Ham stewed elbow

Excerpt from the original text

Jia Lian picked two plates of delicacies from the table and put them on the ladle to eat. Sister Feng said again: "Mom can't chew that, and it hurts his teeth." Yin Xiang Ping'er said: "When I got up early, I said that bowl of ham stewed elbow was very rotten. It was just for my mother to eat. Why didn't you take it? Go and ask them to come?" Then he said: "Mom, try the Huiquan wine your son brought." (Chapter 16)

Textual Analysis

Stewed elbow with ham, a famous dish in the Qing Dynasty, is still popular in Zhenjiang and Yangzhou today. It is euphemistically called "gold and silver hoof", also known as "simmered elbow". "Bei Yan Food List" says: "Simmered elbows: ham knee joints and fresh knee joints, three pairs of each are simmered at the same time, or roasted." "Gold and Silver Hooves: Stewed drunken hoof tips with ham." This is a The Huo Gong dish has a crispy texture and is suitable for the elderly, so Wang Xifeng used it to entertain Grandma Zhao.

DIY production method

Stew ham elbow (called "hoof" in the south) and fresh meat elbow, season with salt, add less wine and sugar, and stew until it is very tender.

Ham and Fresh Bamboo Shoot Soup

Excerpt from the original text

When Qingwen Sheyue opened it, there were only four side dishes. Qingwen smiled and said: "It's ready, but I haven't given you two light vegetables to eat. How long will this porridge and pickles be?" As she laid them out, she looked at the box again, but there was a bowl of ham and fresh bamboo shoot soup. She hurriedly put it away and put it away. In front of Baoyu. Baoyu took a sip on the table and said: "It's so hot!" (Chapter 58) [Food in China]

Critical Analysis

Ham is meat, made from pigs The legs are marinated and smoked. "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" says: "For fire meat, kill the pigs in the pen, take only four pig legs, use salt while heating, one or two salt per kilogram of meat, rub it from the skin into the meat, make it soft , press the stone on the bamboo grid, place it in the vat, place it in a vat for twenty days, stack it up one by one with rice firewood three and five times, smoke it with straw for a day and a night, soak the place where the smoke is hanging for a day and night, and wash it. Hang it in front. "Ham and fresh bamboo shoot soup was a high-end food in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. "Tiao Ding Ji" said: "Serve...Winter Bamboo Shoot and Ham Soup." Eating ham and fresh bamboo shoot soup was a Jiangnan food custom in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ham and spring bamboo shoots are cooked together, and the taste is particularly good. People in Yangzhou call it "a sip of freshness", so Baoyu hurriedly picked it up and drank it, and his mouth was burned by the hot soup.

DIY production method

Use good ham, good soup, fresh bamboo shoots or magnolia slices (that is, good dried bamboo shoots) with green vegetables, and cook the soup as usual.

Pheasant Soup

Excerpt from the original article

Mrs. Wang asked again: "Will you feel more peaceful now?" Jia Mu said: "It's a good day today. Yes. I tasted the pheasant soup you just brought, and it tasted good. I ate two more pieces of meat, and I felt very satisfied." (Chapter 43)

Textual Analysis< /p>

It is the soup made by simmering pheasant chicken. The meat is tender and delicious, so when Jia Mu tasted the soup, she thought it was "very tasty". After eating meat, "I feel very happy". The "Five Ways to Eat Pheasants" in Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Food List" of the Qing Dynasty briefly introduces these two ways of eating: "Put the breast meat on the pheasant, soak it with clear sauce, wrap it in net oil and put it on the iron box and bake it. You can make square slices. You can also make rolls, this is the same method. Slice and stir-fry with seasonings. Take the breast meat and simmer it whole. Oil and vinegar are mixed with celery coldly. Slicing the meat into hot pot and eating it immediately is also the same method. The disadvantage is that the meat will not taste good if it is tender. "< /p>

DIY production method

"Zaizi" refers to chickens. Cut into pieces, add oil, add rice wine, salt, onion and ginger, use good soup instead of water and simmer until it becomes very soft.

Pigeon eggs

Excerpt from the original text

Li Wan brought a bowl and placed it on Jia Mu’s table. Sister Feng chose a bowl of pigeon eggs and placed them on Grandma Liu's table. When Jia Mu said "please", Grandma Liu stood up and said loudly: "Old Liu, Old Liu, he eats as much as a cow. He can eat an old sow without raising his head." (Chapter 40) [Food China ]

Critical analysis

Pigeon eggs were a royal food of the Qing Dynasty. There are old records of the Qing palace. There are many ways to make pigeon eggs. "Tong's Food Regulations" lists the method for making whole simmered pigeon eggs in Yangzhou: "Stew pigeon eggs: the method is the same as simmering chicken kidneys." - "Stewed chicken kidneys...also, the number of chicken kidneys" Ten pieces, boiled slightly, remove the membrane, and simmer with chicken soup and seasonings. Pigeon delicacies are popular in Yangzhou, and pigeon meat and eggs are commonly used in high-end banquets.

DIY preparation method

Boil the pigeon eggs until slightly cooked, peel them off, and simmer them in chicken broth and seasonings to make them delicious.

Steamed duck with fermented wine

Excerpt from the original text

As he said this, someone from the Liu family sent someone to deliver a box. Xiaoyan then uncovered it. Inside was a bowl of shrimp ball and chicken skin soup, another bowl of steamed duck with fermented wine, a plate of pickled rouge goose breast, and a plate of four buttery pine pulp rolls, as well as a large bowl of hot biying. Steamed green rice fragrant rice. (Chapter 62)

Critical Analysis

Jiuniang is the so-called wine lady in Jiangnan. "Tiao Ding Ji Baijiu Niang" says: "For a bucket of white glutinous rice, wash it with cold water in summer and soak it overnight. Take it out and steam it the next day. Do not pour it out. Pour cold water into the steamer until it is lukewarm and flatten it. Let the jar cool. Mash three grains of white wine into powder, spread it with rice, and mix one grain of crushed white wine into the hole. Cover the jar with baggage for three days. If there is wine in her nest, she will become a wine lady. "Steamed means that no other ingredients are added, no heavy condiments are used, and the main ingredients are steamed with slight seasoning.

For all steamed dishes, special attention is paid to the freshness of the raw materials. Duck delicacies were a common dish in the Qianlong court, and there were many types, such as stir-fried chicken and white duck chowder, bird's nest duck with eight immortals, steamed duck paste and pork dish, steamed fat duck spin with shredded pork, duck braised in wine... and so on. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Festival? Xiaoxinglan? Original Flavor": "Three groups of insects live in water, and those that live in water are fishy." Duck meat has a slightly fishy smell, and steaming it with wine can relieve the fishy smell. Therefore, wine is often used to season duck dishes in Jiangnan.

DIY production method

Cut the duck meat into pieces, marinate it with fermented rice wine juice (called "glutinous rice wine" in the north) and fine salt for a while, put it in a soup bowl, and put onions and ginger slices on top Take an appropriate amount and steam it in a pot for four hours.

Stir-fried wolfberry sprouts with oil and salt

Excerpt from the original text

The Liu family said hurriedly: "...even Qian'er, the third girl and Miss Bao accidentally discussed that they wanted to eat it I came here to fry wolfberry sprouts with oil and salt, and now I sent a girl to give it to me with 500 yuan. I started laughing... (Chapter 61)

Critical Analysis

Lycium barbarum is the bud stem of wolfberry. It is a small deciduous shrub with short thorns, ovate leaves, and lavender flowers in spring and summer. The berries are oval and tender. The stems and leaves can be used as vegetables. "Ru Cao Bian" says: "Wolfberry head: Yesterday, a Taoist priest bowed his head and said that it can last forever. The purple zhiyao grass is not expensive, but the wolfberry in the hill is full of qianqian. Picking the jade with flawless hands, washing it from the spring of the hanging waterfall, but if you can chew it carefully and discern the deep taste, why do you want to seek immortality? The villagers call it beetroot. They pick the young heads in spring and summer, blanch them in soup, and mix them with salt and rice. "Eight Notes of Zunsheng" says: "Lycium barbarum head: The young leaves and shoots of wolfberry are eaten as above, and can be used to cook porridge." The only four seasons are winter food. "Wolfberry buds and wolfberry seeds were eaten by the concubines in the palace during the Qianlong period, and the girls in the Grand View Garden also ate them.

DIY production method

Pick the young leaves of wolfberry in spring and use Stir-fried with oil and salt, it can nourish the kidneys, nourish yin, clear the liver and improve eyesight, reduce fever and detoxify.

Milk Poria Cream

Excerpt from the original text

Laugh again. He said: "... Only yesterday, an official from eastern Guangdong came to pay homage and presented two small baskets of Poria Cream. ...This place has the largest number of pines and cypresses that are thousands of years old, so I just took the semen of Poria cocos and mixed it with medicine. I don't know how to get this strange and handsome white frost. It is said that the first thing is to use human milk and drink it for an hour every day when you get up early. It is the most nourishing. The second thing is to use milk. If not, boil it with plain water. We thought it would be suitable for our nephew and daughter to eat. ..." (Chapter 60) [Food China]

Critical Analysis

Peel fresh Poria cocos, grind it into pulp, and dry it into white powder. Because of its color like white frost and fine texture , hence the name. Poria cocos, also known as Songling and Futu in "Historical Records", belongs to the class Basidiomycetes and belongs to the family Polyporaceae. It is parasitic on the roots of Pinaceae plants such as red pine or masson pine. The ones grown in Yunnan are the best. No. Yunling. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "If you mix it with human milk and dry it, the milk powder will be abundant and it will be good for nourishing yin. "So the brother and sister-in-law of the Liu family packed a packet of poria cream that her husband gave to her on duty and gave it to her timid and sick niece Liu Wuer.

DIY production method

Take it daily Ten grams of Poria Cream (a traditional Chinese medicine supplement produced in Guangdong), taken with milk, can nourish and strengthen the body and make the skin radiant.

[Poria Cream] The ancients thought that Poria grew on the roots of old pine trees. It is a magical thing transformed from the essence of pine trees. It is called Poria Ling (Poria cocos), Poria Goddess or pine fat. Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty wrote in his "The Legend of Immortals" that "the essence of old pine trees turned into Poria cocos". In fact, Poria cocos is a fungus that lives on pine roots. It grows 20 to 30 centimeters underground, and its sclerotia are spherical or irregular in shape, with different sizes. Conveniently, people have given corresponding names to each part of it: the brown outer layer covering the surface is called Poria cocos skin, the outer light red loose layer of the cross section is called Red Fuling, and the inner white and dense part is called Bai Fuling. Some Poria cocos have a pine root running through them. The part close to the root is called the Poria Goddess, and the root in the middle is called the Poria Goddess Tree.

White Poria cocos can strengthen the spleen and is good for those who are weak due to long-term illness, have poor appetite or suffer from poor appetite. For patients with qi deficiency and spleen weakness who have both physical fatigue and diarrhea, it has the effect of strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi, and the medicinal properties are mild. To treat the above symptoms, it can be combined with ginseng, atractylodes, and licorice. It is called Sijunzi Decoction. It mainly treats spleen and stomach qi deficiency and poor transportation and transformation. Known for its stability, many prescriptions for replenishing qi and strengthening the spleen in later generations are based on this prescription. Red Poria cocos and Poria cocos peel can diuretic and reduce swelling, and can be used for edema, difficulty in urination, dizziness and palpitations. They are mostly combined with Atractylodes, Polyporus, and Polyporus. The combination of Alisma and Guizhi is called Wuling San. It is a basic prescription in traditional Chinese medicine for treating various types of edema. Poria has the functions of supporting the spleen, nourishing the heart and calming the nerves. Excessive thinking and straining the spleen can lead to insomnia and dreaminess, as well as fatigue and irritability. Patients with symptoms such as diabetes, amnesia, etc. can be treated with Guipi decoction (pill) prepared with Poria, ginseng, angelica, longan meat, etc.

Application in prescriptions. In addition, Poria has always been loved as a precious nourishing food. It is said that in his later years, Cixi liked to eat a snack called Poria Cake. Chapter 60 of "Dream of Red Mansions" also introduced Poria Cream (crushed). How to take White Poria Cream: Mix the Poria Cream with milk or boiling water, and eat a cup (net content: about 20 grams) every morning. Poria contains a large amount of human body nourishing effect. Polysaccharides that are easily absorbed can enhance the body's immune function and are helpful for chronically ill, frail, and elderly people. Some of the ingredients, such as Poria cocos polysaccharide, have inhibitory effects on cancer cells. Long-term use can promote chemotherapy for cancer patients. , recovery after surgery.

Tofu skin buns

Excerpt from the original text

Baoyu smiled and said: "Okay, it's too early." Because he asked Qingwen again: "Today I had breakfast at the mansion and there was a plate of tofu-skin buns. I thought you liked them, so I told Grandma Zhen that I would save them for dinner and ask someone to bring them over. Can you eat them?" Chapter 8)

Critical analysis

Tofu skin, also known as tofu clothes. Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "The method of making tofu began with Liu An, King of Huainan in the Han Dynasty. Black beans, soybeans, white beans, mud beans, peas, mung beans, etc. can be made. Method of preparation: Soak in water, mash, and filter out the dregs , fry it, use salt marinade or vitriol juice, or physalis and vinegar to collect it, and put it into a vat and collect it with gypsum powder, which can be used to astringe the bitter, salty, sour, and pungent things. Ears. If the surface is condensed, peel it off and dry it, which is called tofu skin. "In the Qing Dynasty, there were several ways to make steamed buns with tofu skin. One was to wrap the stuffing in the tofu skin, fold it in four, and make a square bun. The egg white paste is used to seal it, and it is steamed in a basket; one is to cut the tofu skin into small pieces, stuff it into a bag, close it with twine, steam it into shape, and then remove the twine. There are also chopped tofu, mixed with condiments as filling, wrapped in dough and steamed. Judging from the name "Tofu Skin Baozi", it seems to be the former rather than the latter. Tofu skin buns were also served as tributes in the Qing Dynasty, and are found in the Qing palace imperial meal archives. [Gourmet China]

DIY production method

Use tofu clothes (called oil skin or bean curd skin in the north) and stuffing with golden needles, fungus, mushrooms, green vegetables, etc., and wrap them into vegetarian steamed buns. This is a simple preparation method.

Quail

Excerpt from the original text

In Chapter 46 of "A Dream of Red Mansions", Wang Xifeng advised Mrs. He went to the old lady (Jia Mu) about marrying a mandarin duck, and finally said: "When I came here, my aunt sent two cages of quails, and I ordered them to blow them up." This is "explosion." The origin of the red dish "quail". Because quail has nutritional value, it also plays an important role in the development of red vegetables.

Critical analysis

There are different methods of cooking, such as "fragrant quail", "crispy quail", "pressed quail", etc., each with its own merits. Foodies have different tastes. Some like it fried raw, while others like it cooked or cooked in other ways.

Preparation method

Main ingredients: 10 live quails (about 100 grams). Ingredients: 200g lettuce, 50g sesame seeds, 4 eggs, 75g flour.

Seasoning: 3 grams of salt, 30 ml of Shaoxing rice wine, 15 grams of pepper, 150 grams of sesame oil, appropriate amounts of onion and ginger, a small plate of peppercorns, and a small plate of tomato sauce.

Preparation method: Slaughter the quail, remove the hair, remove the internal organs and wash it. Use a knife to pick out the quail breasts, remove the tendons, use the back of the knife to pat loose meat into the meat, then marinate it with salt, rice wine, pepper, green onions and ginger for 2 hours and set aside. Remove the yolks from the eggs, leaving the egg whites in a basin, use an egg beater to lift them up, add an appropriate amount of flour and mix evenly. Coat the quail breasts one by one with flour, then smear them in the whipped batter, add sesame seeds on one side of the batter, and deep-fry them in a hot sesame oil pan until crispy. Wash and disinfect the lettuce, spread it around the plate, put the fried quail in the middle, add salt, pepper and tomato sauce and serve.