Text: Wei Shuihua

Picture: Tu Chong

Applying the profound Chinese language to food names will always lead to many scams. For example, there are no squirrels in Squirrel Mandarin Fish; there are neither ants nor trees in Ants Climbing a Tree; there are no flies in Fried Fly Heads; there are too few pig livers and too many pig intestines in Fried Liver; let alone Buddha in Buddha Jumps over the Wall, there are even movements. "Jump over the wall" can't be found. But when it comes to the two biggest scams, they are Chengdu’s sweet water noodles and Shanghai’s spicy pork noodles. Chengdu people say that the sweet water is slightly spicy but sweet at the same time, but outsiders are often left speechless by the spicy flavor of the red oil hot pot soup. Shanghainese say spicy pork noodles are delicious and delicious, but outsiders are often psychologically disturbed by the sudden taste of syrup. ?If spicy and sweet are the taste genes of Chengdu and Shanghai, then the two carefully packaged noodles, sweet water noodles and spicy meat noodles, reflect the tongue-tip characters deeply rooted in these two cities. No:1?一

Red oil dumplings and sweet water noodles are the two most indispensable items in Chengdu street snacks. This is an expression that Chengdu people are good at simplifying complexity. It was clearly a place where many flavors came together and clashed, but in the end it was summed up in terms that could not be called a summary, such as "red oil" and "sweet water." It's like when people in Chengdu were in a tense conflict, as soon as they turned around, the two sides stopped the fighting with the words "Forget it, let's fight." Copy soy sauce is used to make red oil dumplings and sweet noodles, which is the soul of Sichuan-style cold dishes.

This is a compound condiment made by adding sugar, ginger, green onions, spices and other raw materials to soy sauce, and then simmering it over low heat.

Thick and strangely sweet, it is the source of the sweetness in the sweet water.

The noodles in Tianshui Water are specially made. High-gluten flour must be used, especially Sichuan local winter wheat. It is not that it cannot be kneaded to produce a chewy and chewy texture; add more

< p>Zigong’s salt, Shuangliu’s finely ground sesame oil, free-range eggs, and Chengcheng’s slightly sweet well water

all come together to create a dough that looks simple but has a complex flavor. Many Chengdu people feel that the taste of sweet water is not right after leaving their hometown. In fact, the unique taste comes from the Chengdu temperament formed by the intersection of noodles themselves.

After the dough is kneaded, cut it into small strips and stretch it into noodles as thick as your index finger. If it's too thin, it won't stick to the water, if it's too thick, it won't sit well in the mouth.

The right ratio is the accumulation of Sichuan people's experience on the tip of their tongues over thousands of years

It's easy to cook it, put it in a bowl, add a spoonful of soy sauce, a spoonful of chili pepper with white sesame seeds, and some crushed peanuts. When eating sweet noodles, you must mix them well and coat each stick with a thick layer of sauce, so that you can perfectly taste its exquisiteness.

When the thick and sturdy noodles are dressed in a rich sauce color, the alluring aroma immediately emits. As a result, the weak-willed appetite immediately responded, and the sound of gastrointestinal peristalsis turned into a thunder in the summer, and the rain-like cracks immediately soaked the entire mouth and throat. Decades ago, sweet water noodles were the snack of choice for Chengdu young men who first fell in love to show their affection to their girlfriends. The cost was not high and they were full of sincerity. It is different from the homely taste of Mapo Tofu, the Jianghu taste of boiled beef, and the hall taste of Kung Pao Chicken. Instead, it is a market taste that is full of mystery and tension. It is brought together by this water and soil. It’s so delicious to be together.

No:2

二

Shanghai people are accustomed to refer to home-cooked dishes and even high-quality dishes such as sea cucumbers and wings at banquets as " Side dishes”.

It seems that no matter how much you eat this kind of thing, it’s almost boring. But for noodles, even a bowl of clear soup Yangchun noodles is a complete meal in the eyes of Shanghainese. If you can add another spoonful of "spicy meat", it will be a meal that makes people grateful and happy.

Spicy pork is not actually spicy, it is more like fried sauce. This topping, which is based on meat and supplemented by sauce, has the taste of fried sauce, but has the chewy texture of meat.

The seemingly simple cooking has the style of thick oily red sauce in Shanghai cuisine. Add more soy sauce, less chili, and a spoonful of soulful white sugar, which not only brings out the umami flavor of the gravy, but also weakens the balance. The kick of chili peppers.

The diced meat should not be too big, otherwise it will not be easy to taste, and it should not be too small, otherwise it will become old and lose its fresh and tender taste.

There are also people who advocate the use of minced meat, but this is actually not in line with the characteristics of local Shanghainese cuisine that emphasizes appearance. Most of them have learned the Taiwanese "pork roast" method.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang are rich in products and pay attention to the combination of ingredients, so of course spicy pork noodles cannot only have spicy meat. Soup is the core of the whole bowl of noodles. Pork bone soup is of course good, but chicken rack soup is more authentic, cheaper, not thick in color, but rich in flavor. In Shanghai dialect, it is " The taste of "little Luosui".

Grilled bran and egg shreds are essential supporting roles for spicy meat noodles. Grilled bran is fried gluten, which is loose and porous and looks like frozen tofu. It is easy to absorb the soup, and the gluten is firm and chewy. It complements the spicy diced pork very well, and enriches the taste level of the spicy pork noodles with the characteristics of vegetarian meat.

Shanghai uncles who know how to eat may also add a piece of vegetarian chicken. This kind of sliced ??and braised gluten is another expression of grilled bran with two sides.

The egg shreds are very thin and fine, but Shanghainese believe that this is an important ingredient to enhance the freshness of the noodle soup.

Sprinkle a handful of green onions, green chopped green onions, yellow shredded eggs, red diced meat, and white noodles. The colors are complete and the workmanship is fine, representing the typical appearance of Jiangnan snacks.

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In fact, using spicy food as sweetness and sweetness as packaging shows that both Shanghai and Chengdu are extremely tolerant cities. However, upon careful analysis, There are subtle differences between the two. ?The tolerance of Chengdu people is expressed in humility between people, which is a rare virtue in a moral sense; but the tolerance of Shanghai people is expressed in the principle of keeping things in their own hands, which is closer to the psychological meaning of modern culture. Tolerance. ?I can’t say which one is better or worse between the two, but they are indeed the character of the city that is on the tip of the tongue and more worthy of reading and visiting again and again.