In 1972, when Nixon visited China for the first time, it was rumored that the main course of the state banquet hosted by Premier Zhou was boiled chicken.

The rumor is reasonable: for thousands of years, there has been a natural disagreement between the eastern and western farming people and nomadic people about eating meat. Cattle and sheep, or pigs and dogs, are a problem.

Only chicken, as a domestic animal that can not only consume surplus food but also accompany human migration, has reached a certain degree of reconciliation at the dinner table between the East and the West. It is natural and respectful to entertain foreign guests with chicken.

but after careful consideration, Chinese-style boiled chicken does not conform to the eating habits of foreigners. Authentic white-cut chicken is authentic with bloodshot blood in its bone marrow. Although western beef and mutton are also eaten raw, eating red meat raw is not the same as eating white meat raw.

Besides, in English-speaking countries, most people can only eat in and out. Picking, chewing, tearing, biting, and spitting out a few bones from time to time are regarded as behaviors that are not in line with western table manners.

Although there are similar requirements in China's traditional etiquette, such as the commandment of "Don't bite bones" in the Book of Rites, China people's character is for the sake of their mouths, and they will never be bound by the moral framework. Flowers, birds, fish and insects can be eaten, not to mention a dish of delicious white-cut chicken, which is enough for China people to dare to take a big risk of food.

the more national it is, the more cosmopolitan it is. Chinese boiled chicken is probably the most representative example. It highlights the contradictory unity of China people's pursuit of elegance and plainness in food, and it also reflects the simple pursuit of protein, fat and sodium-containing seasonings by all mankind.

No:1 1

Darwin believed that the origin of modern domestic chickens was gallus gallus, which was domesticated by Indians and introduced to China 3411 years ago.

But what Darwin didn't know was that in Henan, Hebei and Shandong, where the Central Plains civilization began, many kitchen wastes shaped like chicken bones were unearthed, and their age was 8111 years.

Up to now, it is difficult to judge whether China had eaten wild chickens or consciously kept poultry. But what is certain is that the ancestors of China people began to eat chicken very early and made a lot of tricks on it. And the key catalyst is pottery.

Although the birth of pottery is a worldwide invention, it is only in China that pottery finally evolved into porcelain, which proves the superb craftsmanship of China people. As we all know, it is difficult for pottery to withstand the long-term baking of flame, cracking and breaking, which is the final destination of most pottery in the era of substandard technology, so most western pottery was born in the form of handicrafts, storage tools and tableware.

However, in China, cookware is an important category of ancient pottery. The invention of retort, kettle, retort and tripod has realized the basic cooking functions such as steaming, boiling and frying. This allows China people to make the earliest transition from the stage of open-fire barbecue to a variety of cooking forms. Fire no longer directly acts on food, but is converted into energy such as water and steam to catalyze the ripening of food.

As it happens, chicken has existed in the recipes of China people for a long time. After the invention of ceramic cookware, steamed chicken, stewed chicken, stewed chicken and fried chicken all appeared one after another. We also have reason to believe that boiled white-cut chicken, which is the main craft, is also an ancient invention of that era.

no: 2er

But in the flood and famine era, for the farming civilization that attached importance to festivals, chickens played an important role besides eating-telling the time.

In the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, when rites and music flourished, the rooster existed as an alarm clock, was regarded as an extremely precious sacrifice, and even became a god by myth, and gradually left the category of daily food.

Even today, in Taoism, which originated in China, chicken is still an important object of worship. It is recorded in Taiping Yu Lan that at the beginning of the opening of heaven and earth, Nu Wa Niangniang created a chicken on the first day; On the seventh day, people were made out of loess and water according to their own appearance. China Dragon Totem, with chicken as the prototype, Suzaku as the image reference, and some chicken elements as the reference, are all active in various China folklore.

However, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the status of chickens declined in a collapsed way. "Zuo Zhuan" lists chickens as "six animals", along with horses, cows, sheep, dolphins and dogs; In the story of Gou Jian, the king of Yue, there even appeared a large chicken farm in Yue, which provided materials for Gou Jian to attack Wu.

This phenomenon is interpreted by Han Confucians as the collapse of rites and the destruction of music caused by war. But its essence should be related to the invention of more advanced timing tools, such as standard watch, sundial and engraving. Although limited by the technology at that time, these tools all have short boards, but compared with live chickens, they are obviously more accurate and less affected by external factors.

So, chickens once again become food from tools.

No:3 Three

In the Qin and Han Dynasties, China, as a unified country for the first time, began to enter a period of great development in step with each other, and began to fight with the nomadic people in the north for thousands of years.

In that farming era when all national interests were paramount, chickens, as poultry with low meat production and high breeding requirements, were obviously in short supply and their prices remained high. However, chicken itself and the technology of raising chicken were introduced to Central Asia from east to west in the war and trade between Han civilization and nomadic people, and in the next thousand years, together with silk and ceramics, they were spread to the Middle East and the Near East along the Silk Road, and finally arrived in the West.

The long evolution has changed the variety of chicken, but it has not changed people's love for chicken. When the American white-feather chicken crossed the ocean and returned to Japan after the ban on meat was lifted, and it became the standard in izakaya in the form of burning birds, chicken also completed its journey around the world that took thousands of years.

On the other hand, after the Han Dynasty, China chickens gradually alienated from the smoky fire. Out of a completely different development direction from most chicken in the world-natural flavor.

Even Japan, which always prides itself on the original taste of ingredients, is far behind China in its cooking attitude towards chickens.

White-cut chicken is a work that reaches its peak from the original taste of ingredients.

No:4

After the Tang and Song Dynasties, chicken gradually became a symbol to describe the family's abundant food.

Meng Haoran said, "The ancients had chickens and millet, and you entertain me at your farm." Lu You said: "Don't laugh at the muddy wine in the farmhouse, and keep enough chickens and dolphins in good years." These sentences reflect that at that time, the guests were used to chicken, and the chicken and rice were cooked together to show the rusticity; It is a kind of spiritual temperament different from the fish, shrimp, seafood and barbecue cakes in the rivers and lakes.

If we have to compare it, chickens after the Tang and Song Dynasties represent the taste aesthetics of China literati who are "poor and immune to themselves".

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this tendency became more and more obvious. In the late Ming Dynasty, Li Yu said that "chickens are also meritorious things"; In the Qing Dynasty, the status of the chicken in Yuan Mei's mouth was further raised, and it became "the chicken has the greatest merit, and all the dishes depend on it, such as a good person accumulating yin and virtue without being known."

At the same time, Yuan Mei also listed "white sliced chicken" as the first of all chicken dishes. He said, "White sliced fat chicken naturally tastes like too much soup and mysterious wine. It is especially suitable for going to the countryside and hotels, and it is most convenient when cooking is not enough. Not much when cooking. "

This is probably the first time that boiled chicken has been described in detail by literati. It is not Yuan Mei's original creation, but the praise of the cuisine that originated at the grassroots level and finally merged with the aesthetic taste of the nation after thousands of years of evolution.

It's Meng Haoran. "The ancients had chickens and millet, you entertain me at your farm." An advanced deduction of.

in modern times, boiled chicken spread and evolved all over the country, and with the improvement of technology and the further enrichment of seasonings, many factions were separated.

Although gourmets, represented by Shen Hongfei, all think that boiled chicken is a kind of grass-roots delicacy that has no chance to be elegant, the reason is that "this chicken can't be found in mainstream recipes before the 1971s."

But in fact, the hard-boiled chicken originated from the grass roots, but it has a rare grand vision of grass-roots cuisine, which represents the difference of scenery and resources in this country, and also represents the spiritual whole of this country.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang: Shanghai white-cut chicken and bad chicken

| Aesthetics of Jiangnan scholars |

In Wu dialect, "cut" is the same as "eat", so in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the word "white-cut chicken" is easily misunderstood as "eat chicken for nothing", and its name is indecent.

The menu of authentic restaurants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is advertised as "Shanghai White Cut Chicken". "Chop" is a common word in Wu dialect, such as "chop the heel", "chop the meat with crucian carp" and the stock market term "chop the warehouse". Being named Shanghai, in addition to its great geographical influence, is more important because the old Shanghai brand "Little Shaoxing" has made important improvements to it. In fact, today, in Suzhou, Xichang and Hangjiahu in Wuyu District, the tastes of boiled chicken are very similar.

It is said that during the Republic of China, Shanghai police were jealous of "Little Shaoxing" and their business was booming. They often went to their homes to eat and drink for free. The boss, who was full of ordinary people's temperament and wisdom, soaked the boiled chicken in cold well water, hoping that the police would have diarrhea. Unexpectedly, such processing made the chicken taste better.

This story makes people subconsciously feel that no matter what age, the disposition of law enforcers is somewhat similar.

In fact, there is not much waste in the production of Shanghai-style boiled chicken, which is not as exquisite as that of Guangdong-style boiled chicken. Just boil the onion, ginger slices and white water. However, the ice water immersion invented by Xiao Shaoxing is undoubtedly a great leap in cooking technology: the chicken skin shrinks when it is cold and becomes very elastic, and the chicken can also lock the moisture instantly and keep it fresh for a long time.

Today, the practice of cooking and soaking in cold water has spread widely. Probably because of its simple operation, many Cantonese and even Sichuan restaurants will imitate the method of Shanghai-style boiled chicken, so that many people think it is an inherent custom of local eating.

Bad chickens in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are actually a kind of white-cut chickens. It's just that the last step is to soak the bad bittern. < P > Bad is actually the mud left after Jiangnan people brew Shaoxing yellow wine, which is fragrant and intoxicating. Shanghainese add spices such as sea salt, rock sugar, pepper, cinnamon, star anise, fragrant leaves, etc., and call it fragrant grains. Different proportions determine the taste trend of bad chicken. Some people like salty, some like fragrant and some like spicy, and each takes what he needs, and the taste is up to people. Generally speaking, Su Xi's taste is sweet, while Hangshao's taste is salty, while restaurants in Shanghai are tolerant, so that the two factions' tastes are reflected in different restaurants.

The traditional bad chicken is very particular. First, put the muddy fragrant grains into a big jar, spread clean gauze, then cut the boiled chicken into pieces, wipe it with fine salt, put it on the gauze, and gently compact the chicken layer by layer. After two or three days in this way, the smell of distiller's grains slowly penetrates into the chicken, and the bad chicken is ready.

In the fast-paced moment, most people find it troublesome, so there is clear and concentrated bittern in the supermarket. Without processing, chicken can be soaked in it directly, and it can be made to smell good. But for the exquisite, it is less interesting after all.

Fujian: Hakka boiled chicken and red fermented chicken

| Langjun dressed in red in Bamin |

The boiled chicken in Fujian is between Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, and its name is not uniform. Some people call it "cut" and some call it "chop", which probably originated late, so both sides rely on it in naming.

although the cooking time is late, the taste is not backward. The most famous boiled chicken in Fujian is produced in Changting County, Longyan City. The local area is a Hakka community, even known as the "Hakka capital", so in the process of making boiled chicken, there is also a strong Hakka cuisine.

It's much more complicated than cutting chicken in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It's made with castrated cock and salted. Dry steaming, not cooking, Hakka people think that boiling water will make the taste dissipate; Finally, naturally cool, pour with onion and ginger juice, and then cut into pieces and serve.

Although this kind of white-cut chicken is not as crisp as that of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the dry steamed chicken is full of chewiness, and the stimulation of onion and ginger is just right, which makes the chicken more delicious.

This kind of white-cut chicken is delicious directly without dipping, especially the tip of wings and chicken feet, which is a good material for wine. As the Hakkas say, "A pair of chicken feet drink a pot".

Like Jiangsu and Zhejiang people, Fujian people also have the tradition of deep-processing white-cut chicken with distiller's grains. The difference is that the by-product of Shaoxing yellow wine brewed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is bad bittern, while that brewed in Fujian is green wine, which is a kind of rice wine brewed with red yeast rice, with natural red pigment, and its bad side is called red distiller's grains.

adding red distiller's grains into chicken not only enhances the aroma of wine, but also has the function of coloring. If the bad chicken can be compared to a scholar in Jiangnan who is personable and introverted; Then the red bad chicken is a eight-min son-in-law who is dressed in red and has a cool temperament.

Guangqiong: Guangdong-style boiled chicken with Hainan chicken rice

| A story of Nanyang |

Guangdong-style boiled chicken is the most complicated and exquisite type in the pedigree of boiled chicken in China. The original refreshing and simple cooking has become extremely elegant in Cantonese cuisine.

White brine is necessary. It is a soup stock made by adding chicken bones, pork spine, dried galangal, licorice, cinnamon and other spices. It is the secret of every chicken shop. When cooking, use a big fire and carry the chicken "up and down" to prevent the skin from bursting. When the water boils, turn off the fire and stew for several minutes. When the brine cools naturally, the chicken is cooked.

Pick it up, spread it with coriander and spread it with sesame oil, which will not only enhance the fragrance, but also prevent the brine soaked in chicken from flowing out and make the meat become firewood. In recent years, some shops have made reference to the practice of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and used cold water to stir them. The taste is good, but it is no longer the traditional Guangdong-style white-cut chicken practice.

if the heat is well controlled, the meat of the white-cut chicken made in this way is extremely tender, the meat around the chicken bones is slightly peach-colored, the bone marrow is still bloody, the chicken skin becomes soft and waxy due to soaking, and the subcutaneous fat condenses slightly due to natural cooling. Master Cai Lan, a fellow villager in Chaozhou, certainly knows Lao Guang's way. His description is: "The boiled chicken must not be cooked completely. Fully cooked meat is like rotten cloth, and you can't eat the smell of chicken at all; He who knows how to eat chicken enjoys the skin best. The so-called chicken skin is not fat or delicious, and there is a layer of jelly-like glue between the skin and the meat. It's great to eat the skin of chicken and suck the marrow from chicken bones. "

Guangdong-style white-cut chicken is also very particular about dipping sauce. Authentic old Cantonese people don't like soy sauce, that is, white-cut chicken dipped in soy sauce, and think it is the most casual and common dipping sauce.

The authentic Guangzhou way of eating is a dish with garlic and sesame oil. It is also good to use onion and soy sauce to hook the onion oil dish; A relatively small number of people have a mustard dish made of small clams and mustard, which is slightly irritating and fishy when eaten with chicken; In addition, there is a popular sand ginger dish in food stalls. Sand ginger is not ginger, but a root spice with a strange taste. After being crushed, it can be mixed with garlic and "sniffed" with hot oil to give off the most fascinating taste in the streets of Guangzhou on summer nights.

Hainan, which is separated from Guangdong by a water, actually has a tradition of eating boiled chicken, and the practice is similar. What is more special is that Hainan people like to add green orange juice to the dip dish, which is full of tropical customs of Southeast Asian flavor at first glance. In fact, the popular "Hainan Chicken Rice" in tourist attractions is not the invention of Hainan people, but the Southeast Asian version of the white-cut chicken made by overseas Chinese in Singapore, Malaysia and other places, in order to miss the taste of the old country, improved the white brine of Guangdong-style white-cut chicken, and added Nanyang-style spices such as citronella and colorful leaves.

The uniqueness of this kind of hard-boiled chicken lies in dipping, and the black soybean oil, Chili sauce and ginger and garlic, which are known as the "three sauces of the soul", are essential. The black soybean oil with coconut sugar is thick and sweet in the mouth. Chili sauce is made of garlic, white vinegar, sugar and fish sauce. It is sour, sweet and spicy. Together, these three sauces turn ordinary chicken into a pheasant.

In addition, overseas Chinese in Nanyang are generally of humble origin. Although they have been circulating for a hundred years,