Yongfeng, a small town in central Jiangxi, is located in the hot and humid hills of the south of the Yangtze River. It is bounded by the ancient counties and towns under its jurisdiction, with Yongfeng in the south and Yongfeng in the ancient counties in the north. The ancient county where Fengxian County in Guyang is located is called the ancient county. Shanghai Yongfeng is mountainous and runoff-prone, and most residents move to Fujian, Guangdong, and the folk customs are similar to those of Hakkas. The so-called relying on mountains to eat mountains and relying on water to eat water has created the typical mountain flavor style of Shanghai Yongfeng cuisine. Xiayongfeng is a hilly area with relatively more developed economy, and most residents have moved from the Central Plains. Summer Yongfeng food is lighter and more expensive.
After thousands of years of mastery, Shangyongfeng cuisine and Xiayongfeng cuisine have been learning and absorbing from each other, creating today's Yongfeng cuisine, which pays attention to the original flavor, fresh and sour, rich and mellow, and loves soup; In cooking, I like to stir-fry and I am good at burning and touching. I'm good at curing mildew and waxing. The so-called vegetable-free, meat-free and wax-free, among which pickling is especially mildew, waxing is especially famous for baking. Traditionally, I like to season with alcohol (including sour wine), like garlic and pepper, and am good at soaking in Tibetan food. Yongfeng cuisine is represented by aged meat, moldy fish, chicken soaked in oil, roasted meat, Yongfeng braised pork, lion balls, Yongfeng taro cakes, handmade meatball soup and yellow glutinous rice cakes.
My friend Li Jun stayed in Yongfeng for more than a year on business. One winter a few years later, Li Jun came to Yongfeng and I invited him to dinner. He refused my order. He said I would come. Then he ordered a moldy fish, a roasted meat, a cold flat radish, a meatball soup and a side dish, moldy tofu. After drinking a glass of beer and eating a moldy fish, Li Jun breathed a sigh of relief. This is a hometown dish, unforgettable.
Hey hey, Lao Li, you are from Hunan.
Take a bite of this moldy fish and you'll never put it down again. Lao Li picked up a piece of burnt meat, which tasted like a knife. I always remember it in my heart.
Dried moldy fish originated in Yongfeng County, and it is mainly popular in Yongfeng County and its surrounding areas, such as Le 'an, Gushan in the Far East of Qing Dynasty and Jishui. The most traditional method of moldy fish is similar to moldy tofu. Generally, in winter, the big fish are cut open, the internal organs are removed, and the fish are cut into cubes and dried on straw (the straw containing special beneficial fermenting bacteria will form a special flavor, in addition, it can isolate the water after the fish is put in, and provide a fermentation and moisturizing environment by the way). After drying in water, it will be moldy, more resistant to preservation, and its taste is slightly biased towards dried fish (preserved fish), which is more compact and spicy. After mildew, add refined salt to the pepper powder and stir (the amount of pepper powder makes you jumpy). Put the cut fish pieces into the prepared pepper powder and wrap them with pepper (the whole fish should be wrapped). Put the fish wrapped with pepper into a jar and seal it for fermentation. It can be eaten after a week of mildew, or fried or steamed, or burned.
After the midnight snack is spread out, foodies often lament that there is no moldy fish to eat and not enough to eat. With a willing heart, combined with the practice of moldy fish, a simplified version of fresh mold was introduced, which was made directly from fresh fish mold. The taste is fresh and tender, and it has become an enduring favorite in the supper stall.
Both dry mold and fresh mold can be sealed with oil, but fresh mold can be preserved for a short time, while dry mold can be preserved for a long time, and moldy fish will have better taste and flavor after oil immersion. Oil immersion is also a characteristic step in the production of moldy fish (oil immersion is a characteristic storage method of local ingredients in Yongfeng, besides moldy fish, there are oil-soaked bacon and preserved fish, etc. )。 If the moldy fish can be eaten in a short time, the oil soaking step can also be omitted. Moldy fish is cooked by every household every winter, and is often used as a dish for winter, Chinese New Year and banquets with bacon and duck. With the refrigerator, moldy fish can be cooked in other seasons. Molding is a special storage method of Yongfeng ingredients. Besides moldy fish and tofu, there are moldy ducks, moldy chickens, moldy pig livers, moldy beef, moldy beans and moldy bamboo shoots.
Food made of mold needs many ingredients, such as tofu, which must be made of gypsum, while tofu made of brine is bitter, rough and unsightly. After the tofu mold made of gypsum is made, the cream at the entrance is fine, salty and fragrant. Moldy fish are generally moldy from grass carp or bighead carp, with thick and prickly meat and slightly light smell. That year, my friends and I went fishing and harvested a nine-and-a-half-catty herring. It's early winter, and I made several bottles of moldy fish for this herring. It tastes strong, spicy, tough and long, but it is better than grass carp and bighead carp.
Mould is indispensable for pepper powder. Color stimulates your eyes, and spicy taste awakens your taste buds. Ginger slices, dried tangerine peel, flat radish, etc. It will also be added to the moldy tofu jar. After such moldy treatment, ginger slices, dried tangerine peel and flat radish are excellent side dishes. Moldy tofu and moldy beans are both rice. You can take them out of jars and eat them. After the moldy tofu is made, the remaining soup is mixed with flour, kneaded into dough, cut into sections, dried in the hot sun, and stored in a glass bottle, which becomes another classic food-tofu cake. When you want to eat, take it out and stir-fry it with tea, which is spicy and washes your nose. It's good food for breakfast.
The most common way to eat moldy fish is to turn the hot pot to medium-low heat and fry the moldy food. If the fish is to be thoroughly fried, it is necessary to move the pot less. When the bottom edge of the pot is almost burnt, gently shake it, and the fish pieces can move naturally, and the other side can be turned over with chopsticks. After both sides are golden, put a little water wine or beer. Water wine should not be too strong, but light, otherwise it will smell of wine. Put the lid on for a minute and open it. The moldy fish fried in the pot has crisp skin, white and tender meat, and a unique flavor of fragrant, spicy, salty, fresh and hemp. It's tender and spicy outside, sweaty and straightforward.
The cooking methods of beef with mold, chicken mold, duck mold and pig liver mold are basically the same. This moldy fish, moldy tofu and moldy food derived from it are really delicious.