With the scorching summer coming, what else can we eat besides iced watermelon, iced beer, cold noodles and bad goods?

When it comes to eating in season, Suzhou people have the most say. The most important creed of Su Bang cuisine is "don't eat from time to time". In a specific season, you must choose the most seasonal ingredients to eat, and you can't be confused, so that you can show your true colors.

In fact, in the age of depending on the weather, the growth of everything is determined by the weather, and it is impossible to "stop eating from time to time". However, with the development of agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry technology, many ingredients no longer need to stick to the season. Although there are criticisms of "anti-season food", on the whole, people's seasonal concept is gradually dissipating.

Only Suzhou people still embrace the ancestral motto of "Don't eat from time to time" and earnestly practice it day after day. Even if we don't exaggerate the health controversy about out-of-season food, this is different from the "one-time meeting" of seasonal ingredients and the regret that we have to meet again next year after missing it, which is also a kind of life interest.

Today, I'd like to introduce the Suzhou delicacies that can only be eaten in summer ~

The shrimps that Suzhou people often eat on weekdays can be roughly divided into two categories: one is the slightly larger "green shrimp" which is bluish gray, that is, the "river shrimp" as usual; The other is the "white shrimp", also known as "white rice shrimp", which is one of the "three whites of Taihu Lake".

Generally speaking, these two kinds of shrimps are very small, which is not even enough for diners who are used to eating prawns, metapenaeus ensis and even prawns. However, Suzhou people believe that "the essence is concentrated", and the smaller the shrimp, the more delicious it tastes; As for those prawns that have only the size and are tasteless, what are they for?

river shrimps are already small enough, but Suzhou people still find them insufficient, so they have to dismantle them one by one by hand, which is called "peeling river shrimps by hand". Although it is called "hand peeling", in fact, it is not peeling shrimp shells, but cleverly squeezing out the whole shrimp, which requires professional skills and rich experience, otherwise the delicate shrimp meat will be easily broken.

Suzhou people love to do this kind of "doing Dojo in snail shells". In the past, from time to time, I saw several aunts sitting at the door of the store, peeling shrimps or removing crab powder while chatting, and it was already half a day inadvertently-it was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and naturally it was expensive.

Early summer is the season for shrimp production. Sexually mature females embrace black and orange shrimp seeds, and the gonads (shrimp brains) in their heads are also attractive orange. Take off the shrimp head while it is fresh, quickly cook it to solidify the shrimp brain and remove the shell; Rinse the body in clear water, leave all the shrimp seeds in the water, filter and add onion and ginger to remove the fishy smell and cook; Shrimp is "hand-peeled" and shelled, which is called "three shrimps" together with shrimp brain and shrimp seeds.

The ordinary fried shrimps are only added with salt and egg white, and quickly fried in the pan. The heat is the most important, and the finished product is fragrant, fresh and sweet. When the season is ripe, shrimp brains and shrimp seeds are added and fried together, and the umami flavor quickly turns several orders of magnitude, which is unforgettable. Many Shanghainese even come to Suzhou to eat fried three shrimps.

Fried three shrimps is the king of fried shrimps, or it can be used as the topping of Su-style noodle soup. The aroma of fried shrimp is confusing. If it is directly put into soup, it will inhibit the aroma from volatilizing, so it is usually served separately and moved to a noodle bowl before eating. The term is "crossing the bridge".

Shrimp seeds are the freshest things. If they are only used for frying three shrimps, it is not enough to highlight their fresh and rich taste. Suzhou people will cook soy sauce with shrimp seeds, and use this delicious "shrimp seed soy sauce" to match cold dishes such as white meat and belly tip, which is most suitable for the summer season when appetite is reduced.

The dried shrimp seeds can also be used to make the famous "shrimp-seed bonito" in Caizhizhai. First, the bonito (dried salted fish) is fried until it changes color, then it is put into the marinade mixed with soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar and shrimp seeds to collect the juice, and finally it is wrapped with a layer of dried shrimp seeds, which is a double blessing of shrimp seeds, not to mention how fresh it is! A dish of shrimp roe tuna is an unparalleled gift for Suzhou people to send porridge in summer.

It is generally believed that Cantonese cuisine prefers to use fresh fruits, which can be explained by the fact that the South China is rich in fruits, and it is logical to add them to dishes. In fact, there are not a few "fruit dishes" for Su Bangcai, which is good at using sweetness. Representative ones include southern leg pineapple, watermelon chicken, etc. The ancient squirrel mandarin fish should also be seasoned with hawthorn slices, and there is also cherry meat that looks like fruit.

when it comes to "fruit dishes" in summer, watermelon chicken is the only one. Put the broiler together with ham and lotus seeds in a crock and simmer for chicken soup, then move it into the hollowed watermelon and steam it in a cage. It goes without saying that chicken soup is delicious, and it is dressed in green watermelons, which makes people feel cool for a while; Guapi has the function of cooling and extinguishing fire, which can just dispel the summer heat.

dishes with similar ideas can also be found in other cuisines. Watermelon chicken has a good name in Confucian cuisine as "one egg hatches two chickens", and Cantonese cuisine also has a cup of winter melon made of whole winter melon. Whether it's winter melon or watermelon, skilled chefs will display their uncanny workmanship on the melon skin, carving dragons and painting phoenix.

Watermelon chicken with exquisite carving, luxury and exquisiteness is enough for the banquet with the highest specifications. Unfortunately, this technology is dying and rare now. Nowadays, when visiting Suzhou in summer, only a few stores such as Deyuelou supply watermelon chicken, and the carvings on the melon skin are crude, which makes people sigh that the prosperity and splendor of the past have finally been washed away.

In Suzhou, a small and beautiful city, students are good at cooking large pieces of pork, which is fat but not greasy, crisp but not rotten, and the meat is fragrant, which makes people unforgettable. This technology also spread to Beijing with the establishment of the Soviet Bureau in the Qing Dynasty. Legend has it that it was brought to the court by the famous chef Zhang Dongguan, and it was called "Su Zao Meat" or "Su Zao Meat".

The practice of "Suzhou-made meat" in Beijing is relatively clear, but when we return to Gusu City with four distinct seasons, Suzhou people refuse to give up the spirit of "not eating from time to time" and have to cook pork in four ways throughout the year. Eat cherry meat or soy sauce meat in spring, steamed meat with lotus leaf powder in summer, braised meat with honey sauce or plum vegetables in autumn, and soy sauce in winter. Eating "out-of-season meat" is not a big problem, but it is obviously not a senior "food-knowing molecule".

Pork ribs are marinated with soy sauce, yellow wine, sugar, fermented bean curd, etc., wrapped with seasoned rice flour, steamed in a bowl until crisp and rotten, wrapped with lotus leaves, and steamed again in a cage. Similarly, you can also make steamed chicken with lotus leaf powder, steamed eel with lotus leaf powder and other dishes.

Although the sesame oil eel paste is a classic dish that can be served all year round, the eel in summer is particularly fat, and it is said that "the eel competes with ginseng in the summer". Therefore, eating eel paste in summer is the most appropriate seasonal tonic.

the most fascinating thing about the oily eel paste is that it is drenched with boiling hot oil after serving, and when it comes into contact with the eel paste and garlic, it makes a "sneering" sound, which is the most exciting moment, so it is called "oily". But if the oil is not boiled enough, or if the waiter's hands and feet are too slow, the oil temperature will drop and the eel paste will be silent, which will be quite embarrassing.

The eel paste with rich ink and bright color is stimulated by the oil to induce appetite, and the aroma diffuses with the temperature. After entering the mouth, the eel meat is tender and slightly elastic, and then the rich and delicious taste occupies the mouth. There is no doubt that the oily eel paste can be called a food that fully arouses the five senses, and it is the same as the "sensory cuisine" popular in western food circles recently.

It is said that Shanghai cuisine is "thick oil and red sauce", but in fact, Su Bang cuisine is not too rich, and it needs more salty flavor to reconcile because of its higher sweetness. As you can imagine, the oily eel paste is a natural meal, and the slippery eel shreds are wrapped in thick sauce, full of fragrant flavor. Even I, a person who doesn't like rice, accidentally put down a big bowl of rice.

Suzhou-style cakes are the best in the world, which not only have a wide variety and exquisite skills, but also fully embody the spirit of "not eating from time to time", and many varieties are limited in color. You can name a variety of cakes, such as yellow sponge cake, lard cake, Dingsheng cake, Chongyang cake, sugar rice cake, begonia cake and plum blossom cake, which is just a drop in the ocean.

My favorite variety is Su-style small square cakes. As the name implies, this is a square rice cake, which is rich in rice flavor and soft and sweet. Because it is not mixed with lard like other cakes, it is more fresh and refreshing.

the essence of small square cakes is the stuffing, which changes with the seasons, so light makeup and heavy makeup are always appropriate. The most classic fillings are roses and mint, as well as sesame, bean paste and lotus seed paste. Summer mint stuffing is the most special, as if blowing a cool breeze in the mouth, which is refreshing.

of course, you have to have tea when you eat cakes. Personally, I like scented osmanthus tea best, and some people think that Biluochun is the perfect match for Suzhou tea. If you feel hot tea, sweet-scented osmanthus sour plum soup is also an excellent choice.