Royal diet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty was also a foodie and a knowledgeable foodie.
Speaking of the royal cuisine in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, we have to mention the dining table of Xuanzong in Tang Dynasty. The delicious food above can not only hold the stomach of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, but also capture the heart of Yang Guifei.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Imperial Grain Bureau was responsible for the imperial meals of the emperor. In addition to Feng Yu and other management personnel, there are 16 people who are only responsible for cooking staple food, and the number of people who serve the main meal is as high as 840. These gourmets recruited from all over the country try their best to provide their owners with exquisite meals and ensure that the food ban on spring liver, summer heart, autumn lung and winter kidney is observed.
Tang Xuanzong's eating habits are consistent with his ruling style. He ate in the early stage and ate recklessly in the later stage. In the Kaiyuan period, he was thrifty, and he tended to be extravagant in the Tianbao period. In the seventh year of Kaiyuan (AD 7 19), he saw a guard dumping leftovers into the sewer, which was almost the same as the situation in "Bang Kill". However, during the Tianbao period, the delicacies he gave to An Lushan could not be measured by money. However, regardless of complexity and simplicity, his taste is still dominated by Hu cuisine, with pasta eating more cakes and meat eating more deer and sheep.
The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty records that "the nobles prepared Hu", and Hu cake was an indispensable table food in Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. This kind of food with flour, sesame and onion as the main raw materials was the fashion on the table at that time, and Tang Xuanzong couldn't put it down. In June of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (AD 756), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty fled to Jixian Palace in Xianyang, and when he had nothing to eat, he used "Hu cake" to satisfy his hunger. "Zi Jian" records: "When the sun arrived in China, there was still no food in the world, and Yang provided cakes from the city." It seems that Yang is very clear about his master's diet. Although it was difficult to escape, he found several shops and got the owner's favorite food.
Speaking of Hu cake, it reminds people of the story of Tang Xuanzong drinking wine with a good disciple of Chang 'an City while driving in Luzhou. According to Tang Yulin, Tang Xuanzong drank three silver boats, "made a huge stuffing and rode away". What kind of food is this giant stuffing? It's hard to understand at present. Later, it was found that the key to this huge stuffing was "giant". In the Series of Lake Cuisine, only "Robbie" recorded in Youyang Za matched it. "Youyang Zaju" uses the word "heavy" to describe this kind of food, and the outstanding one is "giant". This kind of food was a very popular snack in Chang 'an at that time, which was introduced from Persia. It is full of stuffing and can be steamed and baked. The varieties are Cherry Biro, Smallpox Biro and Crab Biro. If you look at Tang Xuanzong's diet at that time, I think he will never give up the food he has fallen in love with.
In different seasons, the chefs in the harem of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty will also adjust the pattern of pasta, especially on holidays, all kinds of delicious pasta will be served on the chef's table. August 5th is the birthday of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, which was then called "Qian Qiu Festival". At the celebration dinner, a bowl of noodles is essential. This is the "longevity soup cake" that Tang Xuanzong likes to eat, which is now called longevity noodles. This bowl of noodles hides a sad past and reveals the bad habits of sympathy and ingratitude of Tang Xuanzong. In the late kaiyuan period, the queen Wang's favor gradually declined, and she was quite uneasy. She cried to her husband that her father exchanged a short-sleeved shirt for a bucket of flour and made him a birthday soup cake, but Tang Xuanzong had forgotten this bowl of noodles. Later, she found fault with the queen and turned her into Shu Ren.
The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao records many special snacks of Xuanzong Festival in Tang Dynasty. During the Dragon Boat Festival every year, the palace will "make dumplings" and store them in a golden plate. It's great and lovely to make a small bow. If you shoot a pink ball on the plate with an arrow, the winner will get food. The pink ball will be greasy and difficult to shoot. "Noodles made of glutinous rice are wrapped in sesame seeds and fried in oil, just like hemp balls. Horn millet is the present zongzi. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lantern Festival, the palace will make "noodles" and "cocoons", which are steamed buns with stuffing.
From the analysis of the "gold and silver wonton" given to An Lushan by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, it is also a common practice of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. It is also a good choice to have a bowl when you want to improve your taste. In Du Fu's poems, another popular court food, "Huai Ye Han Tao", was recorded. This kind of cold noodles is recorded in the Six Classics of Tang Dynasty, saying: "Officials ordered the leaves of Sophora japonica to be cold washed in summer. Every morning, you will eat more than nine kinds of food and provide them with meals. " This kind of fine noodles is made of tender leaves of Sophora japonica and flour. After cooking, soak it in cold water and add seasonings to taste, which can be described as the best product for relieving summer heat. Du Fu, who lived in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, said, "You can enjoy the cool night, and the taste is timely." It can be seen that when the weather is unbearable, there is sometimes a big bowl of "Huai Ye Han Tao" on the dining table of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty.
Of course, Tang Xuanzong was not a vegetarian. He is more interested in meat food, especially venison, mutton and wild boar. Because, in addition to court purchases and gifts from all over the country, Tang Xuanzong also had the habit of hunting, and deer and wild boar were common prey. Tai Ping Guang Ji records two painters who sketched for Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. One is Chen Hong, who once wrote a script for The Condor of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The other is Wei Una, which depicts the heroic spirit of "kill two birds with one stone" of Xuanzong in Tang Dynasty. "Old Tang Shu" and "Records of Imperial Clans" also recorded that in the autumn of the 23rd year of Kaiyuan (AD 735), Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty hunted in the near-effect Xianyang Plain. "There is a big deer that thrives in its former body, which is very different from the usual big deer. It was ordered to shoot it with a bow, and it was shot at once. It was cooked by the kitchen official. " Hunting first, then barbecue, this game may be the favorite of Tang Xuanzong. After all, the prey you catch will taste better.
Cooked leg of lamb is another favorite of Xuanzong people in Tang Dynasty. "Old News of the Liu Family" records that when he was a prince, he had dinner with Tang Xuanzong. The chef prepared a "lamb arm" and a plate of Hu cakes. When Hengli cut the leg of lamb with a knife, sheep oil stained his hands. He wiped his hands with Hu Bing and began to eat. Tang Xuanzong said with satisfaction: "A happy life should be cherished". A sheep's arm is actually a cooked leg of lamb. Strictly speaking, it is the front leg of a sheep. Although it is not as fat as its hind legs, it has more lean meat and gum, which makes it more chewy. It is worth noting that this time, Tang Xuanzong did not politely pick up vegetables with chopsticks, but ate meat with a knife, which further demonstrated Hu Feng's dining table.
As a super gourmet, Tang Xuanzong was not superstitious about the skills of harem chefs. Sometimes, he cooks some new food in a different way. Miscellaneous Notes by Yan Lu in the Tang Dynasty recorded a new recipe invented by Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty: Xuanzong ordered an official to shoot fresh deer and fry the deer intestines with blood, which was called "warm collaterals and harmony". This kind of food made from deer blood and deer intestines has a strong kidney-tonifying effect, and if you eat too much, you will definitely have nosebleeds. However, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was very proud of this patent and gave it as a reward to military generals such as An Lushan and Geshuhan. On the one hand, it is to appease people's hearts, and more to show off his craftsmanship.
In ancient times, it was called "cutting sashimi". The first good material for cutting sashimi was carp. Although he likes this dish, he doesn't eat carp because his surname is Li, and "carp" is homophonic with "Li". He ate crucian carp in the third year of Kaiyuan (7 15 AD) to avoid it. According to the records in the Miscellaneous Notes of the Chief, among the items he gave to An Lushan was "Carassius auratus with a knife", while the painting catalogue in Xuanhe Huapu in the Northern Song Dynasty contained "Ming Taizu Map". It is an indisputable fact that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty loved sashimi.
A table of delicious food, without soup, is like a mountain without water, losing its aura. In Tang Xuanzong's diet, there is naturally a delicious soup. It is worth noting that Tang Xuanzong's favorite soup is not pure soup like hot and sour pork tripe soup, but inherits the tradition of ancient cooking, that is, medicine and food are not divided. Every bowl of soup on the dining table is mostly a good way to nourish the body and get rid of diseases, which shows that everyone wants to live a long life in a period of peace and prosperity.
Li's son-in-law, Zheng Ping, was born very early. Li loved him so much that he gave Zheng Ping the "nectar soup" given by Tang Xuanzong. "Hai Lu Bao Shi" recorded the efficacy of this bowl of soup, saying that after Zheng Ping drank it, his temples would "disappear overnight". After drinking this bowl of soup, I believe that Tang Xuanzong, who likes keeping in good health, must have black hair that fascinated the imperial concubine. Later generations discovered the method of making this soup, saying that it was made of Polygonum Multiflori Radix, deer blood and deer tendon. Maybe it's just the tip of the iceberg of the secret recipe of this bowl of soup, because no matter how advanced the soup prepared by the chef is, no one can match the soup drunk tonight, and all the white hair will disappear tomorrow morning.
According to Youyang Miscellanies, there are several secret recipes of Tang Xuanzong in the food list given to An Lushan by Tang Xuanzong. Among them, "Jinshiling Decoction" is used to clear away heat and reduce fire, and "Qianjin Wing" records the preparation of this prescription; Wushu decoction seems to be a kind of decoction related to Taoist health preservation, and its formula is unknown. From this list, we can also get a glimpse of Tang Xuanzong's diet hobbies. Other indispensable foods on his table are: a kind of dried meat called "wide-tailed sheep cave", horse cheese, steamed pears, wild boar fresh and pheasant. No wine, no banquet, the most popular wines in Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty are mulberry wine and sake.
If we integrate these scattered recipes that Xuanzong loved in Tang Dynasty, it can be called "Hu Han Quanxi" in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In this way, Tang Xuanzong will appear on the dining table: first, pasta: Hu Bing, Robbie, rice balls, millet, noodles and wonton, a bowl of birthday soup cakes on birthdays, and a big bowl of cold Sophora leaves in summer; Second, meat: there are sheep arms, spicy river, raw crucian carp slices, stir-fried pheasants, braised wild pork, wide-tailed sheep caves, etc. The third is soups: Ganlu Soup, Wushu Soup, Jinshiling Soup and so on. Fourth, others: horse cheese and steamed pears; Fifth, drinks: mulberry wine and sake; The sixth one is a fruit bowl. If Yang Guifei eats with her, there will certainly be a big plate of delicious lychee.
With this table of delicious food and beautiful women, Tang Xuanzong's life is happy. But in his later years, he loved beautiful scenery and delicious food, but he didn't like mountains and rivers at all. He gave delicious food to Li, and Li with black hair changed his way to confuse politics; He gave the delicious food to An Lushan. An Lushan had a full stomach and mended his body. In turn, he lost his country and hanged his beauty. Finally, when he returned to Chang 'an from Sichuan, he had to give up these delicious dishes. He even tried to get rich without eating or drinking.
In layman's terms, the life of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty is like a hard-won bowl of beef noodles with meat, noodles and soup, which is perfect. If he knows how to cherish, chew evenly and taste slowly, he can eat soup, noodles and meat all his life. But this man, when the bowl is served, he eats beef first, and finally, he only drinks some clear soup. In one's life, whether to eat meat or soup can only be grasped by oneself.
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