
Buttered crucian carp, is there really cream?
No.
Lied to you.
It is to fry the fresh crucian carp thoroughly on both sides, add chicken soup and cold water, and cook it over high heat.
The color of the soup becomes milky white.
It's as rich as cream.
Take a sip, it's thick but not greasy.
The meat is tender and delicious.
It is also a specialty among boat dishes.
So, what does Wuxi food taste like?
Some people say it's sweet.
wrong.
It's the balance between salty and sweet.
It's the fragrance coming out of the bones.
It remains tender even after frying.
It is a boat that was built more than a hundred years ago. It is rocking from Liangxi River into Taihu Lake.
The cook is lighting a fire in the stern,
Guests lean against the side of the ship,
Waiting for that plate of crispy eel fresh out of the pan.
At that time, there wasn’t so much emphasis on it.
Just delicious.
Same now.
Take the sauced pork ribs out of the pan and eat them while they are hot; serve the crispy eel and eat them while they are crispy;
Gluten is stuffed into the meat and you have to be careful about burning your mouth.
The taste of Wuxi is not in those fancy allusions.
On the stoves in the streets.
In those that don't look perfect,
But it’s just a bowl of food that makes people miss home.
Comments NOTHING