Nowadays, people in the Song Dynasty are beginning to advocate light diet again. The practice of using orange puree and plum brine to add flavor to crabs in the Song Dynasty may be revived.
Eating raw crabs must have been a long time ago. However, there are few relevant clues in the documents before the Song Dynasty. People in the Song Dynasty recorded the pleasure of eating raw crabs in various forms, which shows that all social classes in that era were keen on this method of tasting crabs.
According to "Crab Lue" by Gao Sisun of the Song Dynasty, crabs eaten raw at that time were called "crab raw". There are generally two ways to cook raw crabs. One is to pickle crabs with wine or fermented rice for half a day, which is called "wine-poured crabs."
Su Shi's poem "Ding Gongmo Sends the Crabs" mentioned that "if the half shell contains yellow, it is recommended to order wine, and if the two claws are cut into the snow, it is recommended to add a meal", which obviously refers to "wine pouring the crabs raw". According to "Crab Lue", in the Song Dynasty, chopped crabs were marinated with salt and wine, and then mixed with minced ginger and orange pulp. The Qing Dynasty cookbook "Tiao Ding Ji" records the method of "fresh crab", which is obviously the continuation and development of the wine-poured crab cooking: chop the live crabs directly into dice-sized pieces, sprinkle with a little salt, and then pour it in white wine. Add minced fennel, heat until boiling, and pour onto the crab pieces. When the fermented rice becomes cold, add sesame oil and ground Sichuan peppercorns, mix well, and marinate for half a day before eating.
"Hand-wash crab" is to chop raw crab into pieces, mix with seasonings, and serve immediately. Its peculiar dish name is based on this light processing method. Fu Gong of the Song Dynasty said in "Crab Book": "After washing your hands, it is ready to eat. It is called 'hand-washing crab'." The diner ordered this dish. After the dishes were served, in just a short time of washing hands, the chef on the other side had already finished it with a few crackles, and the prepared "crabs" were brought to you in a blink of an eye. The meaning of "hand-washed crabs" is to describe the speed of its preparation process. .
"Hand-wash crab" was a popular popular delicacy in the Song Dynasty. According to "Tokyo Menghualu", in Bianliang (today's Kaifeng), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was served in large and small restaurants, and diners were seated Afterwards, you can eat whatever you want and taste the richness of live crab. In the Southern Song Dynasty, "hand-washed crab with orange vinegar" and "raw crab with wine splash" were indispensable dishes in restaurants in Lin'an (Hangzhou). In addition, according to "Old Wulin Events", in October of the 21st year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong visited the mansion of the powerful minister Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun held a feast to please the emperor and his entourage, and "hand-washing crabs" appeared at the banquet. Lu You also said in his poem "Zhongzhongzuo": "Putting on cotton pearls, the Sutra has been ripe for ten years, and I cut my hands with two claws of snow and offered them as offerings."
What is interesting is the seasoning used in the "hand-washing crab". According to "Tokyo Menghualu", what was popular in restaurants at that time was "orange vinegar hand-washed crab", which used orange pulp puree and vinegar as the main seasonings. In fact, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, the pulp of oranges was pounded into a puree and was the most important seasoning when eating river fresh food. The natural and fruity sour juice in the orange flesh enhances the tenderness of river fresh food. When eating crabs, it is especially necessary to use orange puree as a flavoring, because the fragrant fruity flavor can remove the fishy smell. Therefore, whether cooked crabs or "uncooked" crabs, it is customary to use orange puree instead of vinegar sauce.
In the Song Dynasty, if you think the orange puree is too bland, you can also use vinegar at the same time, as is the case with "Orange Vinegar Hand Washing Crab". However, "Crab Manual" records a more unique method, which is to use plum brine instead of vinegar, pour it on the raw crab pieces, and then mix it with minced Sichuan peppercorns and orange puree. The green plum fruits are mixed with salt and pickled, sealed in a container, and left to dry in the open air. Over time, sour juice will develop, which is called "plum marinade". There is still plum vinegar in Japan today, which is actually very close to plum marinade. According to the ancients, plum marinade can directly replace vinegar as a seasoning for cold vegetables, which will make the cold vegetables more fresh and refreshing. Therefore, the raw crab pieces are mixed with plum brine, orange puree and minced Sichuan peppercorns. It is sour and numb, and has a unique taste, which is both fresh and refreshing.
However, in the Ming Dynasty, Song Lian's "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" recorded a seasoning method for "crab raw", but it was very different from the previous generation. The sesame oil was boiled over low heat and then allowed to cool. Grind fruits, fennel, Amomum villosum, Sichuan peppercorns, water ginger and pepper into powder, chop green onion, pour all these ingredients together with cooked sesame oil into raw crab pieces, add appropriate amount of salt and vinegar, and mix well, "instant" Edible”.
The "hand-washing crab" of the Song Dynasty was lightly seasoned, but the "crab raw" recorded in the "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" and eaten as a meal was in the opposite style, with a strong spicy flavor to enhance the taste. From the Tang and Song Dynasties to the present, people's taste for eating crab seems to be getting stronger and stronger, which is an interesting phenomenon, but I don't know the underlying reason. Nowadays, people in the Song Dynasty are beginning to advocate light diet again. The practice of using orange puree and plum brine to add flavor to crabs in the Song Dynasty may be revived.