Text: Wei Shuihua Zou Tianyi
Headshot: Pixabay
The peoples in East and South Asia have many historical characteristics.
For example, everyone has a history of not eating beef.
Although there are different reasons for not eating beef, whether it is the Japanese ban on meat from imperial power or the Indian cow from religion as a god, it is essentially the same reason that China people do not eat cultivated cattle as a means of production.
Yes, China people don't believe in God or imperial power in their bones, so the ancient law of banning beef in China explained the reasons clearly from the beginning.
On the other hand, beef, a delicious food, has never really been cut off in a country like China. Although slaughtering old, sick and disabled cattle has always been a legal business, in that era when there was no traceability system for ingredients, it was impossible to verify the origin of beef after it became cooked in the pan. "Two catties of beef and a pot of good wine" by outlaws in Water Margin can quite represent the real life of the bottom people who wandered on the edge of imperial law in ancient China.
Similarly, in ancient China, for a long time, wheat products were not regarded as good things in the hall.
Shu Xi, a scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty, wrote a "Cake Fu", which listed many pasta dishes. He said: Spring is neither too hot nor too cold, and it is suitable for eating "mantou" (steamed bread); When it is hot in summer, it is suitable to eat "thin and strong" (maybe cold noodles); When the temperature drops in autumn, it's best to eat "rising" (bread); It's freezing in the middle of winter, and that's "soup cake" (noodle) is the best. And "prison pills" (dumplings) are the best in pasta, because they are delicious all year round.
Some of these pasta dishes came from distant places, while others spontaneously formed from the lower classes. In short, they have nothing to do with the great tradition.
Therefore, when beef meets noodles, it naturally brings with it a savage spirit that originated in the rivers and lakes, and it condenses the noise of the street and the fireworks of the world. In the pedigree of China cuisine, if swordfish, shad, lake crab and other freshwater fish are fresh, they represent the tip of the tongue aesthetics of the elite, which is the elegance praised by scholars; Then beef noodles are the most vigorous spring grass in the civilian class, which can best reflect the regional scenery.
No:1? 1
From a macro point of view, beef noodles are not native to China. Today, the beef noodles we eat have two major origins, namely, western food is introduced to the east and imported from the sea.
It is different from China people who are used to having separate meals at formal banquets. Most diets in Central Asia are packed with staple food and side dishes: all kinds of barbecues, sauces and vegetables are put on plates with naan, or saffron, onion, chicken and long-grain rice are fried into a bowl ... These are not well-sold in China's eyes, and they can only be eaten by the proletariat, but they are high-grade delicacies in Islamic society.
since the Han dynasty, these western ways of eating and wheat originated in central Asia have been introduced into the central plains, and have influenced the diet of people in the central and western regions from bottom to top. Pasta culture in the Yellow River valley, the custom of taking cattle and sheep as the main meat in the Central Plains has gradually formed.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a "Tang Guan" who specialized in making soup cakes. Wei Wendi xelloss once suspected that He Yan's face was as white as jade, and he painted his face with powder. So Emperor Wendi sent He Yan to the palace and gave him a bowl of soup cakes. Look at He Yan eat full head big sweat, complexion from white to red and then turn white, he didn't believe that He Yan is really white skin.
this spread of western food to the east reached its peak in the Tang dynasty. Li Shimin's reputation as "Tiankhan" and the inclusive and open national policy of the Tang Dynasty made a large number of Central Asians, including the poet Li Bai, pass through the Hexi Corridor and transit in Tianshui and Lanzhou, and come to Chang 'an, the central core of the Tang Empire.
These Central Asians have brought the eating habit of boiled beef and mutton with white water, and also brought various ways to eat pasta. Soon, China people, who are creative in food, improved the way Central Asians cooked noodles and cakes with beef mutton soup, and formed a more palatable long and thin strip pasta, which was later noodles.
It is mentioned in "The Origin of Things" written by Gao Cheng in the Northern Song Dynasty: "In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, soup cakes were still eaten in the world, but cakes are now demanded." Suo, which means strip in Chinese, is probably the earliest recorded noodle.
Coincidentally, almost at the same time, on the way of wheat spreading to the west, Italians invented Anclle Hair, which is the spaghetti we ate later.
The same strip-shaped wheat products and the same taste characteristics show that people who love food often have amazing aesthetic similarities.
No:2? (2)
After the Ming Dynasty, the crop distribution of rice in the south and wheat in the north has been fully formed, and the structure of "rice in the south and rice in the north" has become increasingly solidified. At the same time, with the spread of noodles in the country, the word "noodles" has increasingly become synonymous with noodles, rather than its original meaning, wheat flour.
For the south, which is rich in literati, noodles have become an emotional appeal to embellish life, not a prop to fill the stomach. Therefore, the side dishes of noodles are also tried to rely on aquatic products and fresh vegetables that are not full of food. Li Yu described his "eight treasures noodles" made of dried fish, dried shrimps, fresh bamboo shoots, sesame seeds and pepper with great interest. Yuan Mei also talked about his small noodles made of chicken soup, eel, shrimp juice and mushroom juice with great interest.
In the Central Plains and Hexi Corridor, the custom of using beef mutton soup with noodles to fill the stomach is still preserved. The difference is that when mutton noodles, represented by Huimian Noodles, Henan Province, became popular, beef noodles only existed in the unknown dark side and the Muslim diet, represented by Hui people, because the country explicitly prohibited the slaughter of cattle.
In p>1841, the British opened the door of the Qing Dynasty with the Opium War. Ten years later, the Americans opened the door to Japan with the black ship incident. For the first time, the people in East Asia found that beef, which had been taboo for thousands of years, was actually a nutrient for Europeans to keep fit.
However, the national character once again caused the two countries to go their separate ways in the history of beef noodles: the Japanese promoted total westernization, and Emperor Meiji took the lead in eating beef and drinking milk to strengthen their physique. In the course of the next hundred years, he cattle with extremely high intramuscular fat content were also cultivated. In addition, influenced by Chinese noodles, Japanese Lamian Noodles based on bone soup was invented.
But China people hold the idea of "taking the essence and discarding the dross" and are shy about eating cows, still hiding half her face from us behind her guitar. More than half a century after the Opium War, the signboard of clear soup beef noodles appeared on the streets of Lanzhou.
This is probably the first time that China people have secretly eaten beef for thousands of years, and publicly displayed the name of beef noodles in the downtown area.
No:3? 3
The Han nationality has always been a nation that came from behind, and beef noodles are a very typical example.
Since the first bowl of beef noodles in Lanzhou became a famous snack, which was praised by the elite literati represented by Tang Lusun, beef noodles with local characteristics have been made based on local cooking techniques and dietary tastes.
What's more interesting is that these beef noodles with their own characteristics, for various reasons, are "exported from domestic market", which has affected our neighbors and the whole world.
In the 1941s, the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam fell, and people began to eat beef in Hue, the capital of Vietnam, out of rebellion against the feudal dynasty. Immigrants from China, Guangxi and Guizhou brought with them the skills of making beef noodles and beef powder. Under the combination of hatchbacks, Bun bo Hue, a national quintessence of Vietnamese people, was invented.
In the 1971s, Li Beiqi, an overseas Chinese in Chongqing, opened a beef noodle chain in California with the signboard of "King of Beef Noodles", which is the most successful Chinese food chain brand in the United States except panda express. Compared with Zuo Zongtang's chicken and fried chop suey, beef noodles are one of the most civilian and authentic Chinese foods that can be eaten in the United States. So much so that later, "Mr. Li Beef Noodles in California" actually had the confidence to return to China and open a branch in Beishangguang, which can be called the banner of chain Chinese food.
At the end of 1971s, Japanese enterprises and Taiwan Province enterprises made a joint venture, imitated the instant noodle products of Nissin Company at that time, and created the brand of "Master Kong" and its first generation of instant noodles in online celebrity, braised beef noodles, with Taiwan Province beef noodles as the base flavor and Japanese Lamian Noodles side dishes. In one fell swoop, it defeated Nissin dolphin bone noodles in the whole East Asia, and also created a precedent for countless beef-flavored instant noodles.
There are countless such examples. In a word, China beef noodles have become the most culturally inclusive and influential Chinese food in the world because of its local selection of materials, convenient production process and rich and long taste.
so, what is the complete map of China beef noodles?
Gansu: Lanzhou beef noodles
| The originator of beef noodles |
It is said that the production standard of Lanzhou beef noodles "one clear, two white, three green, four red and wuhuang" (noodle soup should be clear, radish should be white, coriander should be green, pepper should be red and noodles should be yellow) was invented by a scholar named Chen Weijing from Hebei.
Ma Liuqi, Chen Weijing's Hui disciple, brought the production standard to Lanzhou, and his successor Ma Baozi carried it forward in Lanzhou.
In essence, the story of Lamian Noodles's prosperity in Lanzhou is exactly the same as that of KFC: Colonel Harland Sanders, an Indiana native, went all the way to Salt Lake City to sell Kentucky fried chicken. There is no reason: Kentucky, as a slave-holding state in the south, does have a cultural tradition of eating fried chicken.
Lanzhou has similar characteristics: since the Tang Dynasty, as an important town on the Silk Road, Lanzhou has been a transit point for western food to spread eastward; After Yuan Dynasty, a large number of Hui people lived together, which made beef noodles have a national foundation. The Han literati in the late Qing Dynasty summed up the "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" production standard, just like the fried chicken production standard summarized by KFC, such as a tube of catalyst, which raised the food from the scenery to the brand.
Until today, Lanzhou Beef Noodle is still one of the most distinctive strong regional symbols of China Beef Noodle. The geographical location of Hexi Corridor determines that both high-quality wheat flour and high-quality beef from Tibet and Xinjiang border areas can be found here.
Penghui instant noodles are the soul of Lanzhou beef noodles. After being burnt to ashes, Pennisetum is alkaline, which can solidify protein in flour and make noodles stronger. In essence, penghui noodles have the same function as soda noodles eaten in the south and baking soda.
authentic Lanzhou beef noodles don't need to be sliced thinly, but are diced beef, which is different from most Qinghai Hualong beef noodles on the market. The meat is crisp and rotten but not soft, which tests the skill of master cook the meat very much; If you want an extra bowl of meat, the beef slices will appear.
Because it is close to Guanzhong, oily spicy seeds similar to Shaanxi are also indispensable in Lanzhou beef noodles. However, unlike the spicy taste in Guanzhong Plain, the highest realm of oily spicy seeds in Lanzhou beef noodles is "only fragrant but not spicy", which may also preserve the food customs in Central Asia from one side.
Sichuan: Neijiang beef noodles
| Inheriting authentic Sichuan flavor |
Historians generally believe that Taiwan Province beef noodles have a relationship with Sichuan beef noodles, but many Taiwan Province people went to Chengdu to look for "authentic beef noodles", but they all failed.
Taiwan Province writer Xie Yaodong once wrote: "(In Chengdu) look for authentic Sichuan beef noodles. Cross the street and cross the lane for two hours, but I found nothing. Finally, I ate two plates of husband and wife's lung slices and a bowl of bell dumplings, and brought back a catty of Pixian bean paste. "
actually, if you come to Neijiang, which is less than 211 kilometers away from Chengdu, you will find that the real Sichuan beef noodles are here.
fine flour with heavy alkali, wide soup with red oil, and instant beef are the major features of Neijiang beef noodles. Similar to the penghui noodles in Lanzhou, the noodles are more alkaline. Generally, stores use a big pot to boil water. After boiling away, they throw the slender noodles in, pull them apart with long bamboo chopsticks, and cook them for more than 1 minutes, so as to ensure the noodles taste strong.
beef minced meat is also made from fresh beef in the market, supplemented with secret spices from various countries. After the beef is cut into pieces, it is first sauté ed in hot oil and then stewed with spices. After a long time of stewing, the beef pieces taste soft and rotten, and the smell is bone-chilling.
When cooking, add seasonings such as shallots, ginger and garlic water, soy sauce, pepper powder, monosodium glutamate, vinegar, etc., the noodles are strong, the beef is tender and tasty, the oily chili pepper is slightly burnt, and the green leaves or parsley are added-and the last secret: add a little lard to the soup base of each bowl of noodles to make the noodles softer and the noodle soup more fragrant.
Zhang Daqian, a native of Neijiang, moved to Taiwan Province in his later years, and often cooked beef noodles himself to entertain guests at his home, Moye Jingshe. Shiou Chaung Kou, an actor who tasted the craftsmanship of the old painter, recalled: "Zhang Daqian's beef noodles are very good. He makes two kinds of beef, one is braised beef noodles and the other is stewed beef noodles." Shiou Chaung Kou usually eats very little in order to keep fit, but he can't resist the temptation to eat three bowls in one breath in the face of beef noodles.
Zhang Daqian once lived in Gansu and copied Dunhuang murals for four years. I'm afraid he stole the clear soup beef noodles from the master in Gansu at that time. And his braised beef noodles should be authentic hometown flavor.
Hubei: Xiangyang beef noodles
| Reflect cultural blending |
Beef noodles are the product of cultural blending and hedging. Generally speaking, the more diverse and inclusive the culture, the more delicious beef noodles can be bred. Lanzhou is, so is Xiangyang.
Jianghan in Nantong, a small town in the middle of China, connects Hankou and Xinyang in the east, Zhongyuan and Luoyang in the north and Chang 'an and Hanzhong in the west. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, and it is precisely because of this geographical location that Xiangyang culture has great inclusiveness and diversity.
For example, diet has jumped out of the framework of "south rice and north rice"-Xiangyang people can not only hold a bowl of noodles as the staple food every day, but also enjoy eating white rice with vegetables.
Xiangyang beef noodles is a hot red soup, which tastes hemp, spicy, fresh and fragrant, even better than Neijiang beef noodles. A bowl of old brine stewed with various spices is the essence. In addition to beef, there are also beef intestines, tripe and liver. All side dishes should be boiled in brine for more than 45 minutes until the butter overflows and the soup is mellow. Coupled with bean sprouts and coriander, it is delicious.
the standard way to eat Xiangyang beef noodles is to add a raw garlic and a bowl of yellow wine. Chew a mouthful of garlic, drink a mouthful of wine, and a bowl of hot and spicy beef noodles can be refreshing.
When foreigners come to Xiangyang, they always have the determination to spit a bowl of beef noodles, but in the end, they are often "accidentally" drooled by spicy tears. While aiming at the girl who eats fast at the next table, they look at the hot beef noodles and yellow rice wine in front of them, and bow down to the wind.
Anhui: Huainan beef soup
| Both sweet in the south and salty in the north |
The most famous beef noodles in Huainan area are not beef noodles, but beef soup.
The history of eating beef in the local area is quite similar to that in Xiangyang, Hubei. From the Three Kingdoms period to the Northern Expedition of the Republic of China, as a place where wars continued, counties and counties were abandoned, and the integration of ethnic groups and food was particularly fierce and frequent. Eating beef in defiance of the law is also a custom that has been circulating in this area for a long time.
As a place where the north meets the south, Huainan beef soup expresses the taste of "sweet in the south and salty in the north".
General stores will provide sweet soup and salty soup to choose from. The seasoning of salty soup is similar to the soup head of Lanzhou beef noodles. The clear soup stewed with spices and beef is refreshing and delicious. The beef should be fatter, and the taste level is formed by its thick and refreshing soup.
Sweet soup is made without salt. It's a very southern practice to boil a thick soup with beef bones and add a little sugar to highlight the sweetness of the bone soup itself.
The beef in the soup is hand-torn, with fresh fibers and a solid taste. It is not comparable to ordinary sliced beef, and it is full of coarseness in the Central Plains.