Strangely enough, Qin was born and raised in An 'an, where he lived for more than fifty years. He is not interested in local snacks and his knowledge is very limited. Apart from the common mutton bread in soup, gourd head, beef and mutton breast, Chinese hamburger, Huang Gui persimmon cake, cold rice noodles and retort pouch, he really doesn't know much about other special varieties, let alone taste them one by one. This is due to two aspects. First, although he was born and raised in Laoshan, his ancestral home was not authentic, but his parents stumbled and drifted to this land of feng shui before liberation. The custom of family life is still the same as that of his hometown, Tianjin Wei. For example, his family doesn't have the preference and hobby of eating Chili and vinegar, and the simple food at home is still the hometown flavor handed down by his parents. Second, born in poverty, physically unable to accept beef and mutton, pig fat and pig water. I accidentally smelled those when I walked into the street and immediately held my breath and hurried away, but I felt it was suitable to eat radish, cabbage and potatoes. I am envious and jealous when I see others eating these delicious foods. I don't want to eat them, but I really want to. I just can't accept them physically. I feel nauseous as soon as I enter. Poor? How much I want to eat a sumptuous meal of preserved beef, gourd head and Chinese hamburger, but I regret my greedy eyes and unforgiving taste. This is also one of the biggest regrets in my life.
There are many kinds of special snacks in Shaanxi, each with its own characteristics. I don't know how many kinds there are, but the food I eat is extremely limited. Some varieties only know the name but have no courage (such as spicy and sour) or don't want to taste it. My friends said that I lived for more than 50 years, and I was still half a Xi person. That's right, diet.
When I was a child, I heard about the fish in Guanzhong, Shaanxi, and I also saw my classmates eat it. My family can't make it, and I'm not interested in it at all, so I've never tasted it.
The first time I ate it was twenty years ago, when I was doing export business in a foreign trade company. One day in the summer of that year, I went to Gaoling County under the jurisdiction of Xi 'an to check the product quality with the salesman of Corey. The company only runs vans outside the county seat, so it is difficult for the department to apply, so it rushed to the long-distance bus station early in the morning and got on the long-distance bus bound for Gaoling more than half an hour later. Originally, tens of kilometers was an hour's drive, but it took more than two hours. After driving for about half an hour, a lady shouted that her wallet had been stolen and asked the driver to drive to the police station, but the driver had to obey. Unexpectedly, this trip took more than an hour. After the police finished this, the whole car was sweating. It's already half past ten in a town in Gaoling County. Ms. Xiaoyue said that there are still ten miles of dirt roads to go, the processing factory is not open to traffic, and there are no private tricycles, so she has no choice but to walk in the sun.
There are no trees to shade along the way, the sun is scorching, the land is scorching, and the crops are naked and watching the transpiration rise. Not far away, they were sweating profusely, and hot sweat ran down their faces and necks. I forgot to buy water when I got off the bus, and my breath was burning, thirsty and hot. There is no reference around the roads in the countryside, which seems to be bigger than the "Li" in the city. After walking for an hour, Xiaoyue said that one third of them still had to go to the processing factory. The heat, the sticky and wet smell of clothes and pants all over the body are still fresh in my mind.
"You see, there is a big tree in front, and there is a fish seller under the tree. Drinking a bowl is cool and refreshing, and it is only one yuan, which is very cheap. " Xiaoyue, who has been to the processing factory many times, said. I looked up, and there really was a big tree a few hundred meters away. There is a man and something sitting under the tree.
Walking under the tree, I was extremely thirsty and sweaty. "There you go again? Sit down quickly. " Handed two banana fans. A middle-aged woman greeted Xiaoyue under a big tree. Abortion said to the middle-aged woman, "Sister-in-law, is business good? Come to two bowls. " "Not bad." "Sister-in-law" uncovered the gauze on a basin, fished out the fish leaked from bean jelly with a colander (more than one inch long, with two sharp points), put it in a gray coarse porcelain bowl, uncovered an enamel pot cover, scooped up a spoonful of slurry and poured it on it. Finally, she dug out a little Chili oil from a black porcelain jar on the small table in front of her, and the white bean jelly fish bubbles shook in the clear slurry. "Sister-in-law" said kindly, "Drink." "Sister-in-law, I don't want Chili." "It can be done." While speaking, my bowl has been handed to me, and I took a long drink. Sour and cool, my stomach is like a cool mountain spring. My chest is cold from top to bottom and penetrates into my heart. A special sour taste that has never been tried makes people have to be amazed. Although it is not ice water, drinking it (in fact, some local people drink it directly without chewing, so there is a saying of "drinking") is more special and thirst-quenching than cola, sprite and other drinks. "Sister-in-law, another bowl." I ordered another bowl.
After "drinking" two bowls, I felt refreshed, much cooler and sweaty. Abortion said, let's have a rest here. There is a breeze like a giant umbrella in the dense shade, which is cool and comfortable. I asked "Sister-in-law" how the fish in the water could quench their thirst so much and how they did it. "Sister-in-law" is easier said than said, which has been handed down from generation to generation. In fact, it is to make the slurry well, and the length of the leaked fish is symmetrical. For water, wash and drain celery first. It is best to use the native Maimang celery (also called Maiqin), which is a unique celery variety with small leaves and stems, like Maimang, and has a strong taste. ), you can use ordinary celery without this kind of wheat celery in the city. Boil a pot of noodle soup, and then put the celery in. After a minute or two, immediately pour the soup and celery into the pot. The pot must be washed and dried, and then covered (sealed) for two days. A good slurry is clear and transparent, which can be seen at a glance. When eating, take out the celery and cut it into pieces. Put chopped green onion, shredded ginger and dried chili into a hot oil pan, and stir-fry celery with tintin for a few times. Fish used to use corn flour when they were poor, but now they live well. Most people don't like corn flour and basically use flour. Use good quality potato powder (potato powder) or sweet potato powder to make bean jelly, which is neither thin nor thick. The leaked fish should be as long as it is, and put it in cold boiled water. This is a simple breakup problem. People with academic qualifications like you can listen and do it when they go back. Besides, the fish in this water can quench their thirst, and the coolness of the water in the water is different from that in the well. Well water seeps into the bone cold, and the water in the water is different. It slowly seeps into the internal organs and cools to the bottom of my heart, making people feel comfortable, moist and refreshed. According to elders, this potion can not only quench thirst, but also relieve summer heat, dry heat and reduce fever. If someone suffers from heatstroke, or has a sore, toothache or excessive internal heat, drinking a bowl of liquid medicine is more effective than taking medicine. ...
A bowl of seemingly ordinary water fish is not only a food for farmers to quench their thirst, but also has such magical medicinal effects, which contains the wisdom and cleverness of predecessors. Ordinary fish in rural areas have such connotation, and ordinary peasant "sister-in-law" has such knowledge. Plain and simple dialects tell me my feelings in life, broaden my horizons and enrich my knowledge, knowledge and even life. It is true that "practice makes true knowledge, and knowledge comes from life".
Also this time, I am obsessed with the fish in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province. In the days that followed, I spent a year or so searching, tasting and recalling the unforgettable taste. Fortunately, Xi 'an has large and small restaurants all over the streets. It is not difficult to eat water fish once, but once every six months. It feels great. Even better, this city can not only eat cold fish in summer, but also eat hot fish in winter. In recent years, with the rise of prices, the value of water fish is also rising, and a bowl of refined water fish is only a few dollars in a beautiful shop. Although the boiled fish cooked in restaurants in the city is more oily than that cooked by my sister-in-law, and it looks more beautiful with seasonings such as monosodium glutamate and chicken essence, after careful tasting, I still think that the boiled fish sold by my sister-in-law in the shade of the tree is unpretentious, without "packaging", with rich flavor, original flavor, authentic taste, unforgettable and endless aftertaste.
I haven't studied Shaanxi snacks, and I don't even know if it is a widely publicized "Shaanxi snack" in recent years, and whether it can occupy a place in the list of "Shaanxi snacks", but after I know it and appreciate its simple taste, it has always been listed as a unique and indispensable Shaanxi snack in my heart.
Time flies and time waits for no one. When I first tasted paddlefish, my hair was still in full bloom. In a blink of an eye, I am already a semi-old man, and my temples are covered with snow. During this time, I experienced many things and tasted some delicious food such as lobster, abalone and game, but I never forgot my sister-in-law's Mingming fish.
My sister-in-law is about my age, or one or two years older than me. How are you today? Still selling water fish under that big tree? If God bless me, although I can't move today, I think that one day, I will look for you under that big tree again, and I am willing to "drink" your fish with thick juice, even if it is ten yuan a bowl today.
Sister-in-law, you may have forgotten me drinking your paddlefish under that big tree on a hot summer day twenty years ago, but I have never forgotten you and those two bowls of paddlefish. It will remain in my life's memory forever.