This starts with 1972, when Sino-US relations broke the ice and established diplomatic relations. 1972, due to the tense relationship between China and the Soviet Union, then President Nixon of the United States saw the hope of establishing diplomatic relations between China and the United States, so after the two countries explored each other's information through "ping-pong diplomacy" and then negotiated with the foreign affairs departments of both sides, Premier Zhou, on behalf of the China government, sent an invitation to President Nixon for an official state visit to China.
In order to welcome President Nixon's foreign affairs visit that shocked the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country set up a reception team and started to prepare a state banquet for President Nixon at an early date. Every dish that appears at the state banquet has to be carefully selected, and of course it is very particular about cooking.
There are many dishes in Chinese food, but few foreigners in our country are used to it, especially the Americans on the other side of the ocean. They were unwilling to try China's food at that time, and they were only obsessed with western beef and dairy products every day. This led to the selection of dishes at the state banquet for foreign guests in China becoming a major difficulty at that time.
In order to do a good job in the reception of Nixon's state banquet, Premier Zhou, as the general host of this state banquet, took great pains. He urged me to make sure that there were no mistakes in this reception work. In order to choose the best dishes for this state banquet, the reception team at that time did not hesitate to compare each different cuisine. Sichuan cuisine was too spicy, while Cantonese cuisine was too greasy ... After several comparisons, deus ex, a Huaiyang cuisine, was chosen as the main cuisine for the American guests.
The main birthplace of Huaiyang cuisine is Huai 'an, which is also Premier Zhou's hometown. Huai 'an's local famous dishes "soft-pocketed long fish" and "white-robed shrimps" are naturally the top grades of Huaiyang cuisine that Premier Zhou is familiar with. "Soft-pocked long fish" has already become a well-known national banquet dish since it appeared at the founding feast, while "white-robed shrimp" did not appear at the founding feast because of its special selection of materials and cooking, so it was not in the menu of famous national banquet dishes at that time.
The "white-robed shrimp" in Huaiyang cuisine is very particular about material selection and cooking. Shrimp must be taken from the white striped shrimp just caught in Yu Hongze Lake, because the white striped shrimp produced in Hongze Lake is thin and thick, and the extruded shrimp is particularly plump and white. Before cooking shrimp, feed live shrimp with sauce overnight (this is called "processing"). When cooking, first take the shrimps and mix them with starch, then stir-fry them in the pan, bump them with the pan a few times, thicken them slightly, and it takes only three or four seconds to get out of the pan.
"White-robed Shrimp" can be described as an extreme of river shrimp cooking. The shrimp cooked in this way tastes fresh and tender, and the taste is sweet, which hardly needs seasoning. Most of the flavor of "white-robed shrimp" comes from the fleeting delicious taste of river shrimp itself, so the chef needs to catalyze the delicacy in a very fast way. This dish not only requires high selection of ingredients, but also tests the chef's cooking skills to a higher level.
It is precisely because of the exquisite selection and cooking of "white-robed shrimp" that the "white-robed shrimp" in Huaiyang cuisine was limited by the storage and transportation conditions at the founding feast at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it was only after the selection and evaluation of the famous dishes in the state banquet. However, gold always shines, and Premier Zhou personally chose "white-robed shrimp" as one of Nixon's dishes at this state banquet.
President Nixon also attached great importance to this ice-breaking trip to establish diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and he also showed great sincerity for the successful establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In order to get used to China's diet, President Nixon began to learn to eat with China chopsticks two months in advance. At the state banquet for President Nixon, President Nixon was filled with a dazzling array of Huaiyang dishes, which made President Nixon excited after seeing it. For a while, he didn't know where to start.
At this moment, the chef of the state banquet introduced the "white-robed shrimp" from Hongze Lake. This dish was seen by President Nixon from afar and he could never look back. President Nixon couldn't help but pick up a piece of chopsticks and put it in his mouth, and then he instantly got a treasure. The fresh and soft taste of shrimp made the president unable to stop chopsticks, and this Huaiyang delicacy was eaten up by the president.
Shrimp in white robe shines brilliantly at this state banquet, and since then it has become a "frequent visitor" at later state banquets in China. It is also known as "Huai Fried Shuangfeng" together with the "soft-pocketed long fish" which was selected as a famous national banquet dish earlier.