food is the most important thing for people. No matter where you live, you will never forget the food there.
The university where I studied is located in Xiguan, a historic city in Qufu. As the hometown of saints, Qufu's Confucian cuisine is famous all over the world and is an important representative of Shandong cuisine. When I was in college, I was not destitute, but I was just a poor student with little money. Therefore, for such a tall food as Confucian cuisine, you can't taste it if you listen to it with your ears.
Good food is not synonymous with rare and expensive food. Real delicacies often come from grassroots people. From our campus to Qufu county, we have to go through a long winding street paved with bluestone slabs. On both sides of the street, there are blue bricks and gray tiles, which look like old houses. Some of these houses have been changed into shops facing the street. The most unforgettable food in my college days is in these small shops.
In my college days, the folk food in Qufu that impressed me the most can be called "three big pieces"-prickly heat, grilled steak and smoked tofu. After school, I go to the city to watch movies and buy daily necessities. When I pass by small shops selling these things, I am always hungry and drooling because of the overflowing aroma. When you really can't help it, you will also take out a few pennies to solve your cravings. Delicious is not expensive, which is the characteristic of folk food. Braised pork and grilled ribs are only a few cents a catty. And smoked tofu can be eaten for a few cents.
prickly heat is a kind of fried pasta. For this kind of food, I once lamented it: frying a dumpling so thin, so long, and so even and tidy is almost like a beautiful handicraft, and how ingenious its producers are! Eating in your mouth is crisp and mellow, and the aroma is straight through your heart. I remember some students who have never seen the prickly heat, when they tasted it for the first time, they were still a little nervous-afraid of being stabbed in the mouth.
Grilled steak is actually similar to sesame seed cake, but it is long. When making grilled ribs, you should add oil and salt to the flour to taste. Pay attention to some, but also add sesame seeds and spiced noodles. The grilled steak is golden in color, salty and delicious, and chewy. At that time, there were quite a few poor students who liked this kind of food. Eat a grilled steak, even pickles are not needed, and there is no need to use the so-called "killer" of rice and steamed bread to eat.
after many years, I realized that the smoked tofu that was sold by the store in a basin with soup was actually only a semi-finished product. The authentic way to eat smoked tofu is to add various seasonings to stew or cold salad. At that time, where did I know this? I just stood in front of people's stalls and took out a few cents to eat. The realm of food lies in aftertaste. Smoked tofu with a faint smoky smell in color and taste is not exciting enough to eat, but it is very memorable.
It is said that there was a professor from the south in my alma mater who was addicted to smoked tofu. He ran for miles when he had time, and deliberately went to the stall selling smoked tofu to get addicted. He has been enjoying it for decades. Being obsessed with a folk snack to this extent is also a realm and an anecdote. This lovely professor inadvertently made an excellent public welfare publicity for smoked tofu.
At school, I also heard an interesting story about eating grilled steak. A junior in our department talked quietly with a foreign girl. They look like a good match, quite like golden couple. One Sunday, they went to the city to see a movie together. After the break, it's time for lunch. The boys led the girls around several small restaurants, but all of them were rejected on the grounds that there were too many people, unsanitary or the dishes were not distinctive. On the way back to school, I passed a barbecue stall, and the boys said that the barbecue was very good. Why don't we just eat it? The girl said, if you want to eat it yourself, then turn around and leave, and the two of them will say goodbye.
at first, everyone thought the girl was a bit materialistic. I didn't know until later that the girl commented on it like this: if he had suggested eating grilled steak from the beginning, I would have accepted it gladly. After all, grilled steak is delicious, and we are not rich in gold and jade. But he shouldn't go through so many twists and turns and go around such a big circle hypocritically. It's so hypocritical! Everyone has vanity, especially for young men and women in love. But vanity is harmful if it is not a place.
people often say that food can be divided into material and spiritual. When I was in college, everyone's spirit was as hungry as his stomach. At that time, there was a small bookstore outside the school gate, which was crowded with students who were hungry for knowledge every day. At that time, the publishing information industry was not as developed as it is now, and there were few good books and useful books. Once a few books were in the store, they were robbed in the blink of an eye. Although the book price is not high, it is also the money that everyone squeezed through their teeth!
once, I was lucky enough to snap up a copy of Paustovsky's writing notes "The Golden Rose", which was a version with the words "internal reading" printed on it. Having this book has made many students envious and asked me to borrow it. Later, I was able to write something, which benefited from the enlightenment of this book to a great extent. A classmate also wanted to own this book very much, but he couldn't buy it from many sources, so he used an extra-curricular trick-borrowed one from the library, and then reported it lost, losing double the book fee. Although this is not desirable, his love for books is understandable.
At that time, there was a salesman in the bookstore. She was a chubby girl in vain. She is not well educated, but she is kind and enthusiastic, and she smiles at everyone. For the students who come to the bookstore, that's a tireless questioner. I remember that several of our classmates went to the bookstore once, including those from Xinjiang and Heze. She asked us seriously whether Xinjiang is far away or Heze is far away. The innocent expression and tone made everyone laugh. Later, I heard that she had been in love with an alumnus who often went to buy books for a long time and got married. It is also a beautiful thing that two people get to know each other and fall in love because of spiritual food.
College is the best time in my life experience. Therefore, whenever I recall the days and nights of my four-year college life, it will make me feel warm and sweet. For the students who are studying, this time is worth cherishing and cannot be wasted.