History: Shandong cuisine originated in Qi and Lu (now Shandong Province) during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and was formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties. After the Song Dynasty, Shandong cuisine became the representative of "Northern Cuisine" and one of the eight major cuisines in China. Shandong cuisine is the most extensive local cuisine in China, covering Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan and three northeastern provinces.
Factions: coastal Jiaodong cuisine (mainly seafood), inland jinan cuisine and its own Confucian cuisine.
Features: Shandong cuisine pays attention to pure seasoning, which is more delicious than fresh, and has the characteristics of fresh, tender, fragrant and crisp. Pay great attention to the preparation of clear soup and milk soup. Clear soup is fresh, and milk soup is white.
Unique skills: There are more than 30 cooking techniques commonly used in Shandong cuisine, especially frying and baking techniques, which are unique and very professional. The barbecue technique is original in Shandong cuisine. The raw materials are pickled and sticky, fried on both sides and simmered. The baked product is neat in shape, thick in taste and rotten in juice.
Shandong cuisine is the first of the eight major cuisines. The formation and development of Shandong cuisine is related to Shandong's cultural history, geographical environment, economic conditions and customs. Shandong is one of the cradles of ancient culture in China. Located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the climate is mild, and the Jiaodong Peninsula protrudes between the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. The territory is criss-crossed, with rivers and lakes criss-crossing, fertile fields, rich products, convenient transportation and developed culture. Its grain output ranks third in the country; There are many kinds of vegetables with excellent quality, and they are known as one of the "three major vegetable gardens in the world". For example, Jiaozhou Chinese cabbage, Zhangqiu green onion, Cangshan garlic and Laiwu ginger are all well-known at home and abroad.
Fruit production ranks first in the country, and apples alone account for more than 40% of the country's total output. The output of pigs, sheep, poultry and eggs is also very considerable. The output of aquatic products is also the third in China. Among them, the precious seafood are shark's fin, sea cucumber, prawn, Cargill, flounder, abalone, swan egg, shih Tzu, scallop, red snail and laver, which are well-known at home and abroad. Brewing industry has a long history, a wide variety and excellent quality, such as Luokou vinegar, Jinan soy sauce and Jimo old wine. , are well-known products. Such rich products provide inexhaustible raw material resources for the development of Shandong cuisine.
Shandong cuisine has a very long history. There is "Qingzhou tribute salt" in Shangshu Gong Yu, which shows that at least in the Xia Dynasty, Shandong had been seasoned with salt; As early as the Book of Songs in the Zhou Dynasty, there were records that snakehead and carp ate the Yellow River. Today, sweet and sour yellow river carp is still the best in Shandong cuisine, which shows that it has a long history. The embryonic form of Shandong cuisine can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Qilu and China are endowed with unique natural conditions, especially Qi, which is close to mountains and seas. With the advantages of fish, salt and iron, Qi Huangong became the first person to use it.
Legend has it that Yiya, who steamed her son and gave it to the King of Qi, was actually a master cook who was good at seasoning at that time. The clear soup in Shandong cuisine is bright and tender in color, while the milk soup is white and mellow in color and unique in flavor, which may be the inheritance of the ancient tradition of making soup well. Jiaodong cuisine, which is good at seafood, inherited the customs of coastal ancestors to eat fish. Confucius, who is "never tired of eating essence and never tired of eating", also has a series of thoughts of "never eating", such as "the fish is hungry and the meat is defeated, the color is evil, the food is bad, the food is lost, the food is irregular, the food is not tangent, and the sauce is not allowed to be eaten ...". It shows that Shandong cuisine at that time has paid great attention to science and hygiene, and also pursued the artistry of knife work and seasoning, which has reached an increasingly refined level.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, Shandong's economy was unprecedentedly prosperous. Landlords and rich people are criss-crossed by horses and chariots, living in pavilions in Qiongtai and living a luxurious life of "singing and dancing". According to the "Portrait of Zhucheng Front Balcony Kitchen", we can see that there are all kinds of livestock, poultry and game hanging on it, and there are fetching water, cooking stoves, chopping wood, slaughtering sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs, fish, meat, washing, stirring, baking cakes and kebabs below. The complexity of the scene depicted in this painting and the fine division of labor are no less than the whole process of cooking operation, and can really be comparable to modern cooking processing. The Northern Wei Dynasty's Book of Qi Yao Min comprehensively summarized the cooking techniques in the Yellow River basin, mainly in Shandong. Not only the cooking methods of frying, roasting, frying, boiling, roasting, steaming, pickling, waxing and stewing are described in detail, but also the cooking methods of famous dishes such as "roast duck" and "roast suckling pig". This book has a profound influence on the formation and development of Shandong cuisine. After the improvement and tempering of Sui, Tang, Song and Jin Dynasties, Shandong cuisine gradually became the representative of northern cuisine, and even the "northern food store" in Shandong in the Song Dynasty flourished for a long time.
During this long period of time, Wubao, Duan Wenchang, Duan and Gong Dou were all famous chefs or gourmets, who made important contributions to the development of Shandong cuisine. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shandong cuisine had a new development. At this time, Shandong cuisine entered the court in large quantities and became a treasure of imperial cuisine, which was widely circulated throughout the north. Li Hong, Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, visited Confucius' House eight times. On his fifth visit to Confucius' House at 177 1, he married his daughter to Kong Xianpei, the seventy-second grandson of Confucius, and gave Confucius a set of "full banquet, antique pictographic fire and water tableware with silver dots, copper and tin". This has further promoted the development of the wonderful "Confucian cuisine" in Shandong cuisine to a high, refined and sharp direction.
After a period of development and evolution, Shandong cuisine has gradually formed two schools: Qingdao, Jiaodong School represented by Fushan Gang and Jinan School including Dezhou and Tai 'an. And there are elegant and luxurious Confucian dishes that can be called "Chun Xue", as well as various local famous dishes and flavor snacks dotted between them. Jiaodong cuisine is good at frying, frying, roasting, frying and steaming; The taste is fresh and light; Most of the ingredients are shrimp, conch, abalone, oyster yellow, kelp and other seafood. One of the famous dishes is "abalone with original shell", and the main ingredient is Zhenhai abalone from Changshan Islands. Cooked by traditional Shandong cuisine, it is delicious, tender and appetizing. Other famous dishes include shark's fin with crab roe, dried scallop with hibiscus, roasted sea cucumber, roasted shrimp, fried oysters and steamed Cargill fish.
Jinan school is famous for soup, supplemented by frying, frying, burning and frying. The dishes are clear, fresh, crisp and tender. Among them, there are clear soup jambalaya and milk soup Pu dishes, which are fresh and elegant and unique. Sweet and sour yellow river carp with tender inside and burnt outside, crispy pot tofu with oil, and rare vegetarian dishes all show the skill of Jinan school. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the owner of Jiuhualin Restaurant in Jinan cleaned the pig's large intestine, cooked it with spices until it was soft and crisp, cut it into pieces, and added soy sauce, sugar and spices to make a rich and fat braised large intestine, which was famous throughout the city. Later the production was improved. Blanch the cleaned large intestine in boiling water, fry it in an oil pan, and then add seasonings and spices for cooking. This dish tastes more delicious. Literati call it "Jiuzhuan Large Intestine", and because of its exquisite production, it is the Taoist "Jiuzhuan Lian Jin Dan".
"Eight immortals crossing the sea to make arhats" was the first course of Confucius' birthday banquet, and shark's fin, sea cucumber, abalone, fish bones, fish belly, shrimp, asparagus and ham were selected as the "eight immortals". Chop the chicken breast into mud and make it into arhat money at the bottom of the bowl, which is called "arhat" Put it in a circular porcelain jar, arranged in eight directions, put Luohan chicken in the middle, sprinkle with ham slices, ginger slices and blanched cabbage leaves, and then pour in the cooked chicken soup. In the past, this dish was sung in an opera when it was served on the table. While tasting delicious food, I went to the opera, which was very lively.