Yuan Mei was one of the greatest talents in the Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty. Together with Ji Xiaolan, the chief compiler of the "Sikuquanshu" who was the Minister of Rites, he was known as "Southern Yuanbei Ji".

In fact, his literary achievements are still above Ji Xiaolan.

The "Spirit Theory" he proposed has a profound influence in the history of Chinese literature.

Speaking of Yuan Mei, his little poem "Moss" "When the day is not around, youth comes naturally. Moss flowers are as small as rice, and they also bloom like peonies." The year before last, it was adapted into a song by rural teacher Liang Jun and Xiaoliang, a child from the mountains.

, became popular all over the country for a while.

Yuan Mei is a famous poet, essayist, and literary critic. However, many people may not know that he is the number one "foodie" throughout the ages. To put it more elegantly, he is China's chief gourmet.

Yuan Mei has many hobbies, but he ranks "eating" first.

He wrote in "Suohuxuanji": "Good taste, good sex, good house repairs, good travels, good friends, good flowers, bamboos, springs and stones, good Guizhang Yi Zun, famous people's calligraphy and painting, and good books." After Yuan Mei resigned,

Rich and free, he has enjoyed poetry and wine for a long time and lived a romantic life. In addition, his chef Wang Xiaoyu is a famous chef of the generation, which allows him to taste all kinds of delicious food.

Yuan Mei pays great attention to the characteristics and cooking techniques of various foods, searches extensively and tastes them, and is "good at taking from others."

Sometimes, Yuan Mei did not hesitate to bow down in order to obtain recipes.

During a trip, Yuan Mei ordered a dish called steamed tofu with hibiscus flowers at a small restaurant. It was beautiful in color and tasted good.

Yuan Mei immediately asked the store owner for the recipe, but the store owner refused to give it to her. Yuan Mei expressed her willingness to pay a lot of money to buy it, but Jiang still refused.

Yuan Mei became anxious and bowed three times on the spot.

The shop owner knew Yuan Mei, and he laughed when he saw this: "Zicai (named by Yuan Mei) has never bent down to serve the powerful, but now he has bent down to serve as tofu!" After saying this, he presented the recipe.

Yuan Mei said in the "Preface" of "Suiyuan Food List" that Confucius sang with others. If he heard someone singing well, he would definitely let the other person sing it again, and then follow suit. Saints are so good at learning from others, no matter how small their skills are.

, I "enjoy this decree. Every time I eat from a certain family and I am full, I will send the cook to the other stove to serve the disciples. In the past forty years, I have gathered a lot of beauty..." I asked about his strategy and collected it.

. "Look, this is the spiritual realm of a master gourmet.

The content of "Suiyuan Food List" is divided into two parts.

The first part is the basic theoretical part, which mainly includes "Instructions" and "Precepts", which focus on Yuan Mei's philosophy on flavor management. It not only elaborates on the essence of diet and cooking, but also contains the author's unique insights on life attitude.

The second part is the menu, from the seafood menu to the food and wine list, including 326 methods of making dishes, meals, tea and wine that were popular in China from the 14th century to the mid-18th century. There are many varieties, from delicacies from the mountains and seas to side dishes, porridge and rice.

, which has preserved a lot of valuable information for our country’s dietary history.

To this day, Huaiyang cuisine, local cuisine, Hangzhou cuisine, and Anhui cuisine all remain true to their origins, and none of them can escape from this food list.

02 Youdao means that "ruling a big country is like cooking a small fish." All things in the world are interconnected. If you study things to gain knowledge, and have input and insights, you can understand them all.

Yuan Mei, he is well-read in poetry and books. Not only can he "generate his own thoughts in ancient prose, four and six styles, and understand ancient methods", but it is also very enjoyable to watch him talk about the way of eating! The following is an excerpt from "Suiyuan Food List"

Enjoy a few excerpts with readers.

All things have their own innate talents, just like people have their own talents.

Human nature is stupid, even if Confucius and Mencius taught it, it will be useless; the physical properties of things are bad, even if it is easy to cook, it will be tasteless.

Referring to its rough outline: pigs should have thin skin and should not be fishy; chickens should be tender and should not be immature; crucian carp should have a flat body and a white belly, and a black-backed one will be stronger than the dish; eels should swim in lakes and streams, and rivers are the best.

Those who are alive must rub their joints; the ducks fed with grains are fat and white; the bamboo shoots grown in the soil have few joints but are sweet and fresh; the same ham, but the good and the ugly are as different as the sky; the same ham, but the beauty

Evil is divided into ice and charcoal.

Other sundries can be deduced by analogy.

In most cases, the chef's contribution to a good meal is the sixth, and the comprador's contribution is the fourth.

Brief analysis: What we are talking about here is the importance of ingredients. The selection of ingredients accounts for 40% of the success of a delicious dish. It is just right to use the teachings of Professor Confucius and Mencius to describe it! Enumerating examples is like the long and short sentences of Song Dynasty poems. Every two sentences are paired with each other, with ups and downs.

It has the beauty of rhythm, and Yuan Mei's language skills can be seen in it.

The popular science articles about "eating" are so literary and artistic, which is admirable.

Each thing has its own flavor and cannot be confused with the same thing.

Just like a sage setting up a teaching, educating people according to their talents without sticking to the rules.

The so-called beauty of a gentleman's adulthood.

Nowadays, we see common cooks cooking chickens, ducks, pigs, and geese, boiling them together in a soup, and making them taste the same as chewing wax.

I'm afraid that chickens, pigs, geese, and ducks have spirits, and they will go to the city of Fusi to complain.

Those who are good at cooking should set up many pots, stoves, bowls, bowls, etc., so that each thing contributes its own nature and each bowl has its own taste.

Those who are addicted should be overwhelmed by their tongues and feel that their hearts are blooming.

A brief analysis of "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude", the same applies to cooking! "The beauty of a gentleman's adult" already has a sense of joy, and the sentence "I am afraid that chickens, pigs, geese, and ducks have spirits, I will go to the city of Fusi to complain" is even more annoying, Yuan Dacaizi

It's so humorous, haha... It's etiquette to refrain from forcing guests to entertain guests with the tools.

However, once a dish is served, it is reasonable to let the guest pick up the chopsticks and chop the fine fat into small pieces. Everyone has his own preference and obeys the guest's convenience. Why force it? It is common for the host to pick up the chopsticks and stack them in front of the guests, leaving the dishes dirty.

No bowl, disgusting.