Everyone knows that the chicken fir is delicious, but——

Do you know the allusion of "Xi Zong laughs when he rides in the red dust, but no one knows that the chicken fir is coming"?

Do you know how many chicken fir trees are produced in Qianxinan Prefecture in a year?

Do you know the relationship between chicken cones and termites?

Do you know why it is called Jicong?

I remember that during my childhood, every summer and autumn, I and my friends from my hometown would release the cows on the mountain, and then we would go everywhere to look for chicken firs in the grass, under the thorn bushes, and in the nooks and crannies of the rocks. and various fungi. Whoever finds one or two of them first will be very excited; if you are lucky, you will occasionally find a "nest-shaped fir" with five, six, seven, eight, or even dozens of flowers in one piece, and you will be even more excited, and everyone will look at you with great envy. Looking at each other, they all said: "What a blessing!"

Why is Jicong so attractive? We have to start from the beginning.

Chicken fir grows on termite nests in the sand, mostly growing together in groups of three to five. The cap of the chicken fir is conical. When the cap is divided, it looks like a chicken's feathers, hence the name chicken fir. Chicken fir is rich in many nutrients needed by the human body and more than 15 kinds of amino acids. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Chicken mushrooms are called chicken fir by the southerners, and they all say that they taste similar to chicken... which means they taste similar to chicken... beneficial to the stomach, refreshing the mind, and treating hemorrhoids." Modern medicine has also proven that chicken fir can It can enhance human immunity, prevent intestinal cancer, nourish blood, moisturize dryness, and strengthen the spleen and stomach. At the same time, because chicken fir is cold in nature, sweet in taste, and has the function of refreshing the mind, it can also be used for medicinal purposes. Eating more chicken fir can help digestion, refresh and replenish energy, treat hemorrhoids, etc. The chicken fir is tender and refreshing, with a fragrant and delicious taste. After eating it once, it will leave a fragrant taste in your mouth that will be unforgettable for a long time.

As early as two thousand years ago, our ancestors began to eat chicken fir. Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, was particularly fond of it. Every summer and autumn, he would have Jicong be flown to the capital on a post horse from the southwest. It was extremely rare, leaving behind the allusion of "Xi Zong laughs when he rides in the red dust, and no one knows it is Jicong coming".

According to relevant information, the fungi of the genus Gallinus are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa and Oceania, with as many as 29 known species. There are 6 species known in our country, mainly distributed in Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangdong and Guangxi.

It has been observed that where the chicken fir grows, there are termites in the 10 to 50 cm layer of topsoil. Swarms of termites turn soil, cow dung, etc. into honeycomb-shaped ant nests - chicken nests. There is a white substance secreted by termites in the surface soil, which has the aroma of chicken fir. Where the ant nest is large, the chicken fir grows in groups, and if there are many, several kilograms or even more can be harvested from each nest. This is the nest of chicken fir. If the ant nest is small, the chicken fir grows alone, which is the single chicken fir. A nest of chicken fir trees usually grows continuously for three to five years, and then a thin moss-like substance appears, commonly known as "chi fir tree fragrant". After this phenomenon occurs, there will no longer be any chicken conongs here - they have "moved". In fact, it is the termites that have moved. After digging the soil, we found that in addition to the honeycomb-shaped ant nests in the Jicong Cave, we also found an oval-shaped object the size of an egg inside. This is the "Jilconong gallbladder", which is said to be used for medicinal purposes.

Therefore, we can know that there is a biological relationship between chicken fir and termites. Alpinia gallifolia spreads and reproduces with mycelium and conidia, and the digestive systems of these winged termites contain mycelium and conidia, so the termites have become the spreaders of the Alpinia gallinacea fungi. Under the conditions of high temperature, high humidity and high pressure, termites fly out of the nest to find mates and mate. Then they choose insects such as "dung rollers" to push their feces into underground tunnels. They initially use the feces of these insects as nest building materials. New nest colony. In the process of breeding termites, the bacterial sources in the body are expelled from the body, and then the hormones secreted by the termites and the nest are continuously supplied with nutrients, so that the excreted mycelium and conidia can reproduce with the help of termites, and gradually grow and develop into The chicken fir sprouts from the ground.

Due to the extremely complex growth conditions of Fir gallium, some experts and professors from my country and foreign countries began to conduct specialized research on the artificial training of Fir gallium after the 1930s, and have also achieved results. Some results have been achieved, but some key issues have not been resolved, so artificial cultivation is not yet possible.

Panjiang in the north and south of Guizhou Province is located in the subtropical zone, with abundant rainfall, superior natural ecological conditions and very little pollution. It is the main production area of ??chicken coriander and other fungi in the province. Because chicken fir trees co-exist with termites, and Qianxinan Prefecture has the largest termite population and a high density. There are 7 species of termites that are known to be associated with chicken coriander. In the mid-1980s, relevant experts in our state estimated that around 500,000 kilograms of chicken fir trees were produced in the state every year. Of course, quite a few of them are left undiscovered and unpicked in the mountains and wild grasses, and are left to fend for themselves, which is a pity!

Although chicken fir is produced in the mountains and has always been a delicacy on the tables of ordinary people, it can also be used in elegant places. There are many records in ancient books, and many literati also recited it.

Volume 43 of "Provincial Records·Native Products" of "Xingyi Prefecture" compiled during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty contains: "There are four kinds of fungi produced in the county, and Ji Fong is the best. Ji Fong is what "Zhuangzi" says "Chicken mushrooms are also used." "The natives bake them and send them to other places to make tea and cook meat. They smell like mushrooms and are very valuable." It is said that chicken cong sauce is kong bean sauce. In the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ate it and opened it to the southwestern barbarians. Emperor Wu of Liang tasted it and said, "How is it different from meat?"...

Haha! Readers may not know that chicken fir, a small mountain delicacy, has made "significant contributions" to the development of the Southwest!

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Tian Wen, the governor of Guizhou and a native of Dezhou, Shandong, wrote an article "The Theory of Chicken Fir", in which he observed the growth and picking of Chicken Fir very carefully: "... In autumn and July, the grass grows in Asakusa. , at the beginning, when the ground is raised, it is like standing, and gradually it is like a cover. When the sundial is moved, it is covered like chicken feathers, so it is called a chicken; because it comes out of the soil, it is called Cong (the original character is "Tu Cong" - can't type that word ——Author's note) ...There is also a difference between fat and barren. The fat ones are rich in flavor, while the barren ones are thin...If you squat down and pick them, you can get them again next year; It's very pleasing..."

Zhang Zhidong, an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, a former governor of Huguang and a cabinet scholar, spent his youth in southwestern Guizhou, so he naturally ate chicken fir countless times. When he was still a student, he wrote an eloquent poem called "Ode to the Fungi". The article is not long, so you might as well copy the full text for appreciation:

The rain is clearing in the desert, and the fungus is blooming in the suburbs. . When I returned home after picking up a basket full of bamboo baskets, I saw someone cooking a spoonful of soup. The time is July, and the preface is nearly three autumns. When the bacterial buds start to spit out, the bacteria will grow out. "Book of Guizhou" has explained that the name is chicken, and "Dictionary" has all been named after Cong. The plum blossom was born and its shape was described in detail. Li Binghu realized the reason. Its nature is refreshing and beneficial to the stomach. Its shape is high and has an umbrella head. Watch it suddenly appear in the rain, and the wind blows randomly. The mountain in front and the mountain behind, three to five o'clock. The white matter should be separated, and the red stem should be picked up. Like a chicken's feathers hanging down for the first time, like a chicken's feet beginning to shrink. The grass is luxuriant, and people come slowly. Looking at the original sun, the mountains are green, and the peaks are facing the setting sun. There are flowers and gauze flowers, and a lotus hat is carrying a basket. The rugged bird path in Zhi, the sheep's intestines in Climb. If you choose vegetables during a non-festival season, how can you look for the fragrance when spring is over? Collect some strange bacteria and serve them with my soup.

If the amaranth is named horse tooth, the dish is called dragon beard, the water chestnut is called the sunflower, and the sand is called the duck's foot. Although both the good names are wonderful, they are far different from the exotic ones. At first, it looks like a lid, and then it looks like a lid. I came from my hometown in northern Hebei, which is famous for the beauty of southern Yunnan. When asked about the price, they counted green clams, and termites clustered around the roots. The enviable land is in the middle of Guizhou, and I know that it is prosperous and in the rain. The meadow of water reaches the slope of the mountain, and the beauty picks the green sand and walks on it. Not only can it be recommended as a delicacy, but it can cure hemorrhoids when they are relapsed. The fragrance is clear and the shadows are whirling. Tasting the flavor of Jiaqi and vegetables, people will sing with different aspirations. The song says:

The fragrant fungus is called Ji Fong, and the root is supported by fragrant grass.

Some guests taste the strange taste, and they are elegant and want to be old in southern Guizhou.

Another song said:

After the rain, there is the sound of footsteps on the empty mountain, and the chicken and fir fungi satisfy Nong's heart.

The smoke and mist locks are passed through the mountains, and you know where to find them in the deep mountains!

In an article of less than 500 words, Zhang Zhidong wrote vividly and vividly about the growing season, environment, appearance and medicinal functions of chicken fir.

Zhang Zhidong's first teacher, Zhang Guohua, in his "Xingyi Prefecture Bamboo Branch Poetry", sketched a graceful picture of farmers going to the city to sell chicken berries in the misty autumn rain:

The wild vegetables in the suburbs have a strong flavor, and fungi are easy to find in late summer and early autumn.

The sun sets under the mountains and rains on the mountains, and savages come to the market to sell chicken fir trees.

In the same era, Yu Houyong, a Yougongsheng official in southwestern Guizhou and a native of Yueyang, Hunan, also wrote a seven-rhythm poem "Ji Zongji":

It is rainy and sunny in mid-autumn. , a shoulder of fragrant mushrooms roaming the streets.

It is in the shape of a chicken with drooping feathers but only high legs, and an ant nest sprouts with a single umbrella head.

Where do the people from Mingling come from? The barbarian guests are extremely embarrassed.

The rest of the poem quotes an allusion from the "Book of Jin: The Biography of Zhang Han": Zhang Han, who was an official in the capital, saw the autumn wind blowing and thought of wild vegetables, water shield soup and seabass in his hometown of Wuzhong. People around him said: "Life is so precious that you have the right ambitions. How can you manage an official for thousands of miles just to be famous?" So he stopped working as an official and returned to his hometown.

In the mid-autumn season, which is both sunny and rainy, farmers in the mountains wear bamboo hats and raincoats and sell chicken firs on their shoulders. Mr. Yu, who lives in southwestern Guizhou, often eats delicacies such as chicken conongs, and like Zhang Han, he feels homesick.

In recent years, due to the emphasis on ecological construction, various places have closed mountains for afforestation to protect green waters and mountains. The phenomenon of water and soil erosion has been greatly reduced. Coupled with the even distribution of rainwater, there are many chicken fir trees and other fungi on the market. Every autumn, when driving in southwestern Guizhou, you can see adults and children selling hand-held chicken fir trees everywhere along the highway. There are also many fresh chicken fir fungi and other fungi in the markets in the city and countryside. While we were still far away, the strong aroma of chicken fir came to our nostrils.

In various farmers' markets in Xingyi City, there are all kinds of chicken fir trees with black and yellow skin, large and small flowers. There is a rush of people buying chicken fir trees, and the price per catty is more than 100 yuan. Living standards have improved in recent years, and more and more people are buying chicken fir trees. Therefore, from July to September every year, some families in rural areas go to the mountains to look for chicken fir trees. In one quarter, there are many families with incomes of tens of thousands. Looking for chicken fir trees and picking up mushrooms requires no investment and is basically risk-free. It has become a way to earn income in rural areas. Why not?

Chicken fir is not only produced in the mountains and fields, but has also been occasionally found in cities in recent years. A few years ago, before I left my job, a colleague of the author's workplace unexpectedly found several large fir flowers on the lawn behind the city government building. According to him, other people have also discovered it several times in the green belt lawn of the courtyard.

Chicken fir can also be further processed. Using traditional techniques and scientific formulas, you can make fried chicken fir, chicken fir chili oil, chicken fir tomato oil, chicken fir pepper oil, chicken fir sauce, etc. According to reports, a few years ago, a food processing factory in a neighboring county processed chicken fir series products, with annual sales of several million yuan. The products were sold to major cities in China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and were very popular.

Counties in Qianxinan Prefecture have historically been good places for growing chicken fir trees and various wild fungi. We must further improve environmental protection, make full use of the wealth that nature has bestowed on mankind, and raise the quality of our lives to a higher level and make it more colorful. (Text/Illustration by Huang Zhengshu/Tao Changwu, reporter of Southwest Guizhou Daily)

It is said that this chicken fir weighs four or five kilograms. Internet picture

The taste of childhood

Hu Changqian

Last weekend I went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables and saw several farmers selling gallinophilia. I couldn't help but stop and bought a few to make soup at home.

This weekend, several brothers and sisters made an appointment to go back to their hometown. Saturday is the second anniversary of my father’s death. On this day, our whole family will prepare a large table of meals. One of the essential dishes is chicken and meatball soup, which was my father’s favorite dish during his lifetime. . Eating chicken fir trees in season is not a difficult thing at first, but it has become the most regrettable thing that my mother has talked about most in the past two years.

The first day of the seventh lunar month in 2016 was a sad and unforgettable day for our family. On that day, my father left us forever.

Just the afternoon before my father left us, my father, who had been ill for a long time, suddenly wanted to eat chicken fir and asked my mother to go to the street to buy some and make soup. My mother walked around the street and saw only two people selling chicken quivers. They were not fresh and the price was expensive, so she hesitated for a moment, thinking that there would be fresh ones the next day, so she didn't buy them. At nine o'clock that night, my father suffered a sudden cerebral infarction and was sent to the intensive care unit. He never woke up.

The next evening, my father left us forever. In those days, my mother was filled with guilt, uneasiness, and remorse. She would talk about it to everyone and did not let my father eat chicken fir.

In our hometown, we have the habit of frying chicken berries every year. When we were children, every time chicken conong came on the market, we both feared and loved it. In order to be able to eat chicken fir trees all year round, my grandfather would go out to buy about thirty kilograms of chicken fir trees and ask us brothers and sisters to clean them in the yard. There is a lot of mud stuck to the body of chicken conong, which is very difficult to clean and easy to break. Use a toothbrush to gently scrub one by one, and use pumpkin leaves to clean the fungi. Although cleaning is very troublesome and often takes an entire afternoon, the desire to eat chicken conongs makes us forget the pain and tiredness.

Tear the washed chicken firs finely, drain the water, and then put the torn chicken fir umbrellas into the burned vegetable oil and fry for a certain period of time, then put the chicken fir straws in together. Fry until the water is dried out and it turns golden brown. When the chicken berries are fried, the aroma fills the house. The fried chicken berries are soft, with a sweet aftertaste and a unique taste that makes people salivate. After the chicken berries and oil have cooled, put them into an earthen jar. In order to ensure that we can eat it all year round, grandma put it in a locked cabinet and only took it out when cooking noodles or mixing cold dishes. When we were young, our grandparents often told us that one time, chicken berries were being fried at home, and my greedy aunt couldn't resist the smell of fried chicken berries, so she fished the chicken berries out of the hot oil pan and ate them. She burned her arm. , there is still a scar on his arm.

There are many ways to eat chicken fir. Use it to cook meatball soup. Only salt is added and no MSG is added. The original taste is extremely delicious. You can also add sliced ??meat and green peppers and stir-fry together. This is one of my favorite dishes when I was a child.

In the years when I first got married and started a family, whenever chicken fir was on the market, I would buy a few kilograms and deep-fry it for use in cooking noodles and mixing with chili, but I always felt that I couldn’t eat it as much as I did when I was a kid. The fragrance.

When I was a child, I thought that the most delicious delicacy in the world was chicken fir. Sometimes I even dream about going to the mountains and finding many chicken firs. After taking them home and washing them, I eat them beautifully for several days. The joy and satisfaction I feel are difficult to describe in words. When I woke up, drooling from the corner of my mouth, I realized it was a dream, and I felt so lost.