In fact, dried rat is one of the eight specialties in western Fujian, along with Liancheng Dried Sweet Potato, Wuping Dried Pig Gallbladder, Mingxi Dried Meat, Ninghua Dried Rat, Shanghang Dried Radish, Yongding Dried Vegetable, Liu Qing Dried Bamboo Shoots and Changting Dried Tofu.
Among the eight dried fruits, it is obvious that the dried rat of Ninghua is particularly eye-catching.
Dried mice are also a delicious food with a long history. Of course, the mice that Hakkas eat are not house mice, but voles that are active in the fields. They are nutritious and delicious. After beginning of winter every year, voles get fatter and fatter, which is a good season to catch mice and eat them.
The dried mice in Ninghua are often smoked and roasted with rice bran, which is golden yellow. After frying in oil pan, it is a delicious wine.
In fact, it's not just Fujian people and Guangdong people who eat rats. Hakka people in Taiwan Province Province still have the habit of eating voles, which is called "the meat of mountains and rivers" and regarded as a great tonic.
Zhou Jun often went to western Fujian on business when he was young. Apart from falling in love with dried mice, it is said that it is a normal bacon flavor and can be fried with winter bamboo shoots. It is generally easy to imagine rabbit meat, which is fragrant and chewy, and quite delicious.
In the eyes of petty bourgeoisie, Ninghua is really a place with a strong diet. In addition to dry mice, there are raw fish-yes, it is the Ninghua version of "sashimi". The key is not to bleed in advance. The blood of the fish was dried with a clean towel, and the master quickly cut the knife, and the fish became a transparent sheet. The sliced fish fillets are as red as rouge, and the Bai Rubing is covered with snow, which makes people's forefinger move.
The key is to eat this raw fish. Ninghua locals like to drink high-alcohol to match. A bite of white wine, a bite of sashimi, the sweetness of fish fillets and the pungent taste of white wine are endless in the mouth, and people who love to eat are hooked.
In addition, I also recommend you to try Wuping pig bile, which is regarded as an advanced appetizer in Hakka dialect.
Late autumn and early winter are good seasons to produce dried pig bile every year.
Fresh dark brown "glutinous rice pig liver" is completely soaked in a certain concentration of salt water without removing pig bile, and appropriate ingredients such as spiced powder, sorghum wine and star anise are added. After the bile seeps into the liver, it is picked up and hung in the sun, and it is reshaped every 2-3 days.
Dried pig bile is well-made, with many processes and strong seasonality. It goes through seven processes: cleaning, batching, pickling, drying, pressing, forming and inspection. So it is also a rare specialty food. If you have a chance to pass by Hu Jian, remember to try it!
Eight famous people in western Fujian eat dry goods very delicious, but Ninghua dried rats are not acceptable to everyone.
Let's see what western Fujian is.
Western Fujian refers to some jurisdictions of Longyan and Sanming, the westernmost cities in Fujian, mainly including Shanghang, Yongding, Liancheng, Wuping, Changting, Liu Qing, Ninghua and Mingxi. Previously, these eight counties were all under the jurisdiction of Tingzhou government and all in western Fujian, so they were called western Fujian.
Eight major projects in western Fujian include: Changting Dried Tofu, Liancheng Dried Sweet Potato, Wuping Dried Pig Gallbladder, Shanghang Dried Radish, Yongding Dried Vegetable, Mingxi Dried Meat, Ninghua Dried Rat and Liu Qing Dried Bamboo Shoots. It is a long-term local specialty. It tastes good and has obvious local characteristics. However, many people can't accept Ninghua dried mice.
"West Fujian" should be "Tingzhou", which belongs to Fujian. Eight kinds of dry food are good for killing time. The key is that there is a kind of dry goods in it, which I dare not look at. It is called "dry mouse" and I dare not eat it!
Eight main tasks are also introduced, including:
Liancheng dried sweet potato
Why is Liancheng dried sweet potato? Liancheng dried sweet potato is famous for its unique raw materials and production technology.
Mingxi dried meat
Minxi Dried Meat is made from refined beef, pickled with clove, fennel, sugar and other spices, air-dried in a ventilated place for a week, and then smoked in an oven. The entrance is fragrant and sweet!
Ninghua dried mouse
Qingxi dried bamboo shoots
Liu Qing dried bamboo shoots are made of golden dried bamboo shoots. It is indispensable for many hotel dishes.
Shanghang dried radish
Wuping dried pork gall
Yongding dried vegetables
Changting dried bean curd (my favorite)
The area located in the west of Fujian Province and the west bank of Taiwan Strait is commonly known as the west of Fujian, and it is also a part of the jurisdiction of Longyan and Sanming. There are many special foods with unique flavor in western Fujian, among which Liancheng Dried Sweet Potato, Wuping Dried Pig Gallbladder, Mingxi Dried Meat, Ninghua Dried Mouse, Shanghang Dried Radish, Yongding Dried Vegetable, Liu Qing Dried Bamboo Shoots and Changting Dried Tofu are famous local specialties in western Fujian, commonly known as "Eight Dried Minxi".
I. Liancheng Dried Sweet Potato
Liancheng County, Fujian Province is a famous "hometown of dried sweet potatoes with red hearts". Liancheng dried sweet potato has a history of 200-300 years, and it was deeply loved by Empress Dowager Cixi as a tribute in the Qing Dynasty. Chef of Qing Palace once made Liancheng red-hearted sweet potato a famous dish at the official banquet, which won unanimous praise from the harem.
The rural soil in Liancheng county is moderate in acid and alkali, soft and suitable, which is very suitable for the growth of red-heart sweet potatoes cultivated locally. Steamed sweet potatoes with red hearts are peeled, then pressed and baked to make dried sweet potatoes. The finished product is light yellow in color, soft and tough in texture, sweet in taste, and will not deteriorate after being stored for several years. They are rich in nutrition, high in glucose and vitamins A and B, and can be used as snacks, processed into famous banquet dishes, and even better as gifts for relatives and friends.
Second, Wuping pig bile dry
According to legend, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, scholars from various counties in western Fujian gathered in pubs to chant poems about wine, and each took out his hometown specialty to accompany the wine. The dried pig bile brought by a scholar named Zhong in Wuping has a purple-brown aroma, delicious taste and a long aftertaste, which has been appreciated by many scholars. Other diners were also attracted by the aroma and asked what this dish was. The reputation of Wuping dried pig bile spread and became a special food exported to Southeast Asian countries.
The best season for making dried pig bile is after the winter solstice. Soak the fresh "glutinous rice pig liver" and pig bile in salt water with spices such as spiced and white wine, then take them out and dry them flat, and plastic them every 2-3 days to ensure the beauty of the finished product. When eating, first steam the whole pig bile liver, then cut it into thin slices and mix it with seasoning, and the aroma suddenly overflows. Wuping pig bile liver contains a variety of sugars and vitamins, which has the effects of promoting fluid production, invigorating stomach, cooling and detoxifying.
Third, Mingxi Dried Meat
Mingxi dried meat is a Hakka-style food with color, aroma, taste and shape. It has ancient technology and unique flavor, and has a history of hundreds of years. To make dried meat, we should slice the thin hind legs of local pigs in rural areas, marinate them with special sauce, then take them out and hang them in a ventilated place to dry, and finally put them on bamboo slices and slowly bake them with charcoal fire to the finished products. Mingxi dried meat has a unique reddish-brown, slightly shiny and transparent feeling, emitting the natural aroma of pork barbecue. The population is tough and chewy, and the mellow red yeast flavor and the slightly sweet spicy taste in the salt make people want to stop and have endless aftertaste.
Fourth, Ninghua dried mice.
Fujian Ning belongs to a mountainous agricultural county, with vast fields and many voles that harm crops. Although catching voles is a long-standing action to protect farmland, it is impossible to verify when voles were made into delicious dried mice. It is said that it has a history of hundreds of years.
Every winter comes, people carry mousetraps on their backs, use bait to catch mice in fields and hillsides, and then process, steam and bake them into dried mice. When eating, it is often served with pork and winter bamboo shoots, and fried with garlic, ginger, water wine and other seasonings. Dry vole is rich in protein, which has the effect of tonifying kidney, and has a significant effect on frequent urination or bed wetting in children. Because local people like to eat dried rat meat, there is a saying that "the price of dried rat meat", especially those who love drinking, regard it as the top grade of wine.
Five, dried radish in Shanghang
Shanghang dried radish was famous as early as the early Ming Dynasty, and it has a history of five or six hundred years. It has always been famous for its golden color, tender skin and crisp meat, crispy and delicious taste, and has the effects of digestion, sobering up and detoxification. Whether it's cold, fried or stewed in oil, it's crisp. It has been recorded in Historical Records, and it is a "best seller in Fujian and Guangdong".
According to the traditional production, Shanghang radish thousand has to go through three processes of "drying, salting and storing", which takes a long time and the production date is around winter. Dry the best radish a little first, then put it in a wooden bucket, layer by layer, sprinkle with salt, press a big stone to seal it for a week, and then take it out to dry until the water can't be squeezed out. Then filter the salt water in the vat and boil it, pour in the dried radish, soak it while it is hot, and then squeeze out the salt water to continue drying. After the dried radish turns golden yellow, it is compacted in a clean urn, sealed with yellow mud and taken out after half a year. Eat a delicious and unique dried radish, and you will feel that it is worthwhile to wait more.
Six, Yongding dried vegetables
Yongding dried vegetables are said to have a history of more than 400 years, which are divided into two kinds: dried beet and pickled cabbage, both of which are made of fresh mustard: dried beet is black and shiny, with rich and attractive aroma and sweet and delicious taste; Dried sauerkraut is yellow-brown, sweet and sour, and appetizing.
Yongding dried vegetables have several methods. The most commonly used method is "three steaming and three drying": clean fresh mustard, dry it for 1~2 days until the leaves are tender, then steam it in a steamer, dry it again, steam it again after drying, and repeat it for more than three times. Making fine dried vegetables even needs to be steamed for seven times. Traditional dishes such as Dongpo braised pork, cooked tofu, etc. made with it are more beautiful, more colorful and more fragrant.
Seven, wash dried bamboo shoots
There are many bamboo mountains in Qingliu County, Fujian Province. The local "Fujian dried bamboo shoots" are made of newly broken bamboo shoots and are famous for their crispness, tenderness and sweetness. As early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was listed as a tribute to Beijing, and now it is well-known at home and abroad and has become the first choice for many famous dishes, dried bamboo shoots.
The clean dried bamboo shoots are made from bamboo by shelling, cooking, tabletting, drying and molding. The finished product is golden in color, crisp and tender in meat, and fragrant, so people have given it a good name "Yulan Tablet". This dish has not only become a famous dish for inviting guests, but also a good gift for relatives and friends. Therefore, there is a local folk proverb called "The guest closes the door, the table is full of wine, and there is no magnolia slice, which is not fragrant".
Eight, Changting dried bean curd
Changting dried bean curd is the oldest of the eight major projects in western Fujian, which began in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and has a history of 1200 years. The method of making Changting tofu is very special. Slowly pour the sour tofu water into the soybean milk, let the tofu brain solidify slowly, and then filter. The tofu made in this way is fresh, tender and delicious. After a long time, the dried tofu is also fragrant, salty, sweet and tough, which is very popular.
As the capital of Hakka, Changting County has many quaint villages located in the deep mountains, and each village must have a small shop selling dried tofu and rice wine. Selling-a bowl of sweet rice wine and a delicious piece of dried bean curd, chewing slowly in front of green mountains and green waters, is not a pleasant thing.
"West Fujian" is the general name of "Longyan City", that is, there are now eight Hakka counties in Tingzhou, five counties in Longyan, and three counties in Sanming, Fujian.
Bagan in western Fujian is one of the representatives of Hakka cuisine in Fujian, including: Changting Dried Tofu, Liancheng Dried Sweet Potato, Wuping Dried Pig Gallbladder, Shanghang Dried Radish, Yongding Dried Vegetable, Mingxi Dried Meat, Ninghua Dried Rat and Liu Qing Dried Bamboo Shoots.
The taste varies from person to person, especially the Ninghua dried mouse, which is not enjoyed by everyone.
As a Fujian native, I actually don't know what the eight major projects in western Fujian include or what they are, but I often hear from others. Eight major projects in western Fujian include: Changting Dried Tofu, Liancheng Dried Sweet Potato, Wuping Dried Pig Gallbladder, Shanghang Dried Radish, Yongding Dried Vegetable, Mingxi Dried Meat, Ninghua Dried Rat and Liu Qing Dried Bamboo Shoots. What's the smell? Does it taste good？ You are still welcome to come to Fujian and taste the food there.