In my hometown, a few days before the Spring Festival every year, on the country road, the sound of a family with double knife backs hitting the chopping board quickly can be heard in my ears.
As locals, we know at first that we are asking a master to make fish cake .
Fish cake is a top-quality delicacy unique to our Jingchu land.
Because the material selection is pure, the production process is cumbersome and the failure rate is high. Not every village can do it.
When I was in my twenties, it was the late 1990s, and the economic conditions in the countryside had a qualitative leap.
At that time, I worked as a waiter in a shark fin abalone restaurant in Shanghai. I went to work in this restaurant, which was recommended by one of the owners of this restaurant.
I think I can recommend the fish cake from my hometown to a restaurant. It is also a special dish, and this dish has a folk legend, which may be popular in Shanghai and even across the country.
I once ate fish cake at my aunt's house, which was the best fish cake I've ever eaten. At that time, my aunt said she did it herself.
So, I called my aunt and asked how to make fish cake and what is the proportion of each ingredient?
As soon as my aunt answered the phone, she was happy and excited and said, "I want to learn how to make fish cakes. If you ask me, I will ask the right person. I make fish cakes in our family every year. They are tough and slippery. They are clamped on the chopsticks and they will not break."
I heard it so hard that my saliva was flowing out.
Then, she told me in detail what kind of materials can be more, which materials are better than which materials are less than more. She also said that she never failed to make fish cakes.
In fact, the folk legend of this dish was told to me by my cousin. As for the authenticity and accuracy, I hope everyone will not pursue it.
I started working when I was 20 years old. Since my workplace does not provide food and accommodation, I lived in my cousin’s single dormitory and ate and slept with him.
After the Spring Festival, I brought a piece of fish cake from home, which was about two or three kilograms.
My cousin is very good at cooking. It is cold. My cousin made a hot pot with bacon , sliced the fish cake and put it in the hot pot.
We drink, eat hot pot and chat.
My cousin suddenly asked me, "Cousin, do you know the origin of fish cake?"
I said, "There is still the origin of fish cake? Tell me it quickly!"
He said, "Fish cake is also called Panlong."
So a folk legend began to tell:
Episode Zhu Yuanzhang has three sons, stationed in three places respectively.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was about to abdicate, he asked his three sons to arrive in the capital. Those who arrived first received the throne.
Zhu Yuanzhang's second son is stationed in Shiqiao, Jingmen, Hubei, , Hougang, . He is the farthest from the capital of his three sons.
His advisers offered suggestions: The most waste of time on the road is the welcome and see-offs and meals of government officials from all over the country.
is easy to not disturb government officials in various places, but it is difficult to solve the problem of eating.
There is a local adviser who steamed a food called fish cake, egg white, lard, raw powder, onion, ginger and minced garlic.
When the second prince and the counselors ate it, they praised it endlessly, thinking that this thing will make great contributions.
So the second prince and his party disguised themselves and ate fish cakes all the way. They first arrived in the capital and inherited the throne.
To commemorate this event, the locals call fish cake Panlong.
Another thing happened to my brother about fish cake:
We locals, in that particularly difficult era, could eat fish cake several times a year.
During the Spring Festival, every household will ask a master to help make fish cakes. When getting married, there must be fish cakes at the banquet. If not, the banquet will be considered to be of insufficient quality.
In our understanding, we think that everyone in the world knows how to eat fish cake.
My brother studied in Wuhan, Hubei in 1992. After the Spring Festival, he brought a piece of fish cake to his teacher, which was about five kilograms.
After he went home during the summer vacation, we asked him: "You went to school after the Spring Festival and brought your teacher the fish cake. How did he taste?"
The younger brother replied: "Don't mention it, he doesn't know how to make it.A few days later, saliva was ripped on it and threw it away! "
We felt a little sad when we heard it. I thought, why do anyone still don't know how to eat fish cake?
I was at my wife's relative's house. I made fish cake on a whim, and it was quite successful.
Unfortunately, what I brought out when I was eating was cold, and there was no flavor of fish cake at all.
Later, I worked in more than 20 cities and counties across the country After living, I realized that only a few towns around my hometown had the fish cake.
The Internet is now developed. I saw some people selling fish cakes on some platforms. The appearance is beautiful and the price is appropriate. The introduced edible methods are diverse and reliable.
hope it is real, so that diners can eat authentic fish cakes!
