The five thousand years of history, the vast land and abundant resources, the great rivers and mountains, and the industrious people with outstanding talents have brought unique characteristics in food. To describe it in one sentence: "The motherland is so big, I want to see it! There are so many delicious foods, I want to try them!"
However, the delicacies nurtured in the vast territory are not ours Everyone can accept it. People have different personalities, and so do their preferences for food. Many delicacies that locals are proud of are not so in the eyes of outsiders.
Taking Jiangsu as an example, Lao Yu summarized four dishes that are very popular among local people. But these four dishes may be regarded as the "Four Weird Dishes" in the eyes of outsiders and they are afraid to eat them.
In Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, there is a county called Guanyun. When mentioning this county, it is natural to think of a famous local dish called "Doudan".
As for why it has become a famous dish, we can look at it this way:
1. What kind of dish is Doudan.
The raw material of this dish is a kind of insect called "Doudan", which is the larvae of the bean hornworm. To be more precise, the bean sprouts in Guanyun County are the fifth instar larvae of the bean hornworm.
It looks like a silkworm larvae, with a long cylindrical body, a bright green surface, and dense small particles.
Perhaps, from the perspective of the "Doudan" insect itself, this dish is famous enough. This is just like Shandong people like to eat silkworm pupae, bee pupae, and cicada monkeys. It is the same reason.
2. The taste of the bean curd dish.
After the bean curd is made into a dish, it tastes absolutely delicious! When you eat it in your mouth, there is a bean aroma, the taste is delicate and tender, and the fresh flavor is very rich.
It can be said that when outsiders first see Doudan, they think it is a bug and dare not swallow it. But once they taste it, few people will refuse it, and they will praise it full of praise and be deeply fascinated by its taste.
3. The value of Doudan.
Nutritional value: Doudan is not only delicious, but also has extremely high nutritional value. It is a high-protein, low-fat nutritious delicacy and is super nutritious.
Economic value: Local people often compare Doudan with Yangtze saury, because in the season when Doudan first comes on the market, it can sell for thousands of yuan per catty, which is very expensive.
It is summer now, the growing season of bean sprouts. The bean curd at this time is the cheapest. If you are lucky enough to come across it, be sure to try it!
If bean curd is still a dish that can be tasted, then the "spring tide" is definitely a psychological obstacle that needs to be overcome. Don't just listen to the name, because the name of the dish "Spring Tide" is very poetic.
The raw material of this dish is "maggots"! Even though they are artificially raised maggots, just hearing the name is enough to make you lose your appetite.
However, in Hai'an, Jiangsu Province, this dish is very famous. Locals fry the maggots in a pan and then season them with salt, pepper or other seasonings. Not only does it have a crunchy texture when eaten in your mouth, but it is also full of flavor.
Therefore, "spring tide surges" can be directly described as "exploding maggots". However, the nice name puts a very gorgeous coat on this dish, making it more attractive and appetizing.
Soup is a delicacy in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. To be precise, it should be breakfast. It's just that this name really tests Lao Yu's cultural background. I really don't know how to pronounce it this way.
Later, after consulting the information, I found out that this famous dish is called "Sha Tang", which mainly comes from a short story during the Qianlong period.
It is said that Qianlong passed by this place on his southern tour and tasted this soup. He thought it tasted great, so he asked: "What kind of soup is this?" The soup seller replied: "The emperor is right, this is What kind of soup?" Therefore, this "sha" has been passed down to this day.
It uses chicken soup stewed by hens as the base of the soup, and then adds oatmeal, pepper, mung beans and other ingredients. There are so many ingredients that you can’t tell with the naked eye what ingredients are in it. The taste is also very unique, with fresh and spicy flavor as the main flavor. The taste is very layered and rich when you taste it carefully.
Perhaps this soup was once just unknown and did not have a specific name. The soup seller blurted out his name when the emperor asked him about it. Maybe there are too many ingredients in this soup and it's hard to tell what kind of soup it is, so I just called it sha soup.
But no matter what, this soup does taste very good. Therefore, if we are lucky enough to go to Xuzhou, Jiangsu, we must not "judge a book by its appearance." Because this bowl of soup didn't look good, I lost an opportunity to taste delicious food.
There is a soup in Nanjing called "Chrysanthemum Brain and Egg Soup", which is very suitable for summer. However, when you first hear the name, it seems weird! Chrysanthemum brain? Is it Chrysanthemum's brain?
In fact, chrysanthemum brain is the name of a plant. It belongs to the Asteraceae family, chrysanthemum is just its name, and it looks a lot like celery leaves. In the Jiangsu area, this plant called chrysanthemum brain is very common and is a common delicacy on the local people's tables.
In fact, this can only be regarded as "one monster", and as for the other monster, it must be said from the "egg".
When we make egg drop soup on weekdays, we mostly use eggs. The chrysanthemum brain egg soup uses duck eggs instead of eggs. In addition to the fact that Nanjing people like to eat duck eggs, this also depends on the duck eggs themselves.
Duck eggs are cooling in nature, and chrysanthemum brains have cooling, fire-clearing, heatstroke prevention and antipyretic effects. Therefore, the combination of the two is not only rich in nutrients, but also super fire-reducing. Therefore, this soup is very popular among locals in summer.
As for the fishy smell of duck eggs, chrysanthemum brain can eliminate it. Therefore, what seems to us to be a "weird" way of eating is not strange to the locals.
In fact, the reason why these dishes are said to be "weird" is largely due to the differences in food culture in different regions. And I do not reject this difference, and I also have an appreciative eye to accept these "foods" that are relatively novel to me, a foreigner.
In addition to the four dishes listed above, there are actually many more "weird" dishes in Jiangsu area that we think are very "weird". For example, fried dough sticks, ground vegetables, braised chicken butt, etc.
However, these dishes are not very "weird" in Lao Yu's opinion, because these stir-fried dishes do not have very special geographical restrictions and can be eaten in other regions. Like braised chicken butt, I have eaten it many times. I wonder what everyone thinks of it?