Culture of a Dream of Red Mansions | Eggplant | Author | Jun Jian Ya Kan Hong Lou
The most famous food in A Dream of Red Mansions is the "eggplant" that Granny Liu ate when she entered Guo Rongfu. It is not difficult to see the "eggplant" method introduced by Wang Xifeng. Just a diced pickled eggplant. It's easy to do. I don't know how it tastes, and it's not delicious. Interestingly, Wang Xifeng clearly knows the practice of "eggplant", which shows that "eggplant" is a famous "private kitchen" of the Jia family. But do you know that "eggplant" is actually not a dish?
The method of "eggplant" is not difficult. Just fry the peeled diced chicken, then add the chicken breast and various ingredients to the chicken soup for seasoning, add sesame oil to collect juice, mix and marinate it in a sealed jar with bad oil, and mix the fried chicken with wax gourd when eating. Cold dishes are ready. Strictly speaking, the production method is not difficult, and it is easy to make now. However, it should be noted that "eggplant" is not an eggplant dish, but a mixture of eggplant flavors and belongs to seasoning.
The taste of "eggplant" is mainly a waste of oil. Waste oil is a traditional food in China. It is made of rotten juice, salt and monosodium glutamate, which is similar to oil consumption after mixing. The "eggplant" with bad oil is an "old godmother" with similar eggplant flavor. When you eat, you don't mainly eat eggplant, but you need to match the main ingredients such as "diced chicken (chicken melon)" to be delicious. If you eat it alone, it will probably make people laugh.
China people's food varies from place to place, and there are many similar "eggplant" practices. For example, Jia Zheng later gave it to Jia Mu, who gave Lin Daiyu chicken marrow bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots are preserved, and chicken bone marrow is delicious. "Eggplant" is not eggplant, but the main eggplant flavor seasoning.
As the eldest daughter of the Jia family and the eldest daughter of the Wang family, Wang Xifeng doesn't have to cook. Even the kitchen may not be able to enter a few times. Although ancient women wanted to be virtuous, they could do many things. However, it is impossible for a rich woman to learn to cook without touching her fingers. Identity determines that none of them can cook. Not only Wang Xifeng, but also Xue Baochai, Lin Daiyu and Sanchun.
There are two main reasons why Wang Xifeng can't cook, but she clearly knows the practice of "eggplant".
First, "eggplant" was mentioned by Jia and should be Jia's "private kitchen". Rich families in ancient times privately raised technicians in various fields. Such as kabuki, troupe, samurai, diners, tea artists, doctors, chefs, etc., and often hold activities to compete or show off their skills. Take the chef as an example, the most famous one is the chef in Song Dynasty.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, the wind of wealth and extravagance was extremely heavy, and the family of powerful people had the wind of raising "cooks". Let "cook" become a beautiful landscape for social and technical personnel.
According to the record, this chef cooks extremely luxuriously. Many ingredients only cost a dime or two, and all the rest are discarded on the ground. It is euphemistically called "non-aristocratic food". Far more luxurious than Jia's "eggplant".
Although there were no chefs in Jiafu in the Northern Song Dynasty, private school chefs like Liu in the small kitchen had their own specialties in "private cuisine", which was a necessary feature of Jiafu's banquet reception and a natural feeling for dignitaries to show off their wealth. "Eggplant" should be Jia's "private cuisine"
Second, the reason why Wang Xifeng knows the practice of "eggplant" is because of her cleverness and ability. Wang Xifeng is a housekeeper and a granddaughter. The most common thing to do every day is to serve the elders and sister-in-law for dinner. He is also the host of Jia Mu's banquet.
For example, on Mrs. Wang's birthday, guests come and go every day to entertain them. These ladies in Nan 'an feel good after eating Jia's Private Cuisine. When asked about the method, Wang Xifeng and others must open their mouths, instead of asking the chef to tell them the method.
Grandma Liu asked about the practice of "eggplant" at the banquet, which is something that Wang Xifeng often meets. Crosstalk actor "The Name of the Newspaper", housekeeper daughter-in-law Wang Xifeng wants to "recite recipes".
When reading A Dream of Red Mansions, we often have to savor the story behind it. Granny Liu made a fool of herself, which is really interesting. Jia's "eggplant" is cooked with "a dozen chickens", which is extravagant, but Wang Xifeng's "memorizing recipes" behind it is an unnecessary aftertaste.
From the fact that Wang Xifeng can't cook, but knows "eggplant" like the back of her hand, we can see her usual diligence and hard work. Compared with eggplant, the "Lotus Leaf Soup" in the 35th session is much simpler. And the rich daughter-in-law needs to know and know so much, which makes us have to admire.
Of course, "eggplant" also represents the extravagance of the Jia family. No wonder the Jia family was so wasteful that they finally failed to make ends meet. People without foresight will have immediate troubles, and Jia family is people without foresight. What do you think of this? Welcome to leave a message for discussion.
Wen/Jun Jian Ya Kan Hong Lou
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The information in this article is mainly quoted from:
Re-evaluation of "The Story of the Stone" by 80 Red inkstones;
80 copies of Zhou Stone Notes;
A Dream of Red Mansions People's Literature Publishing House19821990/2018;
A Dream of Red Mansions Hebei Education Press 2001;
Cheng Yiben's revision of A Dream of Red Mansions;
A Dream of Red Mansions is a complete picture of Qinghe.