On one occasion, Zhou Enlai and Marshal He Long had dinner together in Hangzhou Louwailou Hotel. Because Zhou Enlai is a "repeat customer", the restaurant knows what he likes to eat, so it specially cooked two dishes for him: steamed meat with dried vegetables and shrimp soup. When the waiter brought these two dishes to the table, Zhou Enlai happily pointed to the dried vegetable soup and said to Marshal He Long, "Try this soup in my hometown. How is it better than your favorite hot and sour soup? " Marshal He Long after careful tasting, bother to applaud!
That "steamed meat with dried vegetables" is a traditional popular dish in Shaoxing, with a unique style: dried vegetables are black, fresh and sweet; Pork is red and bright, and meat is sticky, salty and sweet. Zhou Enlai likes this dish and often recommends it to others. He often orders this dish when entertaining guests. On one occasion, he entertained Yuan Xuefen, Zhou and other celebrities in Shanghai literary and art circles at Shanghai Jinjiang Hotel and ordered "Steamed Meat with Dried Vegetables". He also entertained President Nixon with "Steamed Meat with Dried Vegetables".
He went to the south to inspect his work again. At dinner, he found that both of them were "steamed meat with dried vegetables". There is less food and more meat on his desk, but there is more food and less meat on the table of his entourage. He smiled and "criticized" the waiters for not treating them equally, and put the "steamed meat with dried vegetables" on his desk on the table of his entourage.
The waiter's action of "eating less and eating more meat" is of course well-intentioned, but he doesn't know that Zhou Enlai has a special preference for dried mushrooms in Shaoxing cuisine. Dried mushrooms, also called Shaoxing dried vegetables. According to historical records, Shaoxing dried vegetables are "nine times out of ten cooked by residents", which is an essential home-cooked dish. There is also a folk proverb in Shaoxing: "Braised meat with dried vegetables can be cooked more", which means that dried vegetables can stimulate and increase appetite.
Take it after eating: It is a good idea to make time-consuming and greasy meat dishes and let the meat and dried vegetables "join hands". For example, dried vegetables, day lilies, dried bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fungus, tremella and other dried vegetables will not become soft and rotten due to water loss during long-term cooking, and can dissolve greasy meat well. In the winter when vegetables are decreasing, all kinds of dried vegetables are of great use.
"I just like carrots."
Zhou Enlai is also a gourmet. He can taste the taste that ordinary people can't drink and drink the famous wine that ordinary people can't drink. People like to eat at the same table as Zhou Enlai. Apart from the pleasure of contact and conversation, they often gain some unexpected knowledge.
When entertaining foreign guests, Zhou Enlai can introduce dozens of famous China dishes in detail. Before entertaining guests, Zhou Enlai often personally lists well-matched recipes. On weekdays, Zhou Enlai talks about "popular recipes". For the staple food on the table, he will eat sorghum rice, chew corn, drink millet porridge and corn flour with relish; As a non-staple food on the dining table, he likes to eat common vegetables such as pumpkin, cabbage, sweet potato and radish. Take radish as an example. He has a special liking for dried radish, cold radish, coral radish, stewed radish dumplings and radish cakes.
On May 28th, 1958, Zhou Enlai inspected Nankai University. When I came to the school cafeteria, it was past the time to eat. The cook is busy packing and cleaning. He said to the cook, "Give me a dish of five-cent radish and two-cent pickles." Finally, I added, "You must never cook for me again." According to Premier Zhou's orders, the chef brought him a plate of radish and a small dish of kimchi.
Zhou Enlai ate Wowotou with relish with radishes and pickles and said to his comrades around him, "I just like radishes!"
After eating, I understand: in the vegetable family, radish shows its magic: "radish is on the market, but the doctor is fine"; Li Shizhen, a pharmacologist, wrote down nine "Ke" of radish in one breath in Compendium of Materia Medica: "It can be cooked raw, pickled, vinegar, sugar, wax and rice." Zhao, a famous performing artist, also mentioned the "Radish Club" in her sketches. Radish has endless ways to eat, radish has endless achievements, and radish has unstoppable power.