Along the way, local specialties and snacks are self-evident, and crabs and shark fins from the south are also delivered one after another. In Datong area, Qi Futian, the county magistrate, ordered the famous chef of Fenglinge, a famous local restaurant, to go out and cook a special dish called "Fengpawo". After frying a chicken, put it on a big plate with fried dry powder strips, fried boiled eggs (or quail eggs, pigeon eggs) and fried tofu beside it.
Cixi thought it was delicious, so she asked the name of the dish, but officials thought that the word "phoenix lying in the nest" was afraid that Cixi might think it was an allusion to herself and might be killed, so she racked her brains and came up with a "golden phoenix lying in the snow". Later, this dish was restored to its original name and is served every day in Fenglinge, Datong today.
There was also a "hundred flowers roast" for Cixi at that time, which was wrapped with nine kinds of meat stuffing: chicken, duck, fish, shrimp, crab, cow, sheep, pig and rabbit. Baked with peony, lotus, rose, peony, magnolia, rose, autumn chrysanthemum, cuckoo, plum blossom, is also appreciated by Cixi.
In Taiyuan, Lu Zhongqi, the governor of Shanxi, presented a "crab wing pulling fish", which was greatly appreciated by the Queen Mother. Fish pick is a kind of pasta, which is made of white flour, beans, wheat, or sorghum and buckwheat flour. Sharpening with a knife is called "picking the tip", and streamlining with chopsticks is called "picking the fish". Now you can also eat "Fish-flavored shredded pork" at Jinyang Hotel in Beijing.
In addition to these "big dishes", Cixi also tasted various snacks along the way: for example, "Yingzhou beef brisket" is made by kneading white flour into the shape of beef brisket, dipping it in sugar and frying it; Xinzhou tile cake, named after its shape like a tile, was invented by chef Wang Fenglong. It is crisp and delicious. Because it was dedicated to Cixi and Guangxu, it was renamed "Dragon and Phoenix Tiles". In Feng Meng village, southwest of Taiyuan, a kind of "Feng Meng cake" is produced, which is a sweet and soft shortcake and later became a "royal cake" to pay tribute to the royal family.
Here, I would also like to mention Pingyao's saucer and Lingshi's "harmonious meal". Bowls and plates are snacks made of buckwheat flour, which originated in the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty. Local soldiers camped here to fight against the Huns. Because the Luliang Mountain area is rich in miscellaneous grains, when encountering natural disasters, the soldiers can only collect some buckwheat and grind it into porridge. Some soldiers eat late and can only eat cold buckwheat slices. Unexpectedly, it is more delicious than porridge, and it is more convenient to store and carry, so it becomes a ration.
"Harmony Rice" was originally named "Hu". After Hu Jie (a branch of Southern Xiongnu) entered Shaanxi in the late Jin Dynasty, he cooked rice, noodles and vegetables together because he couldn't cook coarse grains. "Harmony" means mixing. When Cixi ate this dish, she just thought it was delicious. She may not know that there is actually a history of blood and tears hidden behind this.
The year of Gengzi is a leap in August, so there are two Mid-Autumn Festival. The hero of the jstars courtyard, the famous Shanxi businessman Joe, naturally won't miss the opportunity of the Queen Mother's visit. The first Mid-Autumn Festival is in Xinzhou, mainly to celebrate the moon, and moon cakes are just ordinary things. On the second Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncake given to Cixi by the Qiao family was called "Snow Lotus Crisp".
This is made by a famous time-honored pastry shop in Qixian County. It's for jstars. It is crystal white and made into a flower shape, which outsiders can't buy. Of course, the Qiao family offered flowers to Buddha (Lafayette). Cixi was full of praise for this. After arriving in Ann, she also sent someone to Joe's house to get the yacon cake. Since then, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the jstars will send people to Beijing to offer yacon cakes.
When we arrived at Houma Post Station in Quwo County, local officials in Houma began to prepare a month ago, specially recruited 80 chefs, worked day and night, and carefully prepared, and really made a 108 Manchu-Chinese banquet. As a result, after more than a month of escape, Cixi and her party have basically returned to the imperial standards. When I arrived in Xi 'an, I set up the Royal Dining Hall according to the specifications of the Forbidden City, which was divided into meat bureau, vegetarian bureau, vegetable bureau, meal bureau, tea bureau, cold bureau, dim sum bureau and other nearly 10 bureaus, with more than 100 chefs.
In this "Western Expedition", some practices of Shanxi-Shaanxi pasta and cooking were introduced into the palace, and the menu of Manchu-Han banquet was also circulated among the people. Just as the people were exchanging ideas with the imperial banquet, Li Hongzhang was sailing north to Beijing to prepare for the most difficult negotiation in his life.