[Tag] Food Culture (Prose) Yuan Mei, a talented scholar from the Qianlong Emperor, had nine hobbies in his life. The first was "eating", and reading ranked last.

"Well-cooked tofu is far better than bird's nest." His "Suiyuan Food List" describes in detail 326 kinds of northern and southern dishes that were popular in my country from the 14th to the 18th century, covering everything from the selection of ingredients to the taste. Narrated.

Yuan Mei elevated diet to the level of elegant knowledge, with fluent writing and brilliant literary talent. It is the most systematic, interesting and readable comprehensive diet masterpiece in China before modern times.

By the way, there are many versions of "Suiyuan Food List". Among them, the "Manhua Suiyuan Food List" with comics published by CITIC Publishing House is very interesting and suitable for young people to enjoy (this book is out of stock, originally priced at 39 yuan

, it has been sold for several hundred yuan on Kongfuzi Used Books Network).

A few days ago, I was browsing on Baidu Reading and found that I could buy an electronic version for 1 dime, which was equivalent to a gift. I immediately bought a copy. Interested friends can go to Baidu Reading to see if it is still the same price.

Yuan Mei was a person who valued the interest in life. He loved the graceful beauty of Jinling. When he was the magistrate of Jiangning County, he bought Suiyuan Garden at the foot of Xiaocang Mountain in Jiangning for 300 gold.

Suiyuan used to be a weaving garden (it is said that this was the prototype of the Grand View Garden written by Cao Xueqin). At that time, "the garden was collapsed and decadent... all the flowers withered and the spring breeze could not bloom." It had been abandoned for a long time. After Yuan Mei purchased it, it was renovated.

It is "according to its abundance and barrenness, and the scenery is chosen according to the situation", so it is called "Suiyuan".

Yuan Mei has two anthologies named after Suiyuan, one is "Suiyuan Poetry" and the other is "Suiyuan Food List".

Yuan Mei traveled widely and had extraordinary experiences. He was not like other poor scholars who were hindered by poverty.

As far as food is concerned, in addition to having a few skilled cooks, Yuan Mei also often goes to various famous restaurants in the city. Sometimes when he goes out of town, he will experience local famous dishes and snacks.

Yuan Mei is quite reliable as a gourmet, and he meets friends over food in Nanjing.

Every time he ate delicious food, he would ask the host for advice on how to cook it.

"Suiyuan Food List" can be roughly divided into two major sections. The first section is the general introduction. There are three articles: "Preface", "Instructions" and "Precepts". These three articles are a general summary of the diet. "Instructions"

It talks about things that need to be paid attention to during the cooking process, from the seasoning, heat, and combination of food to the washing and display of dishes; the "Jie Dan" talks about the way of eating, etc.

The second section of "Suiyuan Food List" divides the dishes into seafood, fresh seafood, Yuzu (chicken, duck, goose and bird), special livestock (pig), miscellaneous livestock (cow, sheep and deer), scaled fish, scaleless fish,

Twelve categories, including vegetarian dishes, side dishes (cold dishes, sauces, etc.), rice porridge, tea and wine, and snacks, record the specific cooking methods of these different types of dishes.

There is a saying that "governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies." I most like to read Yuan Mei, a great talent, talking about the way of food. It is very enjoyable!

Please enjoy a few paragraphs: "Everything has its innate nature, just like people have their own talents. Human nature is stupid, and even though Confucius and Mencius taught it, it is of no use; the nature of things is bad, even if it is easy to cook, it will be tasteless. To refer to it roughly: pig

The skin should be thin and should not be fishy; the chicken should be tender and not too immature; crucian carp should have a flat body and a white belly, and those with black backs will be stronger than the ones on the plate; eels that swim in lakes and streams are the most valuable, and those that live in rivers must be rubbed.

The bones of ducks fed on grain are fat and white; the bamboo shoots that are clogged with soil have few joints but are sweet and fresh; they are the same ham, but the good and the ugly are as different as heaven; they are the same croaker, but the good and bad are divided into ice and charcoal.

Other miscellaneous things can be deduced by analogy. For a good meal, the chef's contribution is the sixth and the comprador's contribution is the fourth.

, the so-called beauty of a gentleman. Nowadays, when we see common cooks, they cook chickens, ducks, pigs, and geese in the same soup, making them taste the same.

Go to the city of Fusi to complain. Those who are good at cooking should set up more pots, stoves, bowls, bowls, etc., so that each thing has its own nature and each bowl has its own taste.

"It is a courtesy to refrain from forcing the guests to give up the utensils. However, once the dish is served, it is reasonable to rely on the guests to 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? Common hosts

Picking them up with chopsticks and piling them in front of the guests with dirty dishes and no bowls is annoying. It should be noted that the guests are not people without hands or eyes, nor are they children or brides who are shy and hungry, so why treat them like a village girl and a young family member.

? The insolence of guests is also here! Recently, there is a lot of bad habits, such as taking food with chopsticks and forcing it into the mouth, which is akin to rape. It is very abominable to treat guests in Chang'an, but the food is not good.

He said: "Do you and I get along well?"

The master said: "Good luck!"

The guest asked, "As expected, we are very friendly. I have something to ask for, and I will certainly grant it before I get up."

"The host asked in surprise, "What do you want?" He said, "From now on, your family is hosting a banquet, so please don't get caught." They sat together and laughed at it.

"Because the dishes written in "Suiyuan Food List" are rich in categories, the recipes are detailed, and are very close to life, and they are written by a great talent like Yuan Mei, not to mention the writing style. "Suiyuan Food List" has been widely circulated

In later generations, many people followed the recipes and made delicious dishes. Hong Kong's great talent Chua Lam once asked his friend Gan Jiancheng, the owner of Yong Kee, to cook according to the "Suiyuan Food List"

", made "smoked braised meat", which was devoured by the diners, and everyone applauded.