A. Recipe

25g star anise, 15g cinnamon, 15g fennel, 15-25g licorice, 10g sannai, 10g sweet rice, 3-5g Chinese prickly ash, 20g amomum villosum, 10g cardamom 5 grams of grass fruit, 15 grams of cloves, 5 to 15 grams of ginger, 100 grams of green onions, 150 grams of Shaoxing wine, 100 grams of rock sugar, 350 to 500 grams of MSG, 15 grams of refined salt, 350 to 500 grams of fresh soup, 5000 grams of refined oil, 50 grams of gauze bags, 2 gauze bags

B. Preparation

1. Divide the star anise, cinnamon, fennel, licorice, sannai, mangosteen, pepper, amomum villosum, cardamom, grass fruit, cloves, etc. into two parts, and put them into Put it in a loose gauze bag and tie the mouth of the bag tightly with a string; wash the ginger and pat it into pieces; wash and tie the green onion with its roots.

2. Roast the large pieces of rock sugar over the fire first, then place it on the cutting board and gently crush it. Then add it to the pot with the refined oil and stir-fry over low heat until it turns deep red. , add 500 grams of boiling water and mix well until it turns into sugar color.

3. Put the pot on the fire, add 5000 grams of fresh soup, add ginger and green onion, add refined salt, monosodium glutamate and sugar color, then add the spice bag, bring to a boil and slowly simmer over low heat When the aroma is overflowing, it becomes fresh brine.

C. Issues that need attention

1. When frying the sugar color, it must be stir-fried slowly over low heat, and the sugar color should be slightly tender, otherwise the fried sugar color will have a bitter taste.

2. Brine prepared according to traditional methods usually does not add MSG. However, because most fresh brine does not have enough umami, and in recent years people seem to have higher and higher requirements for umami, so when preparing it, An appropriate amount of MSG can also be added during the process. It should be noted that adding MSG to the brine will not have any side effects, because MSG will produce sodium pyroglutate and lose its flavor at temperatures above 160°C, and the temperature when the brine is boiling generally does not exceed 105°C.

3. Tender sugar color should generally be added to the brine, so that the brine will have a sweet taste. After adding the tender sugar color, you can no longer add licorice. But from the perspective of medicinal properties, licorice has the effect of harmonizing various flavors and improving freshness. Therefore, after adding sugar color, you can still consider adding a little licorice to the brine.

4. Cloves contain eugenol, which has a strong smell. The dosage can be adjusted according to the specific situation. Generally speaking, the amount of cloves used in 5,000 grams of fresh soup should be controlled between 5 and 15 grams.

5. The roots of the green onions used to make the brine should be retained, which can make the brine taste more fragrant. This is the experience imparted to the author by a master who has made brine for many years.

6. Sugar color is added to the above brine formula, and the color is brownish red, which is called red brine. If the sugar color in the formula is removed, it becomes white brine.

In addition, some people like to add dried chili peppers to the brine, which turns it into a spicy brine