Laba porridge

Legend 1: Zhu Yuanzhang once begged for food in his early years. One year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he had not eaten for several days and was suffering from hunger and cold. Suddenly he saw a mouse crawling into the He wanted to catch mice to eat, so he dug a mouse hole. He found some rice, beans and other grains inside, so he cooked a pot of porridge to avoid death from cold and hunger. After becoming the emperor, he would cook porridge and eat it every eighth day of the twelfth lunar month as a souvenir, which also meant remembering the bitter and thinking of the sweet.

Legend 2: Yue Fei was framed by a traitor and his military rations were deducted. When the people heard the news, every household sent them porridge and rice, and Yue's army ate them together. This day happens to be the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. From now on, people will cook Laba porridge to remember Yue Fei and the Yue family army. In the Song Dynasty, eating Laba porridge was the most popular. No matter the palace, government, monasteries or people's homes, they all competed to cook Laba porridge. "Old Wulin Events" records: "On December 8th, monasteries and people make porridge with walnuts, pine nuts, mushrooms, persimmons, chestnuts, etc., which is called 'Laba porridge'." It is also called "five-flavor porridge" or "eight-treasure porridge." .

2. Tianjin "Goubuli" steamed buns

It is said that the "Goubuli" steamed bun shop opened in the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. The owner's surname was Gao Mingguiyou, and his nickname was "Paparazzi". It is said that Gao Guiyu had a very stubborn temper when he was a child. He was so stubborn that he would not even pay attention to the puppy's teasing. Therefore, the neighbors made fun of him and called him "Goubuli". Later, Gao Guiyou went to learn cooking skills. The buns he makes are not only very particular in the selection of ingredients, but also very unique in technique; they are also very delicious and have distinctive characteristics, so they are highly praised and favored by the majority of diners. After the Empress Dowager Cixi tasted it, she was "overjoyed" and couldn't help but praise it. From then on, this kind of steamed buns "priced ten times as soon as they were sold to the dragon gate", and became famous far and wide. The business became more and more prosperous, and the number of customers who came to taste the steamed buns increased day by day. They came in droves, which often kept the noble friends busy.

Later, Gao Guiyou suddenly came up with a new business idea: even if there were several large baskets of clean chopsticks on the table in the store, and customers wanted to buy steamed buns, he asked to put their change into the bowl first. , and then he gave the buns the price according to the money in the bowl. The customers finished eating the buns, put down their bowls and chopsticks and left the store, but Gao Guiyou was so busy that he didn't say a word the whole time. So the neighbors laughed at him and said: "The paparazzi sells buns and ignores them." Later, the good-hearted neighbors named his bun shop "Goubuli" and the buns he made were called "Goubuli buns", and Gao Guiyou didn't object. Once the name of this store spread, it became famous far and wide, and it has been passed down to this day. It can be said that it has been prosperous for a long time.

3. Beijing cuisine "Beggar Chicken"

There is a famous dish in Beijing cuisine. The name of the dish is very interesting. It is called "Beggar Chicken" or "Rich Chicken". There is a reason why this dish is named after different words from the rich and the poor:

"Beggar Chicken" originally originated from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It was a chicken that was stolen or begged by some poor refugees, known as "beggars". , cooked with hot local dishes, it is originally an unrefined street food. Emperor Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River incognito and accidentally left his rags on the streets. One of the beggars saw that he was pitiful, so he gave him a "beggar's chicken" that he thought was a delicacy. Qianlong was sleepy and hungry. Of course he thought the chicken was extremely delicious and asked him its name. The beggar was embarrassed to tell him that the chicken was delicious. It was called "Beggar Chicken", so they called it "Wealth Chicken". Qianlong said that this "rich chicken" was delicious.

It was only later that I found out that this homeless man was the current emperor. This "beggar's chicken" also became a famous dish because Emperor Jinkou opened it and turned it into "rich chicken".

4. Yunnan Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles

Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodles is a famous snack in Yunnan. Rice noodles are rice noodles, which are linear foods made from high-quality rice through processes such as fermentation, grinding, filtering, steaming, and pressing. Cross-bridge rice noodles are mainly made of soup, sliced ??meat, rice noodles and seasonings. As for the origin of Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles, the common people believe in the reason mentioned in a folk tale:

Once upon a time, a scholar from Mengzi, Yunnan Province locked himself up on a small island in the South Lake in order to take the exam. Study day and night. His wife brought him meals every day. Because of the long journey, the food often got cold, so the scholar didn't like to eat it. What to do? One day, my wife stewed a fat hen. She filled the chicken soup in an earthen pot, brought the scholar's favorite rice noodles and condiments, and sent them in a bamboo basket. When she was carrying the soup pot, her hands were burned and she retracted. It turns out that there is a thick layer of chicken fat floating on the chicken soup, which maintains the temperature. So, she put the condiments into the soup, boiled it, and then added the rice noodles. The scholar ate it warmly and found it particularly delicious, so he praised it greatly. Because his wife had to cross a bridge to deliver food, the scholar smiled and said to his wife: "Let's call the delicious meal you made today Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles." From then on, Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles became popular among the people.

5. Shaanxi Qishan Saozi Noodles

It is said that during the Zhou Dynasty, King Wen Jichang took his people out for hunting. On the banks of the Wei River, they encountered a dragon rising from the water, baring its teeth and claws, and killing innocent people. King Wen of Zhou ordered his soldiers to shoot arrows together, and for a while the arrows kept ringing in the air. In an instant, the five-foot-long dragon fell from the sky with its eyes blinded and its throat broken. Since eating the dragon's meat has the effect of prolonging life and driving away evil spirits, King Wen asked the chef to chop the dragon into centimeter cubes, add seasonings and mash it into paste, then scoop the cooked noodles into a bowl and pour the soup and dragon paste over it. They only ate noodles, did not drink soup, and then poured the soup into the soup pot. In this cycle, not only the soldiers ate dragon noodles, but also the local folks got their hands on it and tasted the delicious dragon noodles.

From then on, the people of Qishan imitated this way of eating, smashing the pork into steamed noodles, pouring soup over it and eating it. This is the steamed noodles that have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

6. Hejian donkey meat barbecue

Hejian donkey meat barbecue is said to have originated in the early Ming Dynasty. King Zhu Di of Yan rebelled and went to Caohe, Xushui County, Baoding Prefecture, where he was defeated. When he was starving, a soldier came up with the idea to imitate the ancients and kill the horse to eat. The fiber of horse meat is relatively thick, so it is not particularly delicious. But I was hungry, so I cooked the horse meat and ate it with local fire-roasted food. Unexpectedly, it tastes very good. Later, local people also began to kill horses to make "horse meat roast", and horse meat roast became famous because it was once eaten by the emperor. But the good times did not last long, because horses were needed to fight the Mongols. Horses have become strategic materials, so of course they cannot be eaten by the common people. So a substitute emerged - donkey meat. The fiber of donkey meat is finer than that of horse meat, and it is lean but not fat. Hejian donkey meat roasting was born out of various inter-species meetings!

7. "Lion's Head"

"Lion's Head" has now become a home-cooked dish in ordinary people's homes. This seemingly ordinary dish has an interesting legend.

When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to the south of the Yangtze River, he enjoyed the four famous scenic spots of Yangzhou, Wansong Mountain, Qianqian Dun, Ivory Forest and Sunflower Hill. In addition to sightseeing, he ordered the imperial chef to prepare four dishes based on the four famous sceneries. Under the guidance of local famous chefs, the imperial chef finally cooked four dishes: squirrel mandarin fish, money shrimp cakes, ivory chicken strips and sunflower chopped meat, among which the sunflower chopped meat is now known as "lion head". Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was delighted after tasting the dish, and gave it to all his ministers. The four famous dishes were immediately popular among the court and the public.

In the Tang Dynasty, due to the economic prosperity, it became common for the powerful to have banquets and compete with each other to treat guests. Once when Duke Wei Zhi hosted a banquet, these four famous dishes were served. When the "Sunflower Chopped Meat" was served, the sunflower heart made of huge meatballs looked like the head of a lion. In order to please the host, some guests took the opportunity to persuade: "The Duke has spent half his life in the army, and his military exploits are shining in the annals of history. He should wear the lion's seal. Why not rename this dish 'Lion's Head'." The Duke was overjoyed and happily accepted it, and from then on "Lion's Head" It is popular all over the country and has been passed down.

8. Wuhan Stir-fried bacon with red cabbage and sprouts

Stir-fried bacon with red cabbage and sprouts is a unique delicacy in Hubei, especially the fried bacon with red cabbage and sprouts in Hongshan District of Wuchang. Authentic and delicious. There is a touching story about the dish of fried bacon with red cabbage and sprouts.

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a single woman who, because of her poor family, fled everywhere to beg for food and barely make ends meet. One day, she came to a ruined temple in Hongshan District, Wuchang, and met an orphan named Yizi lying on the ground crying pitifully. The woman felt pity for the orphan, so she took him with her to beg for food. The two walked for a while, relying on each other, and came to the door of a shabby thatched house. They saw an old woman in the house who was out of breath and coughing. They went in and asked the old woman what was wrong. The old man said : "I'm dying. There's a piece of bacon behind the door. You can take it and eat it!" The woman couldn't bear to take away the old woman's bacon in vain. So she climbed to Hongshan Mountain to pick wild vegetables. She found a kind of wild vegetable with long tender sprouts, purple-red color, and yellow flowers. She picked the wild vegetables and stir-fried them with bacon. Who knew that they tasted great. It can be said that there is no end to the road. The old lady felt much better after eating the bacon stir-fry. After that, the woman went to the mountains every day to pick this wild vegetable. In addition to the three of them eating together to satisfy their hunger, they also sold it on the street. Over time, they named this vegetable after the orphan. ——Red cabbage sprouts. The dish of fried bacon with red cabbage sprouts has also gradually spread.

9. Chengdu Husband and Wife Fei Pian

It is said that in the 1930s, near the Imperial City of Chengdu, Chengdu was a place where ethnic minorities lived together. People only ate beef and mutton and avoided eating offal. So all the internal organs were thrown away.

At that time, there was a young couple, the man named Guo Chaohua and the woman named Zhang Tianzheng. They saw these discarded offal being thrown away and felt it was a pity. The young couple had nothing to do anyway. I was obsessed with making a living, so I went to the slaughterhouse early in the morning, rummaged through the pile of offal, picked out the ones that I thought were still edible, cleaned them and cooked them in a pot. After repeated trials, I finally made the tripe as white and tender as paper. The tongue of the cow is as red as birch, and the scalp of the cow is transparent and slightly yellow. After that, the couple carefully mixed the red oil, pepper, sesame, sesame oil, monosodium glutamate, fine soy sauce, fresh celery and other seasonings to create a delicacy that will be passed down from generation to generation.

Because the raw materials initially sold were beef, beef heart, beef tongue and scalp cut into slices and mixed together, they were called "Hui slices" because the sounds of "Hui" and "lung" are similar. After it spread, it was called "Fei Pian". Because of its well-prepared preparation and rich aroma, it was praised as "cars drive half way, but meat smells all the way." I heard that a famous merchant tasted the lung slices made by Mr. and Mrs. Guo and was so impressed that he gave them a gold-lettered plaque with the four characters "Husband and wife's lung slices" written on them. From then on, the snack "Couple's Feather Pieces" became more famous. In order to adapt to the tastes and requirements of customers, the couple continued to improve the ingredients and production methods, and gradually used beef and haggis instead of beef lungs. Although there is no beef lung in the dish, people still like to use the name "couple's lung slices" to call this dish, so it has been used to this day.

10. Yongxiu Dongpo elbow

Dongpo elbow has the characteristics of fat but not greasy, cake but not rotten, and good color, aroma, taste and shape. Some people call it "Beauty food", foreign guests praised it as "can be included in the world's famous dishes".

It is said that Su Dongpo once visited the Yongxiu area of ??Jiangxi Province and cured the disease of a local farmer's child. The farmer expressed his gratitude and specially allowed him to eat. Su Dongpo was intoxicated by the beautiful countryside, and he couldn't help but recite a poem: "Grass pearls are fragrant to the heart."

The farmer who was cooking in the stove heard this and thought that this was Su Dongpo teaching him how to cook meat - "cook the whole meat with grass until it is fragrant", so he quickly put the pork and the straw that tied the meat into the pot to cook. Unexpectedly, the meat cooked in this way has a really unique flavor! Naturally, this invention was Mr. Su’s fault.