Crispy rice crust is a traditional dish in Boshan. According to legend, this dish is related to Su Dongpo's sister Su Xiaomei. Of course, legends are just legends. Whether Su Dongpo has a sister is still inconclusive, and whether the crisp (Su) pot is made is even more unknown. However, this is enough to show that this dish has certain culture, history and origin.
Crispy rice crust is the main dish of Boshan people for the New Year. Without a crispy pot, it's not called Chinese New Year. Under the root of the year, a large pot of crispy pot is crispy. Whether it is tourists or their own diet, it is convenient and delicious to hold a plate of crispy pot from the big pot. This is a serious New Year's dish! When visiting relatives and friends, everyone should try the crispy pot of relatives' house, which shows the weight of this dish.
Why did the crispy pot originate in Boshan? Boshan is an ancient heavy industry city, and ceramics and coal are both prosperous industries. People in these industries are not short of money, but have no time. So eating, of course, should be delicious and convenient, so the crispy pot came into being? It seems that this is just my understanding. I think it makes sense.
How to make a crispy pot?
The raw materials of crispy pot are nothing more than kelp, tofu, ribs, Chinese cabbage, lotus root, pork belly and Spanish mackerel. Of course, wealth depends on yourself, and the so-called poverty is fragile. The original raw materials are the leftovers of the cook who killed chickens and fish in the New Year: pig bones, fish heads and fish tails, and chicken racks. It's a pity to throw them away. Smart Boshan people treat them as waste and cook them with kelp and tofu. Unexpectedly, it tastes surprisingly wonderful.
Of course, today's crispy pots are made of the best ingredients. Do you want to come to the pot for the New Year if you have money or no money?
Kelp, soaked and washed, cut into pieces. Cut the tofu into pieces and fry it in advance. Cut the lotus root into thick slices. All kinds of meat don't need washing. The soul of Boshan crispy pot is Spanish mackerel, which is cut into pieces and shaped with oil.
Prepare a large pot, preferably a large casserole. In the past, Boshan people didn't need a pressure cooker to make crispy pots. They stewed them slowly and tasted more delicious. Casserole, want to use extra large, very anxious to hold 20 kilograms of ingredients. Meat with bones, ribs, thigh bones, pig's trotters, etc. should be placed at the bottom of the pot, so as to support the bottom of the pot and not burn out. I am used to putting a few ceramic spoons at the bottom of the pot, which has the same effect. Then, a layer of kelp, a layer of lotus root, a layer of tofu, a layer of meat, a layer of fish … layer after layer until the pot is full. While laying the ingredients, spread the whole cabbage leaf vertically to the top of the pot, and wrap the whole pot with Chinese cabbage.
Then, discharge.
Why are there so many ingredients, and why not add seasonings layer by layer? That's how I learned and did it. I guess, because it takes a long time to cook, all the seasonings are naturally mixed, right?
A bag of soy sauce and a bag of vinegar (the amount of vinegar is definitely indispensable, because bones and bones are brittle by vinegar), white sugar, white wine and salt are mixed evenly and added to the pot along the gap of the pot. You can add a lot of ginger slices layer by layer. I don't put onions, let alone pepper, this is a mixture. Then, give it to time.
The heat should be slow and take a long time. It is said that the old woman in Boshan will cook the crispy pot on the wood stove all night for twelve hours! When boiled, the fragrance comes out, mixed with sweet and salty meat, parsley and fish, which is the biggest pain for greedy children. How can I sleep with such a big pot of delicious food on the fire? So, the night when the crispy pot was made, it was like a cat scratching in its heart. Some people say that it is not the time to open the lid yet, but I don't believe it. I watched the fire and pot over and over again, just for adults to say that the meat should be almost the same. Why not try salty and light? I'd rather do such a job than be afraid of the heat. How hard I work! It's so hot, haha, grab a big piece of meat and have a bite. Hey, it smells good!
Crispy pot, I only ate hot at first, and it was the best just cooked. I can eat two plates myself. Later, I married Boshan people and gradually fell in love with eating cold food. The naturally cooled crispy pot, because of pigskin and trotters, is rich in gum, and the soup has turned into aspic, which is evenly stained on various ingredients, delicious, cool and refreshing. This kind of crispy pot, the meat is fat but not greasy, thin but not firewood, the fish is delicious but not fishy at all, the holes in tofu foam are filled with aspic, and even the eyes of lotus root are full of soup, how can it not be delicious!
Now, you don't have to wait until the Spring Festival to eat crispy rice. Boshan restaurant is available all year round and can be tasted at any time. Thanks to two inventions: refrigerator and pressure cooker. The refrigerator can keep the crispy pot fresh and fresh all the time, and the taste is online; Pressure cooker, can realize the fast food of crispy pot, not a crispy pot in one night. However, the traditional, slow-stewed flavor can no longer be found.
I haven't made my own crispy pot for years. Because, I am the only one who loves to eat at home. Mr. Wang, a native of Chunboshan, doesn't like this. Xiao Wang is very much like me when I was a child. He only eats hot food, often a big pot of crispy rice, and only eats that meal, and then he doesn't eat it. How does a person digest a big pot? So, if you are greedy, go to Boshan Hotel to eat. During the Chinese New Year, just order a pot of authentic Boshan time-honored brands, such as Qingmeiju, and have a small dish for each meal, which is very festive. There is no crispy pot, is it still Chinese New Year?