Yingxian Banji, with profound cultural heritage, originated from Yingxian, a populous town in Linquan County, located in the southwest of Linquan, 20 kilometers away from the county seat and bordering Xincai County, Henan Province. Yingxian Town has a total population of more than 70,000 people and 65,000 mu of cultivated land. The local area is rich in wheat, sweet potatoes, soybeans, sesame and other crops. Since ancient times, Ren Xian has lived a self-sufficient life, which is made at sunrise and rested at sunset. After the reform and opening up, some far-sighted people began to leave their homes to work or do business in coastal open cities. Perhaps because of the border with other provinces, the folk customs of welcoming immortals are tough, and the local people are simple and frank, and there is no room for outsiders to bully them. The culture of welcoming immortals is profound, and the famous circus of welcoming immortals and Yanfei circus in Linquan were born here. There are many acrobats, enjoying the reputation of "dancing all over the country and traveling all over the Great Wall". There is also a beautiful legend about welcoming immortals. It is said that there was a Taoist priest here who gave many panaceas and saved many people's lives during the plague. People went to see the Taoist one after another. At first, this small market became Yingxian Store, which was later called Yingxian Store. In August 2007, Linquan suffered a serious flood disaster. -Premier and-Vice Premier visited Yingxian personally to inspect the disaster situation and guide the disaster relief work, which further inspired Yingxian's pride and courage in building its hometown. In this fertile land, Yingxian has created many delicious foods, such as salted chicken, powdered chicken, glutinous rice, crispy rice, hemp leaves and sesame salt, among which Yingxian salted chicken is the most famous. Yingxian Banji is a rooster raised on a farm. After slaughter, it was pickled twice with pickling solution made of salt, aniseed, fennel, clove, ginger, yellow wine, onion and sugar. Rinse the pickled whole chicken in clean water. After molding and drying, it can be put into the drying room for slow cooking. The temperature of the drying room is controlled at 50℃ to 60℃, and after several hours of baking, it is finished. Yingxian salted chicken is best to eat cold food. After the roasted salted chicken is completely cooled, it can be cut into thin chicken cakes or strips with a fast blade. Serve the chicken with sesame oil. Pieces of salted chicken are like flowers in full bloom on a plate. The fragrance of sesame oil and chicken all tickles people's appetite, and diners are scrambling to taste this rare food with chopsticks. The bones of Yingxian salted chicken are easily separated from the chicken, which saves a lot of trouble for diners and is completely edible for the elderly and children. Like the origin of the name of salted duck, Yingxian brine chicken is named after its hard meat, clear texture and rich layers, which are similar to the texture of wooden boards. Among dozens of families in Yingxian town, the salted chicken processed by the Xu brothers is the most popular. It is said that their skills in processing salted chicken have been passed down from generation to generation, and they are very particular about ingredients, chicken selection, pickling and baking. A few years ago, the author and several diners made a special trip to Xu Shi's brother's house to taste salted chicken. The two brothers mainly set up stalls in the market town to sell salted chicken. They rarely receive diners at home, but they can't stop some diners. In the living room of the Xu family, a square table, several benches, a cauldron of salted chicken and a few Jin of old wine can make diners enjoy drinking and forget the noise of the world.
New era and new development
In 2009, Yingxian Banji ushered in new development. Xiaoyoutian Catering Company, the largest catering chain in Linquan, invested more than 500,000 yuan to establish the first Yingxian Banji Hotel in the county, mainly catering to Yingxian Banji and providing diners with dishes with local characteristics in Linquan. Xiaoyoutian Catering Company owns six large hotels, and the rise of these hotels depends on the founder Guo. Guo is a native of Linquan Town, which is only more than twenty miles away from Yingxian Town. Guo became an excellent chef in his teens, and he had a special affection for the famous Lingquan chicken. After signing a hotel in the county town, Guo registered the trademark of Banji in Yingxian County in time and opened the first large hotel in Banji in Yingxian County. The chef in Guo He's shop improved the processing technology of brine chicken in Yingxian County, and changed the initial baking process to sun drying, so that the pickled brine chicken was naturally air-dried, then brine chicken was soaked and cooked for a period of time before eating, and finally the completely cooled brine chicken was subpackaged into plates. This kind of salted chicken is white as jade, tender in meat and full of flavor, which is loved by many diners. In Yingxian Banji Hotel, there are also carefully processed chicken intestines, chicken gizzards, chicken blood and small eggs. These side dishes have their own flavors, making it difficult for diners to let go of chopsticks. At present, the business of Banji Hotel in Yingxian County is extremely hot, so it is necessary to make a reservation in advance. Eating salted chicken in Yingxian county has become a fashion for Linquan people. I believe that driven by Banji Hotel in Yingxian County, Banji in Yingxian County will definitely go out of northern Anhui and become famous all over the country.