In The Longest Day in Chang 'an, I noticed an interesting little detail. In addition to planning in the government, Lin Jiulang, the right-hand man, also took up a personal hobby, that is, "growing flowers." Stills of The Longest Day in Chang 'an This kind of flower cultivation is indispensable for universities, such as watering, fertilizing, sowing, temperature and humidity. But in addition to the well-known "ornamental function", flower cultivation had another extremely special purpose in the Tang Dynasty. To sum up, it is four words: feed on flowers. In the Tang Dynasty, the flowers of * * * were not only pleasing to the eyes of foreign ministers, but also regarded as rare and delicious ingredients by literati. But as we all know, not all flowers are edible. Some flowers are healthy, but some flowers are poisonous when eaten. For example, daffodils are beautiful, but they contain a variety of alkaloids, which can cause a series of uncomfortable symptoms such as dizziness and diarrhea. However, daffodils are the basic raw materials of analgesics in surgery. Narcissus, like cordate telosma, won't feel any discomfort at first glance, but it will make you dizzy after a long time. Therefore, not all flowers are suitable for direct consumption, but should be carefully screened. Then the question is, since flowers are "toxic" and "non-toxic", how did the literati in the Tang Dynasty eat flowers? If divided by dishes, there are two kinds: one is cold dishes. Maybe we go to many big hotels for dinner now. Before the hot dishes are officially served, there will be several appetizers, among which it is not difficult to see flowers on the plate. However, in the Tang Dynasty, the function of flowers was not limited to ornament, but was often used as the main component of cold dishes. For example, the great poet Liu Yuxi once loved a cold dish called chrysanthemum seedling reed. (horseshoe crab: jρ, tobacco: fú) The name of this dish looks very literary, but in fact, the ingredients needed are very simple. Chrysanthemum seedlings are naturally the tender leaves of chrysanthemum. As for asparagus, it is what we now call radish. Chrysanthemum So this cold dish is actually a mixture of shredded radish and chopped chrysanthemum seedlings. Now it is called "Chrysanthemum Radish Shredded" ~ It will be very refreshing to combine crisp radish with refreshing chrysanthemum seedlings. Chrysanthemum shredded radish (see photo) generally refers to white radish. As for why this dish is the favorite of the literati in the Tang Dynasty, it comes from a novel in the late Tang Dynasty called Three Records of Yunxian, written by Feng Zhi, a scholar in the late Tang Dynasty, and vividly depicts the great poet Liu Yuxi with a dish of "chrysanthemum seedlings". "Three Records of Yunxian: Changing Tea to sober up": Lotte entered the customs, and Liu Yuxi was ill with wine. Yuxi exchanged chrysanthemum seedlings and reeds for two bags of tea from Lotte Class 6 to sober up. This "six-way tea" is a famous tea created by Bai Juyi, which has the effect of relieving alcoholism. Therefore, after Liu Yuxi drank too much the night before, he went to see Bai Juyi the next morning, and the two brothers met with great enthusiasm. In order to sober up, Liu Yuxi took out his favorite Chrysanthemum Seedling and Reed and replaced it with a bowl of Bai Juyi's. This story is enough to show that, at least among the literati in the Tang Dynasty, they actually like cold dishes with flowers as ingredients, especially chrysanthemum seedlings mixed with chrysanthemum seedlings, which is an indispensable appetizing cool tone on the table. It is said that modern people have restored "chrysanthemum seedlings and radishes". When I cut chrysanthemum seedlings and radish into the same thin silk, I can't see it. Can you see it? Speaking of cold dishes made of flowers, there is also a famous dish in history. It was in the Tang and Song Dynasties that the "golden silver carp" shone brilliantly. Kui Rixiu, a great writer in the late Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem praising the golden silver carp: There is nothing to congratulate, and it is time to celebrate the golden silver carp again. -"Three Things in the New Autumn" and this delicious food made of flowers and perch is one of the favorite dishes in Jiangnan area. For example, Bai Juyi's The Salt Merchant's Wife vividly describes the scene that fishermen along the Yangtze River eat fish with silver carp: what's more, the fish in the river are very cheap, and the red, yellow and orange of rice are very fragrant. In terms of development, as the representative food of "flowers are vegetables", gold, jade and silver carp were not only popular in the Tang Dynasty, but also famous in the Song Dynasty. In China on the Tip of the Tongue, first of all, according to Tai Ping Guang Ji, one of the main components of silver carp is flowers. However, if you are a bass silver carp, it must be frosted in August and September. Collect bass less than three feet as dried silver carp, soak it, wrap it in cloth and drain it, and spread it on a plate. Chop the fragrant and soft flowers and leaves alternately, mix well with silver carp and stir fry. After first frost, perch was as white as snow but not fishy. The so-called "silver carp" is also delicious in the southeast. -"Take fragrant and soft flowers and leaves" mentioned in the article "Taiping Guangji Volume 234 Food" (edible and non-edible accessories) is to pick the tender leaves of flowers, cut them into filaments with the same thickness, and then mix them evenly with dried bass, making them the best food in Southeast China. The modern version of the unique food "Jinyu" was not only loved by the literati in the Tang Dynasty, but also sought after by the literati and poets in the Song Dynasty. For example, the great poet Lu You once praised Jin Yu: "Xia": I didn't say to pile up Jin Yu, but looked at it. Even in the Sui Dynasty, silver carp and silver carp were still tributes to Emperor Yang Di from Wujun, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. After Emperor Yang Di tasted this strange cool tune, he was full of praise on the spot, and the name of Silver Carp was famous all over the world. Notes on Daye: Wu Jun offered the sea? Dried four bottles of silver carp ... and used it as a way to dry silver carp. The emperor showed a cloud to his ministers: "In the past, the wizard told me that he caught sea fish in the palace, which made his ears come true." What is the difference? Today's silver carp is made of real marine fish. They come from thousands of miles away and have a strange taste. " As mentioned above, the history of making cool songs with flowers as vegetables has gained a certain degree of popularity and development due to the stable and prosperous economic environment and the unique taste of literati in the Tang Dynasty, but it has not disappeared because of the decline of the Tang Dynasty, but has been completely inherited in subsequent dynasties, such as the Song Dynasty. However, through the above list, it is enough to see the ancient people's love for "flowers". In the eyes of the ancients, flowers are more than just an ornamental. Then, after cold dishes and stomach, let's talk about another way to eat flowers as a food in the Tang Dynasty: second, hot dishes. Cooking methods that can be used for hot dishes are ever-changing. It can be fried, boiled, boiled and pickled. For example, a few days ago, I ate a bottle of local "rose sauce" in Yunnan, but the sauce was so sweet that I couldn't help coughing after eating only a spoonful. However, in the Tang Dynasty, people at that time paid more attention to the health care function of flowers, so there were few pickled dishes, and the main cooking methods were nothing more than two: one was frying. It is also wonderful to say, some friends may ask, can this flower be eaten after being fried? I can tell you responsibly that it is edible and tastes very good. For family reasons, I like to eat a kind of fried mint leaves when I was very young. Although mint leaves are not strictly a "flower", this plant with strange fragrance can retain its original refreshing taste after being rolled in hot oil, even crisp but not greasy. Fried mint leaves or the great poet Pi Rixiu. After eating, he likes to eat a snack made of fried flowers called Xianju. (Xi: zhá, same explosion. ) This dish is very simple, that is, the fresh and tender leaves of Chrysanthemum morifolium are fried once and become a delicious complementary food. Or steam a piece of Cimicifuga, or two chrysanthemums. If you use it to read mysteries, you can't feed your stomach. -"Wuzhong Bitter Rain Send Wang Lu Yin Shu Bai Yun" fried 2 chrysanthemums and stewed them. Some friends may ask, this stew is easy to understand, which is nothing more than tearing flowers into petals and cooking porridge together, but what the hell is this "cover"? Alas, the wonder of Tang people eating flowers lies in the word "cover water" I said earlier. The specific performance is that flowers and pork are cooked together, and the cooked meat has a unique aroma by virtue of the fragrance of flowers. What is the specific aroma? Because I'm not from the Tang Dynasty, I can't describe it. But before I talk about 1: 1 rice, let me talk about a cold knowledge of history. In fact, 1: 1.2 rice was not invented in modern times, but appeared in the Zhou Dynasty more than 2000 years ago, and it is more natural than the current ingredients, and there are not so many condiments and additives. Stir-fried pork chops with mixed rice The Book of Rites records how Zhou people made mixed rice. At that time, it was not called 1: 1.1 rice, but called "Spring Jujube". "Book of Rites Neize": beginning of spring cooks, adding the fried rice into the dry rice and covering it with paste, saying "beginning of spring cooks". Confucius, a scholar in the Tang Dynasty, once said: The one who endures spring is one of the eight treasures, which is also a rare name. Chun, he also, then he is also frost. Boil, that is, fry, then fry. Upland rice is called upland rice. It is said that land rice is cooked for rice, fried and boiled, and added to rice, fearing that its taste will be thinner and it will be more creamy, which will make the taste stand out and make it boil. First of all, it is this "fried sugar". To put it bluntly, it is fried meat. Stir-fried meat is mixed with ingredients and boiled into soup, which is for "cooking". In order not to make its taste too dull, lard will be added in the cooking process, which is to "chun" and then cover the rice. So no matter how the name changes, I believe you will understand after seeing it. Isn't this the ubiquitous "1.2% rice fried pork chop"? 1.2% fried pork chops with rice. What's the relationship between people in the Tang Dynasty? The answer is that after thousands of years of development, the talented people who can eat in the Tang Dynasty added flowers to the spring dishes. Here, this famous dish that has gone through thousands of years has evolved into a new form, which is the famous "peony spring dish"! This peony is known as the "prime minister in flowers", which is slightly cold in nature and not sour in taste, and has a laxative effect when eaten. In the Tang Dynasty, when people cooked rice, they added colorful and blooming "peony flowers" to make an upgraded version of fried pork rice suitable for all ages, which was delicious and had pharmacological effects. It's amazing that people in the Tang Dynasty will still eat ~! "For Zhang Renxu, he is a long history of the state and enters the Jiuding Ming table": Peony cooks and washes paste bait to protect the beauty of Kyushu and the sum of the four seasons. To sum up, flowers, as a common food in the Tang Dynasty, are mainly cold salad and boiled, and even made into bibimbap. But besides, flowers can be eaten raw because of their characteristics. For example, Yang li Ping, a famous dance artist in China, has to eat raw flowers for three meals a day. She also said that eating flowers raw for a long time would make her stay on her face. Flowers are also often used to make wine, such as osmanthus wine, or to make daily drinks, such as chrysanthemum tea, etc. It is difficult to elaborate in my article. However, these production methods actually appeared thousands of years ago in the Tang Dynasty. It is no exaggeration to say that the innovation and research of ancient people in food is not worse than that of modern people. Perhaps the biggest difference is that cooking utensils or fuels are different, but in the final analysis, China people's love for food has been passed down from ancient times to modern times for 5,000 years. This also reflects what we often call the profoundness of China culture. At the same time, it also reflects the Chinese nation's love for nature. Taking nature, eating nature and eating flowers have humanistic interest and cultural elegance accumulated for thousands of years, which has become a legendary symbol different from other human civilizations. At the end of the last sentence: I am proud to be born in China, and even more proud of China cuisine! —————— Pay attention to the author: Qian Pinju, learn more historical and cultural anecdotes and take you to discover a bigger world ~! —————— Reference: "Yun Xian San Lu changed to tea to sober up": Lotte entered the customs and Liu Yuxi was ill with alcohol. Yuxi exchanged chrysanthemum seedlings and reeds for two bags of tea from Lotte Class 6 to sober up. "Three things in the new autumn": There is nothing to congratulate, but the golden jade is lost. Salt merchant's wife: Besides, the fish in the river is cheap, and the rice has the fragrance of red, yellow and orange. Tai Ping Guang Ji Volume 234 Food (incidental food, not food): However, if you are a bass silver carp, it must be frosted in August and September. Collect bass less than three feet as dried silver carp, soak it, wrap it in cloth and drain it, and spread it on a plate. Chop the fragrant and soft flowers and leaves alternately, mix well with silver carp and stir fry. After first frost, perch was as white as snow but not fishy. The so-called "silver carp" is also delicious in the southeast. "Summer": I didn't say that jade was piled on the plate, but I watched the mortar hit gold. Notes on Daye: Wu Jun offered the sea? Four bottles of dried silver carp ... in the same way as dried silver carp. The emperor showed a cloud to his ministers: "In the past, the wizard told me that he caught sea fish in the palace, which made his ears come true." What is the difference? Today's silver carp is made of real marine fish. They come from thousands of miles away and have a strange taste. " Wuzhong sent a bitter rain to Lu Wang, because the book is full of rhyme ":either steam a handful of Cimicifuga or fry two chrysanthemums. If you use it to read mysteries, you can't feed your stomach. "The Book of Rites Internal Rules": beginning of spring cooks, adding the fried rice to the dry rice and covering it with paste, saying, "beginning of spring cooks." "Book of Rites Justice": Spring Ninja is one of the eight treasures, and it is also named as a treasure meal. Chun, he also, then he is also frost. Boil, that is, fry, then fry. Upland rice is called upland rice. It is said that land rice is cooked for rice, fried and boiled, and added to rice, fearing that its taste will be thinner and it will be more creamy, which will make the taste stand out and make it boil. "For Zhang, the long history of Bingzhou has entered Jiuding Mingbiao": Peony boiled and washed paste bait to preserve the beauty of Kyushu, which is the sum of the four seasons.