Put it in your mouth, the skin is soft and waxy, and the meat is plump. It smells like meat, sauce, sweet, compound, slow fire, pushing open the door, mom, grandma, and the excitement of cooking braised pork for the first time. It seems that your chopsticks can't stop.
Finally, mix a bowl of rice with a sticky gelatinous sauce.
The history of braised pork.
People in China can't eat braised pork gracefully in the first year. However, the famous Su Dongpo once wrote: "Huangzhou good pork, the price is like dirt, the rich refuse to eat, and the poor don't know how to cook. Slow fire, less water, beautiful when the fire is enough. Come and play a bowl early every day, it's all your own control. "
This is the earliest braised pork. During the Northern Song Dynasty, mutton was the most popular, and pork was considered as the food of the inferior people at that time. Su Dongpo rediscovered pork and pushed braised pork from behind the scenes to the stage. Therefore, whenever I eat braised pork, I will meditate in my heart; "Long live Su Dongpo! You are a great person! "
Needless to say, the following history. You just need to know that from then on, braised pork became popular and came to our table, and became an inseparable part of our country together with jiaozi, porcelain, the Great Wall and Taiwan Province Province.
2, a bowl of good meat
To put it bluntly, a good bowl of braised pork is nothing more than three points: good meat, good soy sauce and sufficient heat.
meat
Let's go back to meat. Good braised pork should use three layers of pork belly, one layer of pigskin, one layer of lard and one layer of lean meat. Better still, five layers of pork belly are pink, with one layer of pigskin, one layer of lard, one layer of thin lean meat, another layer of lard and one layer of thick lean meat.
This kind of meat usually appears in the front abdomen of pigs near the front legs. It is said that this kind of fatness can reach up to ten floors. I have never seen it. Please contact me if you see it.
As for pig breeds, there are Jinhua Liangtouwu, Netease Weiyang pig, Iberian black pig full moon abroad, Tibetan fragrant pig with pure heart and so on.
What I like best is the free-range local pigs of my relatives in rural areas. The water in the back mountain is delicious. Wuhua was used to make braised pork and gave me a pot of pig's head meat, which made a dog named Huang drool all over the floor and chased his tail to bite.
soybean
Beans are the soul of Chinese food, and soy sauce is the standard of Chinese food. There is a lot of knowledge in it. Let me sum up, there are about three realms.
1, there are two kinds of domestic soy sauce: brewed soy sauce and prepared soy sauce. Among them, brewed soy sauce is produced by pure biological fermentation and has stronger flavor. So choosing to brew soy sauce is the first layer.
2. There are two kinds of soy sauce brewing: "high salt dilute fermentation" and "low salt solid fermentation", in which "high salt dilute fermentation" has high salt water content, longer fermentation time and more mellow. So "high salt and dilute fermentation" is the second layer.
3, the third floor is a little unclear-whether it is brewed with traditional techniques. The ancient French school adopted natural drying technology, while the modern school adopted closed fermentation, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Duration and degree of heating
Yuan Mei wrote braised pork: "It's best to be so rotten that you can't see the edge. It's catchy and thin. This is all because of the heat. " I have met many chefs, and it takes no less than 90 minutes to cook braised pork. My friend was busy in Beijing, and cooked a neat Shanghai dish, especially a braised pork, which was well received. He cooked Shanghai braised pork for at least two hours.
Xiaokuan, the boss of Dakou Group, is famous for braised pork. The following is what I picked from his Braised Everything. I've tried it several times, and it's very reliable.
Additional dishes outside the main course
A bowl of braised pork, the meat is good and the juice is good, and stuttering is too wasteful. If it doesn't match, just send it to heaven. There are braised pork all over the country, and each place has its own side dishes. In my personal experience, the following dishes can make the finishing point.
1, eggs
The most common ones are eggs, boiled eggs and tiger skin eggs. Eggs absorb the soup of braised pork, like Gao Yuanyuan, which looks good without makeup and looks better with makeup.
Step 2: potatoes
In the vast northern region, the best side dish of braised pork is steamed bread, with more potatoes, and the perfect braised pork with potatoes. The soup is full of gum and can't be opened.
3. Bamboo shoots
In spring, my favorite collocation is bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots that have accumulated energy for a winter are roasted with braised pork, which is crisp and tender, and the fragrant and mixed meat of bamboo shoots is eye-catching.
4. Venice knot
Good braised pork with white leaves should be cooked long enough to force the meat into it before eating.
5. Rice
Hot glistening rice with braised pork soup and a few pieces of braised pork is tender and affectionate. The so-called ecstasy rice, braised pork is more suitable than barbecued pork.
6. Red wine
Red wine is tender and helps digestion. Choose rich red wine full of oak barrel flavor with braised pork, which is booming and complements each other. You can try Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon in Kunavara, rioja and Napa Valley.
3, 6 bowls of braised pork
Here are six bowls of braised pork in my mind, classic. Bowls make people cry. If you follow the picture, remember to prepare more napkins.
(1) Hangzhou Four Seasons Jinsha Hall
Recommended: Braised abalone
As the Chinese restaurant of Four Seasons Hotel, Jinsha Hall is so good that it queues up every day and tables are placed in the aisle. Chef Wang Yong has a braised pork sealed with a sword, "like a patina". He chose the best double-headed black and white flowers and stewed them with pure yellow wine and soy sauce. It's beautiful and charming, melting at the entrance, without peaks or edges.
(2) Fishing songs in Jiangnan, Hangzhou
Recommended: Braised pork in Chinese ink
Brother Jiangnan fisherman hid in Shiwukui Lane, an old street next to Hangzhou Drum Tower. The old foundation of Ningbo cuisine has unexpected innovations. Ningbo cuisine pays attention to borrowing seafood. Boss, Cai, there is a braised pork in Chinese ink. It looks rotten and black, but it is delicious and delicious. Chopsticks can't stop.
(3) Nanjing Shangri-La Jiangnan stove
Recommended: Braised pork with radish
Jiangnan stove has become a business card of Nanjing cuisine in the past two years. Chef Hou Xinqing is a master of Huaiyang cuisine. He pays attention to ingredients, original flavor, punctuality, inheritance and originality. A simple radish braised pork, without a drop of water, was stewed with carved flowers for five years. Radish is fragrant and soft, and the meat is as fresh as spring breeze.
(4) Shanghai Yuanyuan
Recommended: Yuanyuan braised pork
Shanghai is a paradise for braised pork, and Yuanyuan is known as "the first braised pork in Shanghai", occupying the first place in the list of braised pork in Shanghai all the year round, which is the authentic taste of this group. A bowl of braised pork, crispy and delicious, melts in the mouth and is recognized by picky Shanghainese. But pay attention to eating it while it is hot. It's a little hard to bite when it's cold.
(5) Shanghai Old Market
Recommended: Braised pork with cheese
The old market is my favorite local restaurant. In recent years, it has almost become standard for people from other places to eat local dishes. Their braised pork is cooked with local pigs in Chongming Island and thick red sauce, or with eggs, mullet, dried bamboo shoots and fresh bamboo shoots. By the way, if you go to Tian Ping Road, you can open a bottle of wine and order food at Constellation Wine, which is more comfortable.
(6) Beijing Huaiyang Building
Recommended: signature secret braised pork
Huaiyang House is a must for Huaiyang cuisine in Beijing, and braised pork is the best. Their braised pork is moderately sweet, big and tender. Moreover, in terms of seasonal dishes, my favorite season is autumn and winter, which neutralizes the greasy braised pork and smells delicious.
Finally, we should also make it clear that the best braised pork is cooked by mom, and the second best is cooked by grandma. This core idea will not change.