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From the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, it spanned more than 2,100 years. Although almost every dynasty set up another capital, during this long time, there were only two largest and most important political centers in the Central Plains, namely Chang 'an and later Beijing. Since the Liao Dynasty established its capital in Beijing, the five dynasties of Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing all established their capitals in this city. When the Qing Dynasty established its capital, there was the Forbidden City in Beijing, and there was a complete plan in Beijing.
Spending the Spring Festival in Beijing is not only a time to prepare good wine and food, but also a time to pay attention to old age. "Children, children, don't be greedy. It's the year after Laba." Starting with a pot of delicious Laba porridge, the Spring Festival began, and it lasted until the 23rd and 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, when candied melons were sticky, 24th, sweeping the house, 25th, frying tofu ... All these courses were delicious food with the characteristics of old Beijing. Besides these, there was a snack called "Mustard Duner", which could remove fire and eliminate phlegm, just suitable for people to get bored during the New Year.
Until New Year's Eve, the most exquisite New Year's Eve is coming. Beijing naturally has its own "menu". Beijing's New Year's Eve consists of four parts, commonly known as "four cold dishes, four hot fried dishes, four big meats and four fresh soups". This is a big banquet with 16 dishes, which is better than other cities' "eight bowls in Shanxi", "ten bowls in Hubei" and "Changsha" And four or four bottomed out, and it was a good color to be safe and happy.
Next, we will introduce these four kinds of dishes respectively. The first course is naturally four cold dishes. The first course must be shredded radish, which is called "head of vegetable" by old Beijingers, which means "Ma Lian meat". This is also a Beijing dish, which is made of lotus grass tied with meat, so the dishes have a unique taste of Ma Lian, and the rest are sauce beef and mustard pier introduced before.
Then four hot dishes were served, which were mostly stir-fried dishes and fish. The first one was sweet and sour carp. Why did it have to be carp? It turns out that this carp has a sense of "more than profit" in it. If it is changed to other fish, although the taste may get better, the sense of attention will be gone. The next three courses are braised pork, stir-fried shrimps with asparagus and stir-fried lilies, each of which contains the meanings of lucky strike, always smiling, family and beauty.
Now it's halfway through the banquet, and when the wine is half full, it's time to serve hard dishes. The four major meat dishes, first of all, braised prawns, are bright red in color when cooked, and the shrimp meat is white and moving, which is booming and clean as jade. The second dish is Four Joy Meetballs, which has a simple meaning and four happiness. However, Four Joy Meetballs also pays attention to it, so it should be big enough to ensure the same size, otherwise the four happiness are different, and there will be no good meaning. Finally, the four fresh soups are served. The first one is the Golden Soup Baby Dish. Although this dish is vegetarian, at the New Year's Eve, big fish and big meat are indispensable, but the materials are very scarce. It can be said that the baby dishes at this time are just greasy dishes, and then the marinated tofu. Tofu must be "North Tofu". After being marinated in Beijing, it is very tender, and the remaining two are.
With the development of the times, the New Year's Eve dinner in Beijing has also changed a little, such as adding "fruit before meals" at the beginning and "dessert after meals" at the end. However, no matter how the external changes, the essence of Beijing's New Year's Eve dinner has not changed, and it is steady, and the meaning of harmony and beauty has always been deeply rooted in the hearts of every old Beijinger. The year of Beijing is a happy year, a year of China, and a better year.