A few days ago, a business dinner, the customer chose a Hong Kong-style chicken hot pot with flower gelatin, a variety of expensive ingredients have been down to the pot, the atmosphere is dense, the menu corner of the slightly humble luncheon meat. Dense, I glimpsed a slightly humble lunch meat on the corner of the menu. The hot pot is not expensive per capita, there is no luncheon meat in the body, but on the way back, my brain is completely occupied by it, ignoring the just down the bird's nest abalone wings.

As the most common canned food on supermarket shelves, lunch meat has an emotional basis with almost everyone. In times of scarcity, lunch meat was a treasure box that healed a family. In the present, lunch meat is more like a key to the past, a kind of memory that will always be on the tip of the tongue when reminiscing about the bitter and the sweet.

01

The Can

Those who love luncheon meat know what it means to eat it.

Of all the canned meats, lunch meat has the most fans, perhaps because it knows how to exercise restraint and forbearance, both in terms of smell and taste, a little more is fatty, a little less is bland. There was a time when I felt tired of eating it, and I also used to look for substitutes for luncheon meat in the supermarket, such as canned braised pork ribs or canned steamed pork, but either they were too greasy or had lost the original flavor of the ingredients. So in the end I went back to the drawing board honestly, and since then, only lunch meat has claimed the title of the ironic white moon on my running table.

The king of domestic canned goods is the flat box of canned Merlin ham, which has been a favorite of mine for years. Being starch-free, such a thick box of canned goods is almost entirely pure meat, so the edges will precipitate a bright layer of meat jelly. As a child, I learned that there was a ritual to enjoying canned goods - the cans came with an opening key that had a small rectangular hole in it. Find the piece of tin that tends to buckle, put the tin through the hole in the key, and roll it up and down the grain. I was always very careful in those days, lest I come to a screeching halt in the middle of the roll. After the lid was lifted, the large pieces of meat were still half hidden, half exposed, the smell of meat first can't wait to waft out, on top of a thin layer of meat jelly is even more eager to come out.

As the essence of a can of luncheon meat, the meat jelly always belongs to me to enjoy, my parents always excused the cholesterol gradual high, and I was happy to scrape a layer of trembling meat jelly all the way to the already prepared hot rice. Meat jelly will quickly melt on the rice, then to the mouth while hot, rice particles will be wrapped in a thin layer of oily aroma, even if it is a slap in the face will not be released.

After scraping the meat jelly is to eat meat, a whole box of canned ham, do not have to cut without doing, simply dig with a spoon to eat. Canned ham is the best thing to eat empty mouth, that is a pure meat experience, in the chewing to feel the smoothness of the meat, looking forward to the occasional particles and fibrous texture, the texture of the surprise will inspire you to go back to explore more, because you do not know the next bite is what kind of delicious.

02

Cooking

A good can of luncheon meat knows its textural strengths.

The history of canned luncheon meat dates back to 1932, with the earliest canned luncheon meat being invented by Jay Hormel (son of the founder of the Hormel Company). A block of ham, pork and starch was packed into a 12-ounce can for easy storage and delivery, yet maximized calories and energy for people. It was introduced at a luncheon, hence the name "luncheon meat". About lunch meat, there is a little-known anecdote, launched at the beginning of the Hormel company in order to lunch meat publicity campaign, there is a name contest, the winning name is SPAM (Shoulder of Pork and Ham), that is, today's big name of the world stick lunch meat.

When it comes to the origin of lunch meat, in fact, due to the different ratios of starch and meat, lunch meat can be specifically categorized into ham, ham lunch meat, and lunch meat, with canned ham having the highest meat content and canned lunch meat the lowest.

Canned luncheon meat has a higher starch content than canned ham, which helps the meat to set and retain moisture, making it firmer and more suitable for light cooking. It doesn't need to be complicated, and frying is the best place for it, as it maximizes the meat's own aroma.

If you look at the national lunch meat map, the further south you go, the more you eat it. Perhaps it's because the North eats more beef and lamb, but it's in the South that pork and pork products make their mark.

A box of mediocre canned luncheon meat to bring home, according to the table of the day the degree of abundance and frugality and then processed, cut into thin slices or thick slices. Unlike buying meat at the market meat block, where you have to pick and choose the fat and the lean, luncheon meat is always well-fattened.

The best part of a well-done luncheon meat is that it's pink and tender, with a golden glow all around and slightly charred edges. The Melard reaction brings the meat to its meaty best, and in four words, it's so meaty that you can taste the sexiness in this little dish.

Further south, Hong Kong people's approach to luncheon meat with a Hong Kong-style filter, the original TVB I always imagined "meal egg noodles" exactly what it is like. Later, I realized that this bowl of noodles looks simple, but in fact, it is very sophisticated. The "meal" refers to sliced luncheon meat, the "egg" should be fried into a loose egg, the egg white should have a ring of burnt edges, which is called "shengchun" in Hong Kong restaurant terminology, and the "noodles" are Hong Kong people's favorite doll noodles.

Leung Man Tao once wrote: "To this day, 'meat' has become an integral part of many Chinese people's daily diet. Not to mention the fact that breakfast, lunch, regular and fast food in Hong Kong's cafeterias would be a scene of despair without "meat"!"

Until later, when I traveled to Hong Kong on business, I was distracted by a bowl of egg noodles. The good thing is that the night in Hong Kong is long enough, after the meal, at midnight, I really alone in a small store to eat a bowl of authentic meal egg noodles, which is considered to be the fulfillment of the wish for many years.

Later on, I tried to replicate this bowl of noodles at home by buying a packet of Izumi Ichidin and cooking it in a pot for two minutes after the water boiled. The wheat flavor is much stronger, and the texture is refreshing. The noodles themselves are very tough, so they don't rise easily even after boiling for a long time. Another pan fried meat and eggs, lunch meat must be thick cut, and then cut a few cuts, so that the meat and fat more intimate contact, so that the fried lunch meat comes with a crispy texture. The rest of the fat is just enough to whip up a perfect loose egg.

For me, the whole point of a meal and egg noodle is that it's just a bowl of noodles, but it's not sloppy in the least, and it's kind of good for the soul that stays up late into the night.

03 Troop pot

Friends who have watched the Korean drama "Please Answer 1988" must not forget the scene of Jung Bong eating lunch meat, as the most good at eating in the whole drama, only to see his chubby hand clenched into a fist, with a spoon vigorously digging up a large chunk of lunch meat into his mouth, his face is full of the word "really fragrant". The scene was like a pious pilgrimage to the meat.

Drama "Please Answer 1988"

The troop pot in the cold wind exudes a direct and strong charm, so that people know that it is just a pot of canned food and instant noodles stew, but also can not avoid the saliva secreted in the mouth. I have to say, the same mundane food, when presented in the form of a pot, the mouth has not yet eaten on, the mind can make up a scene of sound and color, the sound of the gurgling is like blowing the horn of the battle, so that people can not help but to be the first to fight.

As a northerner, I always call for a hot meal in winter. If it is a good relationship with friends, I usually choose the force pot. The main reason I love troop pots is that the process of eating troop pots is similar to hot pots in that it's quality-maximizing socializing. Your eyes, nose, mouth, and hands are occupied by a pot of red, and you are forced to give it your all, and if you slow down a bit, the noodles will smear on the bottom of the pot, and the meat will turn into mincemeat. Not only does the pot get cold, but your appetite also dwindles.