Mianyang Sanzheng is one of the traditional famous dishes in Mianyang, Hubei Province (now Xiantao City). It belongs to Hubei cuisine, is a wonderful flower in Hubei cuisine, and occupies an important position among the famous dishes in China. Mianyang people love to eat steamed vegetables and have the custom of not steaming vegetables, so it is called the hometown of steamed vegetables. What is "Mianyang Three Steams"? This is the first question for many cooking lovers and diners. "Three steaming" originally refers to steaming fish, meat and vegetables. Some people say that "Mianyang Three Steams" means steamed pork, steamed pearl Zi Yuan and steamed white balls, while others say that "Mianyang Three Steams" means steamed herring, steamed pork and steamed vegetables. In fact, these statements are biased. The correct statement should be: "Mianyang Three Steams" refers to the floorboard of steamed livestock, steamed aquatic products and steamed vegetables.
As for the steaming method, the so-called "three" has become an approximate number, and there are no fewer than 90 kinds of steaming methods, such as powder steaming, soup steaming, steaming, cannon steaming, buckle steaming, brewing steaming, package steaming, sealed steaming, pattern steaming and dry steaming.
Xiantao folk generally use powder steaming, buckle steaming and bubble steaming, including steamed pearl Zi Yuan, steamed white balls, steamed bean curd Zi Yuan, steamed bream (Wuchang fish), steamed peacock Wuchang fish, steamed sweet and sour mandarin fish, steamed Yangtze silver carp, steamed herring, steamed pork, steamed ribs and steamed pork.
There are many kinds of raw materials for Mianyang Sanzheng. Most meat, aquatic products and vegetarian dishes can be steamed. Mianyang Sanzheng is good at steaming with flour, and is also very particular about the use of rice noodles. First, add pepper, star anise and cinnamon into the pot, bake the rice until it is light yellow, then cool it and process it into rice noodles. There is also a set of mature production methods in knife work and mixing: coarse rice flour should be used for livestock and poultry meat; Refined rice flour is selected for aquatic products; Knife workers, according to different raw materials, should adopt different knife methods, some are chopped, some are shredded, some are cut into pieces, and some are not cut. It is a valuable experience that Mianyang people have constantly summed up in the long history.
Mianyang's "third-rate" can be handed down from the Yuan Dynasty through many dynasties. It combines the hard work and wisdom of Mianyang working people and creates a food brand. The development from native land to outland shows that its vitality and penetration are strong and lasting. In Xiantao today, Mianyang Sanzheng has always been an indispensable part of folk banquets. Known as "three steaming, nine buckles and ten bowls, no one can serve the table (steamer)", it has become a widely circulated food culture phenomenon.