A brief discussion of the past and present life of "Jingsu Dishai" by Shen Guiyou The so-called "Jingsu Dishai" refers to the Jinling local cuisine that was highly sought after by famous aristocrats and upper-class dignitaries from the Six Dynasties period to the Republic of China.

The "Jing" here means that Nanjing was the capital of the Six Dynasties and the early Ming Dynasty; "Su" means that Nanjing was the capital of Jiangsu Province in the Qing Dynasty.

"Big dish" describes Jinling cuisine as being noble, elegant, gorgeous and generous.

In this way, we can know that the so-called Jingsu cuisine is the synonym for Nanjing cuisine or Jinling cuisine.

Historically, Jingsu cuisine consists of official dishes, market dishes, folk dishes, halal dishes, vegetarian dishes, boat dishes, etc.

There are different opinions on when Nanjing cuisine appeared. Some people think it first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, while others say it appeared in the Three Kingdoms period.

Nanjing is located at the intersection of north and south, a land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River. It has convenient water and land transportation, trade exchanges, and prosperity, which laid the material foundation for the formation of Nanjing cuisine.

"Dishes of the Republic of China" are classics in Nanjing cuisine. Representative works include braised fresh bamboo shoot tips, pigeon eggs, the best dish in the world, casserole stewed vegetable core, canned meat, braised chicken and so on.

"Qinhuai snacks" are a perfect match for Nanjing cuisine and have a history of thousands of years.

Representatives of Nanjing’s traditional folk dishes include Jinling Sui cuisine, also known as mixed vegetables.

Nanjing is known as the ancient capital of six dynasties and the city of ten dynasties. It has long been the political, economic, and cultural center of southern China. It has developed water and land transportation. It is the central city of the Yangtze River Basin. It is reasonable for its culinary development to be developed.

Since ancient times, Nanjing's geographical location has determined that Nanjing's food is a mixture of north and south, and a mixture of east and west.

Nanjing was rich in products. At that time, there were many unique local cooking resources, such as: Longchi crucian carp with a small head, black back and thick meat; short-legged yellow green vegetables with short stems and fat leaves; lake-cooked shelduck with tender meat;

Herring from Longtan; Yunwu Tea from Zhongshan; thin-skinned pig from Nanxiang; saury and anchovy from the Yangtze River... Some of these resources are produced in the suburbs, and some are in the city, providing unique conditions for making Jingsu cuisine.

Before the "Eight Major Cuisines" we are talking about were proposed, the four major cuisines recognized by the chef community were "Sichuan, Shandong, Su, and Guangdong". The word "Su" in this refers to Beijing-Suzhou cuisine.

For example, the most famous restaurants at that time included Liuhuachun, Luliuju, Ma Xiangxing, Yongheyuan, Old Guangdong, Dashanyuan, Quyuan Restaurant, and Tongqinglou, which corresponded to the styles of various cuisines.

Needless to say, Su is local cuisine, and Zhejiang, Shao, and Shanghai cuisines are also included. Quyuan Restaurant is the most famous for Sichuan cuisine, and the most famous for Cantonese cuisine are Cantonese restaurants such as Lao Guangdong and Dashanyuan.

Shandong cuisine includes dishes from Shandong, Beijing, Tianjin and other places, represented by Tongqinglou.

During the Republic of China, Jinling cuisine reached its peak. As the capital, Nanjing was home to a large number of dignitaries, merchants and merchants, and all kinds of "nobles" flocked to it.

The urban population of Nanjing doubled.

Despite the continual wars for years, the city still flourished with singing and dancing, and people lived in a state of intoxication, which led to the extraordinary development of Nanjing's snacks and left many good stories about celebrities and snacks.

Chiang Kai-shek, Dai Jitao, Kong Xiangxi, Chiang Ching-kuo, Zhang Xueliang, etc. are all loyal fans of Jinling cuisine.

During the Republic of China, Nanjing's local restaurants were clustered around the Confucius Temple.

There are First Spring, Haidongchun, ***Hechun, Laowanquan, Changsongdonghao, Jingbin Building, Dachengxi, Laobaoxin, Jinlingchun, etc.

There are also restaurants representing various cuisine styles such as Liuhuachun, Luliuju, Ma Xiangxing, Yongheyuan, Old Guangdong, Dashanyuan, Quyuan Restaurant, and Tongqinglou, all of which use their own special dishes to attract diners.

In order to show that our Jinling cuisine is different from dishes from other places, local chefs call themselves the "Jingsu Gang". Because it was recognized and loved by dignitaries such as Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling, Jinling cuisine was served as an official dish during the Republic of China.

It's very "big". This "big" means that it can be served on the table. At the same time, it takes the characteristics of all directions and adapts to the tastes of all directions. It pays attention to seven flavors: fresh, rotten, crispy, tender, crispy, rich, fat, sour, and sour.

Sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, fragrant and smelly, salty and sweet are suitable, sour but not astringent, bitter but fragrant, spicy but not strong, crisp but not raw, rich and mellow, fat but not greasy, light.

Not thin. Traditional famous dishes include canned meat, stewed raw meat, vegetarian mixed vegetables, stewed vegetable cores, eight-treasure pine nuts, pine nut bacon, flat meat crisps, etc. February 22, 2013, "Jingsu Dish".

"Cooking Skills" has been officially selected into the Nanjing Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In order to restore the "Old Nanjing Taste", cooking masters have collected resources, restored the taste, and put in a lot of work. Nowadays, ordinary diners can enjoy it in many restaurants in Nanjing.

These classic dishes. The serious Nanjing cuisine is a bit close to Huaiyang cuisine. The latter is becoming more and more popular, and its price is hundreds of times higher. However, few people remember the former. This shows the decline of Nanjing cuisine.

It is a fact. But going back 80 years, Nanjing cuisine was also very popular and was known as "Jingsu cuisine". The word "Jing" can be understood as the old capital of the Ming Dynasty and is also related to the Republic of China. In 1999, Zhang Xueliang.

On his 90th birthday, Hu Changling also wrote an article in "Chinese Cooking·Nanjing Special", recalling the banquet, titled "Young Marshal, do you still remember the "Jinling Spring" Banquet?" Later, "Swallow Wings Double Roast Banquet"

"It was called the "Young Commander's Banquet" by later generations. The raw materials of Jinling cuisine are mainly aquatic products, focusing on freshness, fine knife skills, and good use of cooking methods such as stewing, stewing, roasting, and simmering, and the taste is mild.