Doubanjiang
What kind of "cross-strait love" connects Chengdu, Sichuan
Kaohsiung, Taiwan Gangshan
?
Speaking of Doubanjiang, many mainland friends first think of Chengdu, Sichuan, because that is the origin of Doubanjiang and the place where Sichuan cuisine flourishes. In Taiwan, the most famous bean paste comes from Gangshan, Kaohsiung. They are in the same vein as the Pixian Douban in Chengdu and have a unique style.
Pixian Doubanjiang from Chengdu
Gangshan Doubanjiang from Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Kaohsiung and Chengdu are thousands of miles apart, so why do they have sauces with the same origin? What kind of "cross-strait love" is contained in this home-cooked condiment?
Comforting veterans’ homesickness
After taking a 1.5-hour high-speed train from Taipei to Kaohsiung Zuoying, and then transferring to the MRT (subway) for nearly 20 minutes, the reporter arrived in Okayama. As soon as we stepped out of the MRT platform, the reporter saw an advertisement for Doubanjiang, and it seemed like he could smell the salty aroma through the screen. Needless to say, this is the home base of Taiwanese Doubanjiang.
"Kaohsiung Gangshan is the seat of the Air Force Academy. The school moved from Chengdu, Sichuan to Taiwan around 1949. Most of the air force soldiers who accompanied them were from Sichuan. Naturally, the delicious flavor of bean paste that leaves your mouth full of food is indispensable when eating." Zai Zhibin Under the leadership of Huang Xiaofeng, the third generation inheritor of Douban, the reporter started a trip to Okayama and listened to the Douban story here during the visit.
Kaohsiung Military Village Cultural Center
When visiting Lequn Village and Zhizhi Village near Gangshan Station, the reporter saw many contiguous houses or courtyards. Their appearance may be no different from other communities, but the "Air Force Academy Announcement" in front of the door "It reveals the special identities of the masters. This is the "military village", a community formed by veterans who went to Taiwan and their families.
"In 1949, my husband's grandmother Jin Dai came to Taiwan together with my father-in-law and mother-in-law. At that time, supplies were very scarce. In order to make doubanjiang, Jin Dai lived frugally and gave her monthly allotment to military dependents. The soybeans were stored. After a certain amount was stored, she used the bean koji brought from her hometown of Sichuan to make bacterial strains and made bean paste into dishes." Huang Xiaofeng told reporters that after the douban paste was successfully made, the surrounding Sichuan veterans began to Looking to buy it to relieve my homesickness.
So, after satisfying her own needs, Jin Dai loaded the remaining bean paste into a pushcart and hawked it along the street. When the veterans and their families heard the cries and smelled the overflowing aroma of douban, they all took out the bowls and bowls at home, happily made a portion of douban, and then made a table of delicious Sichuan delicacies.
In addition to Jin Dai, many other veterans and their families in the military military villages are also involved in the production and sales of doubanjiang. For example, Liu Mingde, the founder of Okayama Mingde Douban, spent his remaining savings to make a living in order to make a living after being discharged from the Air Force. He then sold the spicy bean paste made by hand-cut peppers and wrapped in rice dumpling leaves along the military villages. Soon, Okayama's bean paste became famous throughout Taiwan. When Sichuan soldiers from other counties and cities on the island came to Okayama for training, they also came to buy bean paste and taste the authentic taste of their hometown.
Innovating the old and bringing forth the new
"In 1972, after my grandfather Yuan Zhibin retired from the army, he and his grandmother registered the Zhibin Douban Company and began to produce doubanjiang full-time. At that time, the production of doubanjiang was still in the form of a family workshop. The production was in the living room of the house. In the workshop, there are sauce jars containing douban." In the interview, Yuan Weijing, the fourth generation successor of Zhibin Douban and Huang Xiaofeng's daughter, said that it was not until her parents inherited the family business that Zhibin Douban expanded its production line and introduced a food safety system , using automated packaging and sterilization equipment to truly become a modern food processing enterprise.
Okayama’s bean paste drying ground
Although business management and marketing methods are becoming more and more modern, Okayama’s bean paste production still adheres to the ancient brewing method. "When we make Doubanjiang, we must first rub the beans by hand, and then dry them in the sun for 180 days to ferment naturally." Qiu Weicheng, an employee of Zhibin Doubanjiang, introduced his experience while stirring the sauce under the scorching sun. "The action of stirring the sauce is like rowing a boat. It must be stirred thoroughly, so that the bean paste can be fully fermented. Our employees have to stir the sauce by hand every morning and evening, and they cannot be lazy at all. Only in this way can we taste the fragrant and rich sauce. Doubanjiang.”
Gangshan Doubanjiang adheres to the traditional brewing method, and workers stir the sauce by hand in the morning and evening
Taiwanese students experience Pixian Doubanjiang hand-stirring at the Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Museum
In order to adapt to the local consumer market in Taiwan, Okayama’s Doubanjiang production is inheriting the tradition In addition, many adjustments have been made. For example, some local people in Taiwan cannot adapt to the taste of broad beans, so many Douban companies in Gangshan choose non-GMO soybeans when producing. Except for families originally from Sichuan and other southwestern regions of the mainland, other families do not They are accustomed to using bean paste for cooking. Therefore, Gangshan Doubanjiang has gradually transformed into a dipping sauce, and has also developed flavors such as garlic chili sauce and red pepper sauce to meet the more diverse needs of consumers.
Traveling across the Taiwan Strait and Carrying It forward
"When I was a child We live in a military military village, and the elders around us speak with a strong Sichuan flavor. When it's meal time, every household will be filled with the rich smell of bean paste. Mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, watercress ... these dishes are all unique to the military village. Yuan Weijing was quite excited when she recalled the life in the military military village in the past. It was this inseparable cross-strait love and the imprint of Sichuan and Taiwan that in recent years she and her mother Huang Xiaofeng would go to Sichuan, Chongqing and other places to learn about Doubanjiang and Doubanjiang. When making spicy sauce, I hope to keep improving and bring the current Sichuan flavor to Taiwan.
“I learned how to make traditional Sichuan dishes such as twice-cooked pork from my mother-in-law, and it is still my specialty. When I went to Sichuan last time, I further learned how to make Yibin noodles and Chongqing noodles, and gained a lot. "Huang Xiaofeng said that she is planning to open a food shop specializing in Sichuan cuisine, and even create a Douban Banquet, so that Taiwanese people can also have the opportunity to eat the real Sichuan flavor.
In addition to studying with teachers in Sichuan, Huang Xiaofeng and her daughter have also They have traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and other places many times to promote Gangshan Doubanjiang at various exhibitions and invite mainland compatriots to taste Taiwanese-style Sichuan Doubanjiang. At the same time, they have also gone to other countries and regions around the world to promote products and have won
Doubanjiang Story Hall set up by Kaohsiung Zhibin Douban Company
In addition to making good Douban products, Zhibin Douban also strives to tell Douban stories well, setting up Doubanjiang Story Hall to let food Professional students and teenagers come to the story hall to learn about the origin and development history of Gangshan Douban, participate in the process of rolling beans and stirring sauce, and understand the hard work of making handmade douban. At the same time, this experiential activity also adds new features to Zhibin Douban. source of income, achieving a double harvest of social and economic benefits.
Today, bean paste, mutton and honey are listed as the "three treasures" of the Okayama area. From the holding of the Mutton Culture Festival Food Festival to the website of the local district office Promotion and tourism activities organized by tourism associations, the "three treasures" always stick to each other and go to the market together.
Source: People's Daily Online - Taiwan Channel Chai Yifei/Wen Chenglong/Picture
