The rumor has its rationality: for thousands of years, there have been natural differences between the eastern and western farming peoples and nomadic peoples about eating meat, which is the problem of cattle and sheep or pigs and dogs.
Only chicken, as a kind of livestock that can consume surplus food and accompany human migration, has reached a certain degree of reconciliation at the dinner table between the east and the west. It is natural and respectful to entertain foreign guests with chicken.
But after careful scrutiny, Chinese-style white-cut chicken does not conform to the eating habits of foreigners. Authentic white-cut chicken, blood in the bone marrow is authentic. Although western beef and mutton are also eaten raw, eating red meat raw is different from eating white meat raw.
In addition, in English-speaking countries, most people can only eat out. Picking, chewing, tearing, biting, and spitting out a few bones from time to time are all considered to be behaviors that are not in line with western table manners.
Although China's traditional etiquette has similar requirements, such as "Don't bite the bone" in the Book of Rites, China people's character is for their mouths and will never be bound by the moral framework. Flowers, birds, fish and insects can be eaten, not to mention a plate of delicious boiled chicken, which is enough to make China people dare to take great food risks.
The more national it is, the more cosmopolitan it is. Chinese boiled chicken is probably the most representative example. It highlights the contradictory unity of China people's pursuit of elegance and simplicity in food, and also reflects the simple pursuit of protein, fat and sodium-containing seasonings by all mankind.
Number: 1 one
Darwin believed that the origin of modern domestic chicken was gallus gallus, which was domesticated by Indians and introduced to China 3400 years ago.
But what Darwin didn't know was that in Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places where the Central Plains civilization began, many kitchen wastes shaped like chicken bones were unearthed, and their age was 8000 years.
So far, it is difficult to judge whether China ate pheasants or consciously raised poultry. But what is certain is that the ancestors of China people began to eat chicken very early and made many tricks on it. The key catalyst is pottery.
Although the birth of pottery was a worldwide invention, it was only in China that pottery finally evolved into porcelain, which proved the superb craftsmanship of China people. As we all know, it is difficult for pottery to withstand long-term baking, cracking and breaking by flame, which is the final destination of most pottery in the era of substandard technology, so most western pottery was born in the form of handicrafts, storage tools and tableware.
However, in China, cookware is an important category of ancient pottery. The invention of retort, retort, retort and tripod realized the basic cooking functions such as steaming, boiling and frying. This enabled China people to make the earliest transition from the open-fire barbecue stage to various cooking forms. Fire no longer directly acts on food, but is converted into energy such as water and steam, which catalyzes food ripening.
As it happens, chicken has been in China's diet for a long time. After the invention of ceramic cookware, steamed chicken, stewed chicken, stewed chicken and fried chicken all appeared one after another. We also have reason to believe that boiled white-cut chicken, as the main craft, is also an ancient invention of that era.
Number: 2 er
However, in the flood era, for the farming civilization that attaches importance to festivals, chickens have an important role besides eating-telling the time.
In the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, when rites and music flourished, the rooster existed as an alarm clock, was regarded as an extremely precious sacrifice, and even became a god by myth, and gradually broke away from the category of daily ingredients.
Even today, chicken is still an important object of worship of Taoism which originated in China. "Taiping Magnolia" records that at the beginning of the world, Nu Wa Niangniang made chickens on the first day; On the seventh day, people made loess and water according to their own appearance. China Dragon Totem, which takes the chicken as the prototype, Suzaku as the image reference and some chicken elements as the reference, is active in various folklore in China.
However, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the status of chickens declined like a collapse. "Zuo Zhuan" listed chickens as "six animals", alongside horses, cows, sheep, dolphins and dogs; In the story of Gou Jian, the king of Yue, there even appeared a big chicken farm in Yue, which provided materials for Gou Jian to attack Wu.
This phenomenon was interpreted by Han Confucianism as the collapse of rites and bad music caused by war. But its essence should be related to the invention of more advanced timing tools, such as standard watches, sundials and lettering. Although limited by the technology at that time, these tools have shortcomings, but compared with live chickens, they are obviously more accurate and less affected by external factors.
So the chicken once again changed from a tool to food.
third place
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, China, as the first unified country, began to enter a period of great development in step with the pace, and began a campaign with nomadic people in the north for thousands of years.
In that farming era when all national interests were paramount, chicken, as a poultry with low meat content and high feeding requirements, was obviously in short supply and the price remained high. However, the chicken itself and the technology of raising chickens were introduced to Central Asia from east to west in the war and trade between Han civilization and nomadic people, and then, together with silk and ceramics, they spread to the Middle East and the Near East along the Silk Road for more than a thousand years, and finally reached the west.
The long evolution has changed the variety of chickens, but it has not changed people's love for chickens. When the American White Feather Chicken crossed the ocean and returned to Japan after the meat ban was lifted, and it became a standard in izakaya in the form of burning birds, the chicken also completed its journey around the world that took thousands of years.
On the other hand, after the Han Dynasty, China chickens gradually alienated the malodorous atmosphere. Out of a completely different development direction from most chicken in the world-natural flavor.
Even Japan, which has always prided itself on the original ingredients, lags far behind China in its cooking attitude towards chicken.
White-cut chicken is a work that reaches its peak from the original flavor of ingredients.
Number: 4 si
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, chicken gradually became a symbol to describe the richness of family food.
Meng Haoran said, "The ancients had chickens and millet, so you entertained me on your farm." Lu You said, "Don't laugh at the peasant's drunkenness. Keep enough chickens and dolphins in good years." These sentences reflect that guests were used to eating chicken at that time, and chicken and rice were cooked together to show simplicity; It is a spiritual temperament different from the fish, shrimp and seafood barbecue cake in Jianghu.
If we have to compare, chickens after Tang and Song Dynasties represent the aesthetic taste of China literati who are "poor and immune".
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this tendency became more and more obvious. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Yu said, "Chickens also do meritorious deeds"; In the Qing Dynasty, the status of chicken in Yuan Mei's mouth was further improved, and it became "the chicken has the greatest merit, and all dishes depend on it. For example, a good person accumulates yin and virtue without being known."
At the same time, Yuan Mei also listed "boiled chicken" as the first of all chicken dishes. He said: "The white-cut fat chicken is naturally too thick and mysterious. It is especially suitable for going to rural areas and hotels, and it is most convenient when cooking is not enough. There are not many times to cook. "
This is probably the first time that boiled chicken has been described in detail by literati. It was not Yuan Mei's original creation, but originated from the grass roots. After thousands of years of evolution, it finally merged the national aesthetic taste to praise the dishes.
It's Meng Haoran. "The ancients had chickens and millet. You entertained me on your farm." Advanced interpretation of.
In modern times, boiled chicken spread and evolved all over the country. With the improvement of technology and the further enrichment of seasonings, many factions were diverted.
Although gourmets, such as Shen Hongfei, think that boiled chicken is a kind of grass-roots food that has no chance of elegance, the reason is that "this kind of chicken can't be found in mainstream recipes before the 1970s."
But in fact, boiled chicken originated from grassroots, but it has a rare grand vision of grassroots cuisine. It represents the difference of scenery and resources in this country, and also represents the spiritual whole of this country.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang: Shanghai white-cut chicken bad chicken
Aesthetic appreciation of Jiangnan literati |
In Wu dialect, "cut" and "eat" have the same meaning, so in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the word "boiled chicken" is easily misunderstood as "chicken-free", and its name is indecent.
The recipes of authentic restaurants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are advertised as "Shanghai white-cut chicken". "Chop" is a common word in Wu dialect, such as "chop the heel", "chop the meat of crucian carp" and "chop the warehouse". Named Shanghai, in addition to its great geographical influence, it is more important because the old Shanghai brand "Little Shaoxing" has made important improvements to it. In fact, today in Suzhou, Xichang and Hangjiahu in Wuyu District, boiled chicken tastes very similar.
It is said that during the Republic of China, the Shanghai police were jealous of "Little Shaoxing" and their business was booming. They often come to the house to eat and drink for nothing. The boss, full of ordinary temperament and wisdom, soaked the cooked chicken in cold well water, hoping that the police would have diarrhea. I didn't expect this treatment to make the chicken taste better.
This story makes people subconsciously feel that no matter what age, the disposition of law enforcers is somewhat similar.
In fact, the production of Shanghai-style boiled chicken is not too wasteful, and it is not as exquisite as Cantonese-style boiled chicken. Just boil the onion, ginger slices and white water together. The ice water soaking invented by Xiao Shaoxing is undoubtedly a great leap in cooking technology: chicken skin shrinks when it is cold and becomes very elastic, and chicken can also lock water instantly and keep fresh for a long time.
Today, the practice of cooking and soaking in cold water has been widely spread. Probably because of its simple operation, many restaurants in Cantonese cuisine and even Sichuan cuisine will imitate the method of Shanghai-style boiled chicken, so that many people think it is an inherent custom of local diet.
The rotten chicken in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is actually a kind of white-cut chicken. Only the last step is to soak the bad salt water.
To make matters worse, the mud left by Jiangnan people after brewing Shaoxing yellow wine is intoxicating. Shanghainese add spices such as sea salt, rock sugar, pepper, cinnamon, star anise and fragrant leaves. And call it fragrant food. Different proportions determine the taste trend of bad chickens. Some people like salty food, others like fragrant food, and some people like spicy food, so they have their own tastes. Generally speaking, Su's taste is sweet, Hangzhou's taste is salty, while Shanghai's restaurants are more tolerant, so that the tastes of the two factions are reflected in different restaurants.
The traditional bad chicken is very particular. First, put the mud-flavored grains into a vat, cover it with clean gauze, then cut the cooked chicken into pieces, put fine salt on the gauze, and gently press a layer of rotten chicken. After two or three days, the smell of distiller's grains slowly penetrated into the chicken, and the bad chicken was ready.
At the fast-paced moment, most people feel troublesome, so they have clarified concentrated brine sold in supermarkets. Without processing, the chicken can be directly soaked in it, and it can be made very fragrant. But for exquisite people, it is not so interesting after all.
Fujian: Hakka white-cut chicken and red date chicken
| Lang Jun is dressed in red Bamin |
The boiled chicken in Fujian is between Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, and its name is not uniform. Some people call it "chop", others call it "chop", probably because of its late origin, so both sides take this as the basis in naming.
Although the cooking time is late, the taste is not backward. The most famous boiled chicken in Fujian is produced in Changting County, Longyan City. The local area is inhabited by Hakka people, even known as the "Hakka Capital", so in the process of cooking boiled chicken, there is also rich Hakka food.
The practice is much more complicated than that of Jiangsu and Zhejiang white-chopped chicken, which is washed and pickled with castrated cocks; Dry steaming, not cooking, Hakka people think that boiling water will make the taste dissipate; Finally, naturally cool thoroughly, drizzle with onion and ginger juice, and then cut into pieces to eat.
Although this kind of white-cut chicken is not as refreshing as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the dry steamed chicken is full of chewiness, and the stimulation of onion and ginger is just right, which makes the chicken more delicious.
This kind of white-cut chicken is delicious without dipping in sauce, especially the tip of wings and chicken feet, which is a good material for making wine. As the Hakkas say, "A pair of chicken feet drink a pot".
Like Jiangsu and Zhejiang people, Fujian people also have the tradition of deep-processing white-cut chicken with distiller's grains. The difference is that the by-product of Shaoxing yellow rice wine brewed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is bad bittern, while that brewed in Fujian is green wine, which is a kind of rice wine brewed with red yeast and has natural red pigment. Its bad side is called red distiller's grains.
Adding red distiller's grains to chicken not only increases the aroma of wine, but also has the function of coloring. If the bad chicken is compared to a scholar in Jiangnan who is personable and introverted; Then Red Bad Chicken is an eight-point son-in-law, dressed in red, with a cool temperament.
Guangqiong: Guangdong-style poached chicken Hainan chicken rice
| Nanyang Past |
Cantonese-style white-cut chicken is the most complicated and exquisite type in the pedigree of China white-cut chicken. The original refreshing and simple cooking has become extremely elegant in Cantonese cuisine.
White salt water is necessary. It is a soup stock made of chicken bones, pork spine, dried ginger, licorice, cinnamon and other spices. It is the secret recipe of every chicken shop. When cooking, use a big fire to carry the chicken "up and down" to prevent the chicken skin from bursting. When the water boils, turn off the fire and stew for a few minutes. When the salt water cools naturally, the chicken is cooked.
Pick it up, sprinkle coriander with sesame oil, which can not only enhance the flavor, but also prevent the brine soaked in chicken from flowing out and turn the meat into firewood. In recent years, some shops refer to the practice of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, mixing with cold water. It's delicious, but it's no longer the traditional Cantonese style of white-cut chicken.
If the heat is well controlled, the white-cut chicken is extremely tender, the meat around the chicken bones is slightly pink, the bone marrow is still bloody, the chicken skin becomes soft and delicious due to soaking, and the subcutaneous fat condenses slightly due to natural cooling. Master Cai Lan, a native of Chaozhou, certainly knows Lao Guang's way. His description is: "Boiled chicken must not be thoroughly cooked. Completely cooked meat is like rotten cloth, and it can't taste chicken at all; People who know how to eat chicken like chicken skin best. The so-called chicken skin is not fat or delicious, and there is a jelly-like glue between the skin and the meat. It's great to eat chicken skin and suck the marrow of chicken bones. "
Cantonese-style white-cut chicken is also very particular about dipping sauce. Authentic old Cantonese people don't like soy sauce, that is, boiled chicken dipped in soy sauce, which is considered to be the most casual and common dipping sauce.
The authentic Guangzhou way of eating is garlic, sesame and oil vegetables; It is also good to hook the onion oil dish with onion and soy sauce; A relatively small number of people have a mustard dish, which is made of small clams and mustard. It is slightly irritating and fishy when eaten with chicken. In addition, there is a very popular ginger dish in the food stall. Ginger is not ginger, but a root spice with a strange taste. After crushing, it can be mixed with garlic and "sniffed" with hot oil, giving off the most charming taste on the streets of Guangzhou in summer nights.
Hainan, which is separated from Guangdong by water, actually has a tradition of eating boiled chicken, and the practice is similar. What is more special is that Hainan people like to add green orange juice to dipped vegetables, which is full of tropical customs with Southeast Asian flavor at first glance. In fact, the popular "Hainan Chicken Rice" in tourist attractions is not an invention of Hainan people, but a Southeast Asian version of boiled chicken made by overseas Chinese in Singapore, Malaysia and other places. In order to miss the taste of the old country, the white brine of Cantonese-style boiled chicken was improved and Nanyang-style spices such as citronella and colored leaves were added.
This kind of white-cut chicken is unique in dipping, and black soy sauce, Chili sauce, ginger and garlic, which are known as "three sauces for the soul", are essential. Coconut sugar black soy sauce is thick and sweet. Chili sauce is made of garlic, white vinegar, sugar and fish sauce. It's sour, sweet and spicy. These three sauces together turn ordinary chicken into pheasant.
In addition, overseas Chinese in Nanyang generally come from humble origins. Although it has been circulated for a hundred years, it cannot change the essence of simplicity. Unfortunately, the brine for cooking chicken is poured out, but it is easy to deteriorate in the hot climate of Southeast Asia, so it cooks just right. The cooked rice is wrapped in chicken oil, and the grains are bright and delicious. Even without vegetables, you can easily kill two bowls.
Sichuan and Chongqing: white cut chicken, white cut chicken
| When chicken meets red oil |
The word "cut" is too weak, and the word "chop" has a strong flavor of Jiangnan. It is not a verb with strong taste such as "chop" and "slaughter", which can't express Sichuan people's taste preference and attitude towards boiled chicken.
In fact, there are many names for boiled chicken, diced chicken and dipping sauce in Sichuan Basin. Chengdu has "big chicken" and Chongqing has "saliva chicken", but the most popular ones are "white cut chicken" and "white cut chicken".
Guo Moruo, a Sichuanese, described it this way: "I ate boiled chicken, sliced pork with white beard and Chili peppers in my hometown of Sichuan when I was a teenager. Now I want to repay you ..."
In fact, the practice of Sichuan-style boiled chicken is similar. The chicken is cooked and cut into pieces, with spicy spices such as rattan pepper oil, red pepper and white sesame.
Sichuanese divide the way of eating spices into "drenching flavor juice, mixing flavor juice and pouring flavor juice". "Mao Mao Rain Juice" is suitable for hotels. In front of the guests, pour the red seasoning on the chicken, which is very ceremonial and beautiful. "Mixed flavor juice" is more common in take-away cooked food, and it is suitable for attracting customers. "Pouring sauce" means that diners soak their food in a seasoning dish, which is a bit like Cantonese food and Shanghai food.
-End-
Whether it is white-cut chicken, white-cut chicken or white-slaughtered chicken, the quality of the chicken itself is of course the most important, but it may not be like what many people do, only free-range grass chickens can qualify.
In fact, the beauty of white chicken is tender. Once the free-range chickens grow to edible size, the meat will become thick and hard, and the soup will be good, but the white cut will be inferior. It is best to grow fast and tender Sanhuang chicken, such as Qingyuan chicken, Wenchang chicken, Longgang chicken and Xiaoshan chicken.
In Talking about Eating Poor, Shu Guozhi said that an American restaurant advertised that its chicken came from Fangshan Farm, but China gourmets took a bite and found that it was "no different from delicious China chicken."
In fact, the golden, bright, smooth and delicious Chinese boiled chicken is not only delicious, but also permeates China people's attitude towards life: no matter how you eat it, you can enjoy it.