I have a sister who married an American. She inherited this grandma’s recipe from her American mother-in-law not long after they got married. Her American husband said it was his family's "heirloom" and that the original author was "grandma's grandma."

I was flipping through a bunch of obscure recipes, and the flavors of various hard noodles and pies came to mind. I thought of various Western-style mixing molds, electric stoves and ovens... Suddenly I felt that it was still a big deal. A noodle knife, a chopping board, a wok, and a stove are more simple and pure, with endless variations.

However, did my grandma’s grandma leave any menu for me?

Number of words: 2184

Reading time: 10 minutes

01

Rooted in Henan: the pride of "the master of a hundred dishes" Jiao Declaration

In the summer of 2018, I was doing an interview for a manuscript about the Dahe Village ruins, and I had an argument with the responsible librarian about whether the historical period of Yangshao culture was specifically stated to be 5000 or 7000 years. In the end, I They both laughed together: No matter if it is 7,000 years or 5,000 years, we can travel through the historical space of 2,000 years with any question. How heroic!

In any case, that period was a period when elephants were still everywhere in the forests of Henan. "Shuowen Jiezi" said that "the big elephant is called Yu", which is also the origin. Here it is.

What is the evidence of Yangshao culture? It’s painted pottery! Painted pottery double pots, painted pottery basins with human faces and fish patterns, various pots and bowls... What are they used for?

Drink and eat!

A teacher of mine once shocked everyone by saying that although Henan cuisine does not belong to the "eight major cuisines", it is "the master of hundreds of dishes".

The prototype of Lao Tzu's "Governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies" was Yi Yin, the founding prime minister of the Shang Dynasty and the ancestor of Chinese chefs. He is a native of Qixian County, Kaifeng today. In his "Soup Classic", No. A detailed description of the selection of cooking ingredients, heat, and seasonings; the hero Cao Cao also had a book called "Four Seasons Food System", which talked about the characteristics of Henan cuisine with four distinct seasons; as for the Song Dynasty with Kaifeng as its capital, "Tokyo Menghua Lu" "" It is recorded that there were "Seventy-two Main Stores" at that time, which sold hundreds of kinds of dishes, including delicacies from the mountains and seas, unique land and water, and exquisite dishes. People say that the most official characteristic of Henan cuisine is: "The five flavors are harmonious, the texture and taste are moderate, and it is suitable for both north and south."

- I secretly think that today people say that Henan cuisine is not as distinctive as the eight major cuisines, but it takes a long time to eat it. The "loss" of an overly developed economy during a historical period: Because of the travel from south to north, the taste of Henan cuisine has to be suitable for people in the Central Plains and even most areas; because of the continuous inflow and blending of culture, economy, and products, Henan cuisine can be popular all over the world. The use of raw materials to make "the world's authentic food" eliminates the need to dig out local specialty ingredients; because military strategists must fight for it, the Western Jin Dynasty and the Five Husties disrupted China, the Song Dynasty capital moved south, and the Ming Dynasty King Fu fled... There were three large-scale cultural events in the Central Plains in history. The migration to the south spread culture and craftsmanship to various places, playing a catalytic role in the growth of Fujian, Guangdong, Huai, Yang, Zhejiang and other cuisines in later generations.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the “master of a hundred dishes” lies in Henan cuisine!

02

Eat noodles and rice, my family also has a menu

I am the furthest married among the generations in my family. Although my Mr. Liu was also born in Zhengzhou, his ancestral home is in Changsha!

Then after I got married, I discovered a lot of interesting things.

Although Mr. Liu’s family has been in Zhengzhou since his grandfather’s generation, the flavor of his hometown has never stopped for decades: smoked meat, sausage, cured fish, dried bamboo shoots, dried beans, dried chili... …All kinds of unknown mountain delicacies are constantly brought from my hometown.

Mr. Liu loves to eat rice and stir-fry. He can steam a bowl of rice and stir-fry two small stir-fries by himself for dinner, and eat it cleanly.

And I have always felt that noodles, steamed buns with dipping sauce, pancakes... no matter how you make them, noodles are a hundred times more delicious than rice. Now that I can eat some rice, I really don’t want to bother.

But the serious Hunan style stir-fry is really delicious.

Stir-fried dishes can only be enjoyed during normal times, and "big dishes" have to be seen during family banquets. At this time, braised carp, braised sea cucumber with green onion, crispy meat, lotus pod, ribs, chicken nuggets and other bowls are served, as well as fermented bean curd pork, braised pork with pickled vegetables, eight-treasure rice... Among the traditional Henan cuisine styles, From your house to my house to his house, everything is pretty much the same.

Therefore, my family should be considered to have a "grandmother's menu". If you don't believe it, the pancakes and watermelon jam made by my mother are similar to those made by my grandma and grandma; the steamed buckwheat made by my husband The bowl is similar to what my grandpa makes; the braised tea eggs, which I am very good at, have the same flavor as my father’s braised pork.

03

Tasting delicacies in the prosperous age, the best era for "foodies"

I followed a documentary "The List of Chinese Food Heroes" in the past two days. It's long, each episode is only five minutes, but it's very high quality.