"West Lake Vinegar Fish" is a famous traditional dish in Hangzhou. Its age can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, which has a long history. "West Lake vinegar fish" is also called "uncle and sister-in-law pass on treasures". According to legend, in ancient times, there were two brothers named Song, who were full of articles and learned, and lived in seclusion in the West Lake to make a living by fishing. The local villain Zhao Daguan once visited the lake, and a woman who was washing gauze by the lake in Lu Yu wanted to occupy it when she saw her beautiful posture. Send someone to inquire, it turned out that this woman was Song Xiong's wife, so she used conspiracy to kill Song Xiong. The invasion of evil forces made Song's uncle and sister-in-law very angry, and they went to the government together to complain, hoping to uphold righteousness and punish the villain. They didn't know that the government at that time took it out on the same nostril as the evil forces. Instead of accepting their complaints, they were beaten out of the government. After returning home, Sister-in-law Song asked Song Di to pack up and flee quickly, so as not to be followed by villains for revenge. Before leaving, sister-in-law cooked a bowl of fish, added sugar and vinegar, and cooked Fatchett. Song Di asked his sister-in-law: Why is the fish cooked like this today? Sister-in-law said: Fish is sweet and sour. I want you to go out this time. Don't forget how your brother died. If your life is sweet, don't forget the bitterness of being bullied by ordinary people. Don't forget the bitterness of your sister-in-law. The younger brother was very excited when he heard this. He ate the fish and left, bearing in mind his sister-in-law's wishes. Later, Song Di gained fame and returned to Hangzhou to avenge his brother's death and punish the villain. But at this time, Song Sister-in-law had fled and left, and could not be found all the time. On one occasion, Song Di went out to a dinner party. During the dinner, he ate a dish, and the taste was the same as that of his sister-in-law when he left home. He hurriedly asked who burned it, only to know that it was his masterpiece. It turned out that after he left, sister-in-law hid her name and worked as a kitchen worker in order to avoid being entangled by villains. Song Di was very happy to find his sister-in-law, so he resigned from his official position, took his sister-in-law home, and began to live as a fisherman again. In ancient times, some people ate this dish and wrote a poem on the wall of the restaurant: "skirts are drunk, green shadows are on the stairs, and there are many boats in front of the door, half of which are back from the three pools." "Why go back to Hans Zhang perch (the vinegar fish in the West Lake is better than the Songjiang perch with delicious taste)? Because the fish is delicious in the West Lake, you can tell that there was no sister-in-law in Song Dynasty. The last sentence of the poem refers to the creation legend of "West Lake Vinegar Fish".

the origin of "Hua Tong Chicken"

Version 1

In the war years in ancient times, many people lost their families and became beggars (commonly known as beggars in Hangzhou). One day, a beggar got a chicken, but he was short of pots and stoves. When the hunger was unbearable, he imitated the method of baking sweet potatoes, wrapped the chicken in mud, and put it on a "stove" made of stones to pick up some dry wood and roast it. After a while, the dried chicken was cooked, and he picked it up and put it on the ground, and the chicken feathers fell off, and suddenly the aroma was overflowing. The beggar had a good meal. Later, this mud baking technique was introduced into restaurants and restaurants, and the chefs continued to improve it. Shaojiu was added to the stewed mud, and chicken buns were baked with West Lake lotus leaves, so that the fragrance of lotus leaves and the fresh fragrance of hens were integrated. So it has been passed down over the years, and the reputation of "calling a child chicken" is far-reaching.

Version 2

It is said that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there was a beggar in Yushan, Changshu, Jiangsu Province. He usually begged for some leftovers to satisfy his hunger, and sometimes it was difficult to get a bowl of leftovers a day, so he had to starve. On this day, he was very lucky. In addition to some food to satisfy his hunger, he met a kind-hearted old lady and gave him an old hen. He danced with joy. But he is a beggar, and he has nothing but a broken bowl in his hand. How can he cook this chicken? He thought for a long time, but he didn't come up with a good idea. Suddenly, he had a brainwave and a plan came to him. He found a family nearby, borrowed a knife from his master, slaughtered the chicken, removed its internal organs, dug some yellow mud on the surface of the chicken, took the branches and leaves of dead trees to light a fire, and put the wrapped chicken in the fire to stew. When the mud was dry, he estimated that the chicken was cooked, so he knocked off the mud shell with a stick and the chicken feathers fell off with the mud. Suddenly, the aroma was overflowing, and the beggar was very surprised. So he picked up the chicken and wolfed it down. Just as the beggar was eager to eat, Qian Muzhai, a college student of Ming Dynasty, walked by here, smelled the smell of chicken, and saw the beggar eating chicken far away, so he sent someone to inquire how the beggar cooked such delicious chicken. Sent someone to inquire about it, and took a small piece of chicken to Qian Muzhai. After Qian Muzhai tasted it, he felt that the taste was really unusual. When he got home, he asked the chef to make it according to the beggar's method, and added diced meat, ham, shrimp and spices to the chicken belly, wrapped it in lotus leaves, coated it with yellow mud, baked it in the fire, and named it "beggar chicken". One day, Liu Rushi, a famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River, came to Qian's house, and Qian treated her with beggar chicken and asked Liu Rushi, "What's the flavor of Yushan?" Liu said, "It's delicious" and said, "I'd rather eat Yushan chicken for life than Songjiang fish for a day".

Dongpo meat

Origin of dishes

According to legend, it was created by Su Dongpo, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty (Meishan, Sichuan). The earliest birthplace of Dongpo meat is Huanggang, Hubei. Su Dongpo lived in Huanggang in 18, and this method of eating meat came up because the local pigs were meaty and cheap. Zhou Zizhi, a native of Song Dynasty, recorded in Zhupo Poetry: "Dongpo likes pigs by nature. When he was in Huanggang, he tasted Dongpo meat

and wrote a poem" Eating Pork ":"Slow fire, little water, and he is beautiful when the heat is full. Get up and play a bowl every day, so full that your own husband doesn't care. " "Later, Su Dongpo came back from Huangzhou in 185, and often returned to Kaifeng, the capital city, to work in the imperial court. Before long, he was excluded and asked to be transferred to Hangzhou as a satrap in 189, which developed the experience of burning meat in Huangzhou into Dongpo meat. As a delicacy of Han nationality, it became popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Dongpo pork was made in memory of Dongpo, not created by Su Dongpo himself. The prototype of Dongpo Meat is Xuzhou Reward Meat, which is one of the four treasures of Dongpo in Xuzhou. In the autumn of the tenth year of Xining in northern Song Shenzong (177), the Yellow River burst and the flood did not return for more than 7 days. Su Shi, Xuzhou Zhizhou, personally led the city's officials to fight floods, finally defeated the floods, and built the "Su Causeway" in the following year. The people thanked Su Dongpo for the benefit of the people, killing pigs and sheep in succession and sending them to the state capital with wine and vegetables to thank Su Gong. Su Gong couldn't refuse, so he processed the meat and gave it back to the people. Su Dongpo's method of cooking meat can be seen in his stew song: "slow fire, little water, firewood can't afford to smoke, don't rush it when it is cooked, and it will be beautiful when the heat is enough." The characteristics of "giving back meat" are fresh and mellow, oily but not greasy. Su Dongpo left four famous dishes in Xuzhou, in addition to giving back meat, there were golden toad playing with pearls, five-pass chicken and drunk green shrimp. Later generations called these four dishes "Dongpo Four Treasures". Nowadays, in the restaurants on the streets of Xuzhou, you can still enjoy the endless aftertaste of Dongpo meat. "Dongpo Meat" was first created in Xuzhou. "Xuzhou Ancient and Modern Famous Cuisine" records that when Su Shi was appointed as Xuzhou Zhizhou, the Yellow River burst, Su Shi took the lead and built dikes with the people of the whole city to protect the city. The people of Xuzhou slaughtered pigs and sheep, and went to the government to comfort them. Su Shi couldn't refuse, so he instructed his family to cook braised pork and give it back to the people. After eating it, the people felt fat but not greasy, crisp and delicious, so they called it "giving back meat." When Su Shi relegated Huangzhou, he wrote a song by cook the meat: "Huangzhou is a good pork, and its price is as cheap as dirt. The rich refuse to eat, and the poor don't understand cooking. Slow down the fire, less water, and it will be beautiful when the fire is full. People began to imitate each other and dubbed it "Dongpo Meat". When Su Shi was the second magistrate of Hangzhou, he made great contributions to dredging the West Lake. When everyone gave him wine and meat to celebrate the New Year, Su Shi ordered pork and wine to be cooked for migrant workers to eat. His family mistakenly thought that rice wine and pork were cooked together, but everyone felt more crisp and delicious after eating. The reputation of "Dongpo Meat" slowly spread throughout the country. Su Shi was a famous great writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. He is not only profound in poetry and calligraphy, but also a gourmet in ancient China. He is also very good at cooking dishes, especially at making braised pork. The meat in return is braised pork created by Su Shi during his stay in Xuzhou. In April of the tenth year of Xining, Song Shenzong, Su Shi went to Xuzhou Zhizhou. On July 7th, the Yellow River burst in the area around Caocun, Zhuozhou. By August 21st, the flood besieged Xuzhou, and the water level was as high as 2 feet. Su Shi died by himself, joined the Dutch army, led the imperial military camp, and built dikes to protect the city with the people of the whole city. After more than 7 days and nights of hard work, Xuzhou City was finally saved. All the people in the city rejoiced. In order to thank the well-led and well-known Zhizhou, who shared the life and death with Xuzhou people, they slaughtered pigs and sheep in succession, and took wine and food to the government to comfort them. Su Shi couldn't refuse. After accepting it, he personally instructed his family to make braised pork and gave it back to the people who participated in the flood control. After eating, the people all felt that the meat was fat but not greasy, crisp and delicious, and unanimously called it "giving back meat." Since then, "giving back meat" has spread around Xuzhou and become a traditional dish in Xuzhou. This is recorded in Xuzhou Literature and History Materials, Xuzhou Scenery Records and Xuzhou Ancient and Modern Famous Cuisine. On February 1st, the third year of Yuanfeng, Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou as an assistant of Yong ying. He cultivated land by himself, so he called this place "Dongpo layman". This is the origin of Su Dongpo. During his stay in Huangzhou, he personally cooked braised pork and wrote his experience in "Eating Pork Poetry". The braised pork cooked by Su Shi in Xuzhou and Huangzhou is only influential in the local area and is not well-known in the whole country. The braised pork, which is really famous all over the country, is Su Shi's "Dongpo Meat" when he was in Hangzhou for the second time. On July 3rd, 4th year of Song Zhezong Yuan Dynasty, Su Shi came to Ren Zhizhou, Hangzhou, where he had been away for fifteen years. During May and June of the fifth year of Yuan Dynasty, there was heavy rain in the west of Zhejiang Province, Taihu Lake flooded and large areas of crops were flooded. Because Su Shi took effective measures as early as possible, the people in western Zhejiang passed through the most difficult period. He organized migrant workers to dredge the West Lake, build dikes and bridges, and make the West Lake look new. The people in Hangzhou are very grateful to Su Shi for this good deed. Everyone praises him as a wise official. I heard that he liked pork best when he was in Xuzhou and Huangzhou, so when the Chinese New Year came, everyone carried pigs and carried wine to pay New Year greetings to him. After Su Shi received it, he instructed his family to cut the meat into cubes and burn it red and crisp, and then distributed it to the migrant workers who took part in dredging the West Lake. Everyone was surprised after eating it, and all the meat he sent was affectionately called "Dongpo Meat". Tracing back to the source, Su Shi's braised pork was first created in Xuzhou, further improved in Huangzhou, and became famous throughout the country in Hangzhou.

lobster in Longjing

Allusions

According to legend in Hangzhou, Hangzhou chefs, inspired by Su Dongpo's poem "Looking at the South of the Yangtze River", chose "green, fragrant, sweet and beautiful" Longjing fresh tea and shrimp in Xianhe before Ming Dynasty to cook. The white jade of the shrimp is fresh and tender, the tea is green and fragrant, the color is elegant and the taste is unique. Hangzhou Tianwaitian Restaurant is the birthplace of this dish. One day, Ganlong made a private visit and drank a cup of Longjing tea at a tea farmer's house in Hangzhou, which was deeply fragrant and delicious. While people were unprepared, he secretly grabbed some tea and left. Later, I had dinner in a restaurant in the city and asked the shop assistant to make tea with it. The shop assistant saw a corner of the dragon robe in Qianlong exposed, and quickly told the owner. The shopkeeper was cooking shrimp, and in panic, he sprinkled the tea in the hands of the shop assistant as chopped green onion into the pot. Unexpectedly, this dish of tea shrimp is elegant in color and unique in taste. It is delicious and nodded. Since then, this dish has become a famous dish in Hangzhou and spread to Ling. It is said that it happened to be Tomb-Sweeping Day when Emperor Qing Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River. He visited the West Lake Longjing, and the tea farmers presented him with new tea. He took it back to the palace, and the chef put tea in it when frying "Jade White Shrimp" and cooked this famous dish. Soon, the famous dish "Longjing Shrimp" appeared on the menu outside the building. The clever chef put Longjing tea into the dish, probably inspired by other famous dishes in West Lake, and made a bold creation in cooking skills. This dish, not only the materials are ingenious, but also the cooking must be properly mastered. When making, the chef puts the cooked lard in an oily pan, immediately puts in the starched shrimp, slides for about 15 seconds, then pours it into a colander to drain the oil, then puts it in the pan together with the new tea soaked in boiling water, sprays it with cooking wine, bumps it on the fire, and then gets out of the pan and plates it. Kung fu is to burn this famous dish in this turn.