Kaifeng, the ancient capital, is not only a city of scenery, but also a city of food. Special snacks such as soup buns, peanut cakes and lotus seed cakes are all over the streets and lanes, which are inexpensive and can be consumed by ordinary people. If you are more particular, go to another new restaurant near the Bell Tower to eat Four Treasures of the Study.
"Four treasures and one set" is the masterpiece of Chen Jia, a famous chef in Kaifeng, which has been circulated for a hundred years. It is named because the four flavors of duck, chicken, pigeon and quail are integrated and the four birds are layered and intact. The Four Treasures Package was improved by Chen Yongxiang, the official chef of Kaifeng in the late Qing Dynasty, on the basis of the traditional famous dish "Three Rings Package". When Empress Dowager Cixi returned to Beijing from Ann via Kaifeng, Chen hosted a banquet. A set of "Four Treasures of the Study", the queen mother full of praise. Later, his brother and Chen Jicheng developed this stunt, which made the color, fragrance and shape of the dishes more perfect.
It is said that "four treasures and one set" is a unique dish in Henan, which combines chicken, duck, pigeon and quail, that is, thick, fragrant, fresh and wild. Four whole birds are layered, all intact, without a bone. Every time several dishes are served at the banquet, this dish is served in a blue-and-white porcelain soup basin, and the whole duck floating in the soup is presented to the diners. Its color is bright and mellow. After eating the first layer of delicious duck, a delicious whole chicken came into view; After the chicken is finished, the delicious whole pigeon appears in front of you again; Finally, the pigeon's stomach revealed a whole quail filled with diced sea cucumber, shredded mushrooms and magnolia slices. A dish with a variety of flavors, not fat or greasy, refreshing and delicious, has a long aftertaste, which really makes people applaud.
"Four treasures and one set" belongs to Yamen school. It is beautifully made, with good color, smell and shape. It takes time to make, and the key is technology and temperature. The most complicated thing is bone removal and concentration, just like artistic sculpture. With the opening of the neck, the bones were removed one by one, and the original shape remained unchanged. In some places, although the skin is as thin as paper, it still needs to be filled with water. "Four Treasures of the Study" is the key, requiring ducks, chickens, pigeons and quails to be photographed from beginning to end, covered all over and covered on their legs. The trick is to fill the processed quail belly with sea cucumber and mushroom ingredients, insert a bamboo needle into the fracture and blanch it in a boiling water pot. This can not only remove blood foam, but also tighten the flesh, which is convenient for inserting sleeves in the pigeon's abdomen. After the pigeons nest in quail, they should still be cooked in a pot. Then insert the sleeves into the chicken's stomach. The same cooked chicken was stuffed into the duck's stomach. Finally, it became a four-treasure stuffed duck with a round body and rich content. Then add seasoning, add soup to the pot, steam in a cage, and it will be crispy from the inside out. When you put it on the table and put it in front of people, people will feel that it is not only a delicious dish with all colors and flavors, but also a finely processed work of art.