1 Where is the South
Since ancient times, people have been singing about the South, thinking that the South is warm and can bring warmth, and that there is all the beauty there. "The south wind knows my will and blows my dreams to Xizhou." "The smoke from the south wind can relieve the anger of our people. The time of the south wind can bring relief to our people's wealth."
The south is a rainy place, and it is also a place of fire. The Phoenix of Nirvana is used as a totem, and the fire god Zhurong is worshiped as a character.
So, what is "south" and what is "north"? Generally speaking, in Chinese geography, the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River line are divided into north and south. There are rice in the south and horses in the north, and the customs are different. But in the eyes of Guangdong people, everything north of Shaoguan (Nanling) is north. South of Nanling is the south.
After the Qin Dynasty unified the Central Plains, it sent troops to the north to attack the Xiongnu , which made the Hu people dare not go south to herd horses. They conquered Baiyue in the south, crossed the Five Ridges, defeated the local indigenous people, established Nanhai, Guilin, Xiangjun, and incorporated Guangdong, Guangxi and northern Vietnam into the territory of China for the first time. However, there was great chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty. Wang Li's Great Wall Army and Zhang Han's Lishan Army jointly attacked the Shandong Allied Forces. They were suddenly killed by Xiang Yu's desperate Chu army and failed. The Central Plains was in turmoil. With the policy of "proclaiming the country king and resisting the war in the Central Plains", Zhao Tuo, who occupied the territory of Baiyue, supported his troops and established himself as the king of South Vietnam. Using "Yue" as the country name to gather the centripetal force of the Yue people, the "South" south of Shaoguan was once again like a kite with its string cut off, and it was likely to break away from the Central Plains.
In the early years of the Han Dynasty, in view of the initial decision of the world, weapons should no longer be used. After obtaining the consent of Liu Bang, Lu Jia took only one entourage to go south to Baiyue. At this time, Zhao Tuo arranged armored soldiers on both sides to intimidate him, and dressed in Yue uniform, he stood high in the palace to receive Lu Jia. After Lu Jia saw Zhao Tuo, he called him the king but not his minister. Zhao Tuo was surprised that Lu Jia regarded himself as a minister and refused to worship the king of a small country. Then, Lu Jia argued, "I am a Chinese, and my relative Kundi's grave is in Zhending. Now I have gone against my nature, abandoned my crown and belt, and wanted to compete with the emperor as an enemy country with a mere victory, which will bring disaster to myself. ... The emperor heard that the king Nanyue did not help the world to punish the rebels, and the generals wanted to move their troops to kill the king. The emperor He pitied the people for their new hard work, so he gave up his duties and sent his ministers to give him the royal seal. The emperor should welcome him in the suburbs and declare himself a minister in the north. He wanted to use the newly built Yue to conquer the enemy." After hearing this, Zhao Tuo immediately stood up to apologize to Lu Jia and announced that he would surrender his imperial title and declare himself a minister to the Han Dynasty. Lu Jia relied on his sharp tongue to re-integrate Lingnan into the Central Plains. This was the tail end of the debaters vertical and horizontal since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
"Book of Jin " Volume 95 "The Biography of Wu Yin" contains, "Guangzhou... is surrounded by mountains and seas, and is full of treasures. A box of treasures can last for several generations." "The Biography of Wang Kun" in "Book of Southern Qi " states, "The southern land is fertile, and those in office often become extremely rich. It is said that "the governor of Guangzhou can get thirty million just by passing through the city gate." About seasoning. At this time, the Cantonese people were already very particular about it. According to the record in "Lingbiao Luyi", "(Jellyfish) are good food for the southerners. The clouds are warm in nature and can cure the diseases of river fish. However, it is very fishy, so you need to use plant ash to make oil and wash it repeatedly to make it clear." It is as pure as crystal purple jade, and the meat can be two inches thick, and the thin part is more than an inch. First, boil the pepper cinnamon, or cardamom , and ginger, cut into strips and blanch them, or use five spicy meat vinegar, or shrimp vinegar, which is the best way to eat.Shrimp vinegar also resembles like! ”
Entering the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Pearl River Delta economy became increasingly developed. The city of Guangzhou, where the Manchus lived, valued food and served many people. At this time, many foreigners came to China and occupied the sand surface area; more importantly, the demand for foreign trade led by Guangzhou Thirteenth Bank and others was increasing day by day. It was adjacent to Hong Kong, China’s open port, and a large number of merchants gathered here. People’s business needs were increasing, including Including officials and merchants, merchants and merchants, China and foreign countries, huge houses in Xiguan, scholarly families, dignitaries, whether they are officials or cooks, they all start to put on airs. As a result, relying on abundant seafood specialties, building on economic prosperity, and advocating authentic Cantonese cuisine was officially born, and it was once said that "eat in Guangzhou".
At this time, Cantonese cuisine, represented by Cantonese cuisine, was named jointly with Sichuan cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine They are the three major flavors of the South.
2, Food in Guangzhou
According to statistics, during the Republic of China, there were more than 200 large restaurants in Guangzhou alone, and each of them had a signboard. People at that time praised it as "Eating in Guangzhou".
In the 1930s of the Republic of China, Guangzhou became a commercial city second only to Shanghai. There were four major restaurants. According to the explanations, they are "Braised Big Abalone" in Nanyuan, "Dinghu Shangsu" in Xiyuan, " Jiangnan Baihua Chicken " in Wenyuan, and "Sixty Yuan Big Skirt Wings" in Dasanyuan. Take the "Sixty Yuan Large Skirt Wings" as an example, "the cleaned skirt fins are forty-eight taels; the soup used to simmer the wings again and again is called a 'danshao basin'. The soup weighs 30 kilograms. It is made with 45 kilograms of water, 18 kilograms of clean lean pork, 9 kilograms of scraped old chicken, and three kilograms of ham, and is cooked over a slow fire. "(From Chen Mengyin's "Tracing the Origin of Cantonese Cuisine")
There are also some snacks, such as Chiji wonton noodles , Cangzhou cured meat, Ersao porridge, Jiazhan roasted meat, etc. As for teahouses, there are "top ten teahouses" such as Longquan, Leshan, and Weilu.
As the catering industry entered a glorious period, Guangdong also gave birth to many gourmets. The most famous one is probably Jiang Taishi, the "No. 1 gourmet in Lingnan". Jiang Taishi's father was Jiang Qingquan, who made his fortune from tea, and was nicknamed "Jiang Million". Jiang Kongyin of Guangdong Hanlin was a very popular foreigner at the time, claiming to earn 200,000 taels of silver every year. Extremely luxurious.
Jiang Taishi's home cooking uses krait, bungar snake, cobra, water snake, golden snake, etc. (there are also three snake soups, namely black snake, golden foot band, and tree banyan) as the main ingredients, and adds dried abalone, chicken, aged tangerine peel, etc. to cook the soup. The dignitaries praised that the soup was clear and not greasy, and the ingredients were cut as fine as hair. The abalone used was the edge of the abalone instead of the heart, because the abalone edge is more tender and smooth.
At the same time, many businessmen and officials also have their own staff and Kitchen team. After these officials came to Guangdong to serve as officials, they did not want to be transferred elsewhere, but settled here. Along with them, they also had home cooks or private chefs who specialized in cooking dishes; as well as staff, they provided design and creativity, and contributed artistic creation elements to the birth of food. Chen Mengyin, a special proofreader, recorded a restaurant called "Nanyangtang", which was said to be run by the chef named Deng of a certain chief envoy. It mainly catered banquets and had several tables for diners. Its signature dish is the "Four Hot Meats", which include pipa wings with leg sauce, crab claws pierced with bamboo fungus, preserved scallops with garlic and fried duck brains with crab roe.
Today, it spreads all over the world from Guangdong, from the south to the north. Cantonese cuisine is divided into three major sections, the business taste of Guangfu, the hidden taste of Chaoshan, and the ancient style of Hakka , which bring people a wonderful tongue-tip experience, but the most impressive thing is Cantonese cuisine.
After experiencing the golden age of Cantonese cuisine, the emergence of MSG once hit Cantonese cuisine, but soon after Cantonese chefs adjusted, they are still proud of the world. Taotaoju , Guangzhou Restaurant , Datong Restaurant , etc. are still old flavors in the hearts of Guangzhou people and cannot be replaced. As for the rising stars, there are Bingsheng, Haiyanlou, Lee Garden , etc.
3. Characteristics of Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine has the widest coverage among the three major flavors of Guangdong, including Guangzhou, Shunde, Shan, Nanhai, Qingyuan , Shaoguan and other places, the cooking methods include stir-frying, pan-frying, deep-frying, baking, pot, stewing, simmering, etc. They pay attention to the "Wok gas", the products pay attention to color and aroma, and the taste is fresh, tender, smooth and crispy.
Specifically speaking, the characteristics of Cantonese cuisine include the following aspects:
First, the ingredients are widely used and the ingredients are fine
Qing people Qu Da Jun " Guangdong New Language " records, "All the food in the world can be found in eastern Guangdong; all the food in eastern Guangdong may not be available in the world." Qu Dajun's words are of course suspected of exaggeration, but the food in Guangdong does have reasons to be proud. Guangdong is surrounded by mountains and seas. To the north is the Wuling Mountains, with crisscrossed peaks and many treasures. To the south is a vast coastline, and the South China Sea provides abundant marine products. Not to mention the pangolins and civets in the past, even the "Three Treasures of Zhongcun" of Panyu, osmanthus cicadas, dragon lice, and field mice made many outsiders think that Cantonese people eat everything. From this point of view, the Cantonese people hunt for a wide range of food ingredients.
Secondly, the taste should be pure and authentic. often eats
Cantonese cuisine, which is famous for its authentic taste. Guangdong is located in the tropics and subtropics, and the weather is hot and humid . With Guangfu as the core area, there are many wealthy people. People pursue light tastes, less spicy, less oil and salt, and their tongues need to be sharper. The ingredients are mainly raw seafood, which are killed alive and then cooked. They pay attention to freshness, elegance, and non-greasy taste, and the taste is smooth, tender, and fragrant. Such as steamed lobster , eight-treasure fresh lotus and winter melon cup. In terms of seasons, summer and autumn tend to be lighter, while winter and spring tend to be more mellow. In terms of seasonings, most are unique to Guangdong, such as oyster sauce, Zhuhou sauce, fish sauce, shacha sauce, etc.
Not eating from time to time is what Cantonese cuisine focuses on. The weather is hot in summer and autumn, so eat more cold melons and cold vegetables. In winter and spring, it is often warm and nourishing, such as making soup and soup.
Third, the cooking method is derived from both China and foreign countries
Baking, which is originally a Western food technique, is a clear proof that Cantonese cuisine has absorbed foreign experience. Combining local Guangdong ingredients, the chef has made many interpretations of baking, such as salt baking, oven baking, wine baking, and soup baking.
For another example, Wuzhou "Paper Wrapped Chicken" became a Cantonese delicacy, originating from the era when Chen Jitang presided over the military administration of Guangdong. Chen Meng speculated that the government was hosting a banquet to entertain dignitaries from the north, so he sent a military plane to Wuzhou to transport the "paper-wrapped chicken" to Guangzhou before the banquet. The method of making paper-wrapped chicken is to open thirty-two pieces of chicken , marinate with seasonings, add green onion, wrap it in a rectangular shape with jade-buttoned paper, and fry it. It is fresh and tender in the mouth, has the taste of steaming, and has the aroma of frying.
Fourthly, the variety is diverse and novel.
Cantonese cuisine may seem light, but in fact it can produce two, two, three, or three things, remaining unchanged to cope with all changes. Taking chicken as an example, Guangdong's Qingyuan chicken and Zhanjiang chicken occupy two of the three famous chickens. It emphasizes "no chicken, no feast". One chicken can be made into ice-skin chicken, roasted chicken, crispy chicken, Baihua chicken, soy sauce chicken, etc. In winter, it can also be made into a side oven, where you drink chicken soup first, then eat the chicken, and finally add various side dishes to scald it, and drink while eating, making it lively.
Take Guangfu morning tea as an example. This is the most popular refreshment in the world. Cantonese people call it "Sigh Morning Tea". Sigh means enjoyment. The best time is to taste tea, drink a pot of Tieguanyin , and hold a newspaper and slowly enjoy this " one cup, two pieces " life. Cantonese can enjoy it, naturally because of the rich varieties and exquisite refreshments, such as shrimp dumplings, durian cakes, carrot cakes, jade shaomai, rice rolls, barbecued pork buns, glutinous rice chicken, etc., which can fill an entire table.
Fifth, most soup dishes
Guangfu has a hot and humid climate, and people are good at making soup. It is probably the region in China that is best at making soup. Liu Xun of the Tang Dynasty recorded in "Ling Biao Lu Yi" that "Bu Nai Geng" is a thick soup made with the bones of sheep, deer, chicken, pork, etc.Nowadays, people in Guangfu like to use traditional Chinese medicine in their food to remove moisture from the body, and almost every household makes soup. Even when eating, the broth should be used as the base, and the boiling water should be added less often. A pot of soup is a pot of soup, and it is genuine. If the soup in a restaurant is not good, no matter how skilled the chef is, it will be difficult to prepare a good meal. A bowl of soup is the reason why Cantonese people are so hydrated.
The ancients said, "Three generations of wealth will lead to knowledge of food." Cantonese cuisine has experienced the wisdom of several generations before it is as vibrant as it is today. A table of dishes is not only delicious food, but also the sweat of people behind it, and it is a collection of wisdom and wisdom. In this way, how can you not love Cantonese food, how can you not love Cantonese food?
Author: Shuhuai
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