Peanut soup, fried oysters, batter, satay noodles … If you travel to Xiamen, experienced friends will always remind you that these snacks are indispensable. But if you can't find a restaurant with pure skills, you can't taste the real characteristics of Xiamen snacks. The oldest flavor restaurants in Xiamen are "Haoxiang" and "Wu" restaurants, but it is difficult to book seats because of the crowded customers all day.
In fact, Minnan cuisine, represented by Xiamen, belongs to Fujian cuisine among the eight major cuisines. The dishes are fresh and crisp, paying attention to the mixing of soup and materials, and the taste is light, sweet and sour. Xiamen is a port that has developed in the past century. Historically, Quanzhou cuisine and Zhangzhou cuisine are the main dishes, and Cantonese cuisine and western food are also available. Since the early 1970s, a large number of young Xiamen chefs have traveled around the world to absorb the essence of western cuisine. As a result, Xiamen cuisine has done more exploration and innovation on the main theme of the original Minnan cuisine and has become the representative of Minnan cuisine.
For example, the traditional dishes "turtle (a kind of seafood abundant in southern Fujian in winter) and firework cabbage" used to cook the head of turtle and Chinese cabbage with strong fire first, and then slowly. Now, Kerry fish is wrapped in Chinese cabbage, put into the fish bone soup prepared in advance, and then put into a small porcelain cup, which is more delicious after steaming with strong fire.
Minnan cuisine is famous for its delicious food and light taste, so some people say it is quite similar to Cantonese cuisine. In fact, Minnan cuisine has its own characteristics in soup mixing and taste evaluation. It is usually flavored with sugar, vinegar and sauce. Almost every dish will be accompanied by two or three sauces, so that diners can taste different flavors at one time. It pays attention to the cooking of soup materials, and is characterized by freshness, alcohol and meat flavor, and has the reputation of "one soup changes ten times".
Spring rolls are a must-have food for Xiamen people during the Spring Festival. They originated from Quanzhou's traditional food "tender cake dish", which is a dish that everyone sits around and eats, meaning family reunion. This dish is not just for stuffing. It contains more than ten kinds of raw materials, such as carrots, cabbage, fresh shrimp, shredded pork, oysters, shredded peas and so on. When eating, first spread the skin of the spring rolls, spread the sweet Chili sauce on them, and then sprinkle the crispy fried seaweed, "tribute sugar" (peanut cake for the emperor in ancient times), pork floss, coriander and other ingredients in turn, and then clip in more than a dozen raw materials, shred and cook them, and wrap them into rolls. How many flavors are there? Sour, sweet, spicy, salty and fresh, there is only one word to eat: fragrance.
Ginger duck is a very popular flavor dish in Xiamen and Taiwan Province province. Is prepared from muscovy duck, local ginger and more than ten kinds of Chinese herbal medicines. Because the red-headed muscovy duck has thin skin and red meat, no subcutaneous fat, mellow and refreshing taste, it is said that it also has the dietotherapy effect of eliminating fat and stagnation. The master said it would take a long time to cook this dish. Muscovy duck's breast meat is very thick, but fortunately it doesn't smell fragrant. It will take at least a whole day to marinate in a special soup made of sorghum wine.
Bitter snail is a unique seafood in southern Fujian. It is small in size and low in price. It tastes like a cold melon, but it still can't restrain people's interest in tasting. This "cold melon in the sea" has a delicious seafood flavor that cold melon does not have. It's refreshing when cooked, and the soup is sweet and has a strange taste.
Razor clam is very common. Fresh meat with big fingers is suitable for hot pot and cooking. But when its shell is covered with flowers and its volume doubles, we can't recognize it. After understanding, I realized that there are two seasons for eating razor clams in Xiamen: "eat razor clams in January and eat old razor clams in July". There is not much difference between the small clams and our common ones, while the old clams have to be kept for two years before they can be eaten. The "patterns" on shells are like their annual rings, indicating their qualifications. Because the meat is fat and delicious, you can get its taste by steaming it with shredded ginger and chopped green onion. In order not to waste, the locals will also steam eggs with the remaining soup, which is similar to the paving route under the lobster. Old people are afraid of cold, and the chef advises people with cold stomachs not to eat more.
Frozen bamboo shoots are a distinctive side dish in Xiamen. How to freeze bamboo shoots? This "bamboo shoot" is not another "bamboo shoot" Bamboo shoot is a mollusk, which grows on the sand of the beach and is named after it looks like a "small bamboo shoot". Rich in gum, it dissolves in water after boiling and becomes frozen after cooling. The appearance is crystal clear and moist, like white jade, and the taste is crisp and sweet. If it is served with radish acid, coriander hot sauce or delicious sauce, it will taste more tender and refreshing.
The master said that this dish is very effective in reducing fire and diminishing inflammation, and it is a necessary snack for local banquets.
The core of Xiamen cuisine is the four treasures of seafood: crab, shrimp, fish and shellfish, with Minnan flavor as the main body and Taiwan Province and Chaoshan flavors. On the basis of the inheritance of Fujian cuisine, learn from the strengths of each cuisine, abandon roughness and greasy, extract fresh flavor, steam, stir-fry, fry, stew, stir-fry,
In the past twenty years, the four treasures of seafood have made great progress. Those who won the national gold medals are: dry fried cover, green belt wrapped bag, jade emperor, Shi Huansha, butterfly dragon, dragon boat race, stewed cabbage with fish, yellow mandarin duck and Antarctic goose play.
Xiamen vegetarian dishes, originally a traditional practice, are made of bean products into pictographic foods such as chicken, fish, belly and feet. In the early 1960s, Master Su Zhai of Nanputuo abandoned the pictographic concept, creatively prepared vegetarian dishes and named them vegetarian dishes, and made them into exquisite and elegant dinners. Eating vegetarian dishes can not only regulate appetite, but also be an elegant artistic enjoyment. Now, after nearly 40 years' development, especially in the past 20 years, Nanputuo vegetarian dishes have become the top dishes in Southeast Asia, and are famous all over the country. I have been able to cook hundreds of dishes, 10 day cannot be repeated. It has become a beautiful business card of Xiamen cuisine.
Medicinal diet is also produced with the construction process of the special zone. It is no longer the "Angelica beef" in street stalls, nor is it just the "four muscovy ducks" that are supplemented in winter, but a medicinal diet with a full set of recipes. The antique medicinal diet in Lujiang Hotel is good in color, fragrance and taste. The dishes, jars and other utensils are specially made of purple sand, which is elegant and generous. Medicinal diet is undoubtedly an artistic feast with endless aftertaste.