The following introduces some delicacies that are extremely complex and exquisite in production, and have strict requirements on ingredients, heat, and methods.

Honey fire recipe - jujube red in color, salty and sweet in taste

Due to its strong salty flavor, ham can only play a supporting role in dishes and serve as a seasoning in most cases Side dishes are used to enhance the main ingredients, and it is rare to see a large piece of ham as the protagonist occupying the dinner plate. However, in Jiangsu cuisine, there are two fire dishes called "North and South", one of which is honey fire recipe.

Former US Secretary of State Kissinger visited China 35 times and made indelible contributions to the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations. His love for traditional Chinese food led him to visit Suzhou four times. Wu Yonggen, the "King of Jiangnan Chefs", specially cooked a honey-glazed fire recipe for him, which was deeply loved by him. When Kissinger visited Suzhou again in the future, he specified that he wanted to eat "that Sweet meat." Because Kissinger ate the Honey Fire Recipe every time and praised it highly, the Honey Fire Recipe even got the nickname "Kissinger's Fire Recipe".

Ham is originally a very salty and oily thing, but the honey fire recipe takes a different approach, using the sweetness of honey to relieve the saltiness of ham. After a long period of steaming, the greasiness is also dissolved, and its The meat is naturally split into filaments and the texture is clear. The fat under the ham skin condenses into a smooth, jelly-like texture, and the ham meat becomes more fragrant and chewy. It was this dish that was oily but not greasy, sweet and salty that struck Kissinger deeply. The preparation work behind it was unambiguous.

The raw materials for the Honey Fire Recipe must be the top part of Jinhua ham, one of the most famous hams in China. The top part is the most essential and most expensive part of the whole ham, with the strongest and most authentic aroma. . Place the top of the ham, skin side down, in the pot, pour water to cover the top, steam for two and a half hours; drain the soup, add rock sugar and clear soup, steam for another hour; drain the soup again, add rock sugar and lotus seeds and steam for half hours. On the other side, pour the marinade into the hot pot, add honey and bring to a boil, add osmanthus and rock sugar, boil together to make honey juice, pour the honey juice over the fire and serve. The whole honey sauce recipe is time-consuming, labor-intensive and requires long-term steaming and preparation. Coupled with the expensive raw materials, the price is naturally very high, and ordinary people will not eat it. It is only ordered when entertaining distinguished guests. While feasting on guests, it also feeds one's own gluttons.

For the ancients who were particular about eating, honey fire recipe was also a delicacy that could be encountered but not sought. Zhang Tongzhi wrote in "Baimen Cookbook": "Chef He is a regular customer of my friend Qiu Shuxu's family. I remember that in my early years when I was in Qiu Mansion, I ate their honey-glazed ham, which was sweet and delicious, especially the fat one." , and the thin ones are crispy and tasty, and are really delicious. Other cooks can't do it." Yuan Mei also recorded "honey ham" in "Suiyuan Food List": "Get good ham, even. The skin is cut into large cubes and brewed with honey wine. It is the best. But the ham is very ugly and the quality is very different. Although it is produced in Jinhua, Lanxi and Yiwu, many of them are in name only; if they are not good, they are not as good as cured meat. But the one from Wang Sanfang’s shop in Zhongqingli, Hangzhou, cost 4 cents a pound. I ate it once at Yin Wenruigong’s Suzhou Mansion. is the key to cooking this delicious dish.

Although Jinhua ham has now entered the stage of factory production and its output has greatly increased, there is no rush in the two or three years waiting for the ham to ferment and the four hours waiting for the honey juice to be steamed. Perhaps it is this long waiting process that makes it highly anticipated, and the delicious food finally presented does not live up to this long wait.

Looking for a good place to eat

Songhelou Restaurant (Guanqian Branch)

Other recommendations

Su Zhe Hui (Hong Kong Plaza Branch)

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Address: 3rd Floor, South Tower, Hong Kong Plaza, No. 283 Huaihai Middle Road, Luwan District, Shanghai

Telephone number: 4001081717

Three sets of ducks - layers of delicious food

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Huaiyang cuisine has always been about exquisiteness, plainness and freshness, and the beauty is obtained from the original taste of the ingredients. The three sets of ducks are made from domestic duck, wild duck, and vegetable pigeon. They are layer by layer and combine the delicious taste of the three ingredients. The layers are clear and the combination is harmonious. Any of these three kinds of poultry can be the protagonist when cooked alone, and when eaten together, it is like the sound of pipes and music, grand and gorgeous.

As early as the Qing Dynasty, the "Tiao Ding Collection" recorded the method of making "Tao Duck": "Debone the fat duck, remove the bones from the flat duck, stuff it into the duck belly, and steam it until it's very hot." Damn, give it as a whole.

"This is undoubtedly closely related to today's three sets of duck. Another dish, "Three Sets of Duck", is to debone and cut domestic duck, wild duck, and salted duck into pieces, and simmer them with auxiliary ingredients and seasonings. This inspired the "Three Sets of Duck" on the other hand. The formation of "Duck". In history, there was even a popular "five sets of poultry", which added geese in addition to domestic ducks, wild ducks, and pigeons, and added oriole inside. However, in the end, it was forgotten by the world because the process was too complicated and the flavors were too complex and conflicting. . In the end, "Three Sets of Duck" survived in Yangzhou and became a classic Huaiyang dish with a reputation far and wide.