Tagangshan wonton?
Zhuxiang Guangning is the hometown of Chinese chefs. Its delicacies such as wontons, dumplings, and bamboo noodles have been made for more than a thousand years and are well-known in Lingnan and even overseas. After the Jingkang Incident in the late Northern Song Dynasty, people from the Central Plains who fled south settled in Guangning and lived integrated with the aborigines. The ancestors improved the northern wonton raw materials and production methods brought by the ancestors, and used the high-quality local resources in Guangning Zhuxiang to develop the characteristic Guangning wontons with thin and crispy skin, thick meaty fillings, fresh and mellow soup, and fragrant teeth. , passed down to this day.
After Guangning was established as a county in 1559, the seventeenth year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty, several wonton shops were opened in the south street of the county. The wonton making and cooking skills are becoming more and more exquisite, especially on the ancient post road at the foot of Tagang Mountain. The nearby wonton shop is the best, and there is an endless stream of diners coming from far and wide.
The name of Tagang Mountain comes from Huang Mengrui, the county magistrate. Huang Mengrui was a native of Jianou County, Fujian Province and was born in Juren. In the third year of Ming Dynasty (1623), he was appointed as magistrate of Guangning County, and later promoted to Tongzhi of Fuzhou (now Linchuan City, Jiangxi Province). At that time, he believed that the lack of great literati in Guangning was due to "deficiencies in literary peaks" and "poor feng shui", so he built a literary tower on the hillside of Duxiang Village in the southwest of the county. After the Wenbi Pagoda was built in the sixth year of Ming Dynasty (1626), Guangning produced literati such as Chen Zhiyuan and Zhou Diankang, and the hill was named Tagang Mountain.
There is an ancient official road post road at the foot of Tagang Mountain, which connects to the county seat in the north, and leads to Shi'ao in the south to Guanbu, the ferry crossing of Suijiang River (due to Shangguan's inspection or the appointment of county officials, he went up the river from the provincial capital and took an official boat to get here. After the port, we left the boat and walked ashore, then took a sedan chair to enter the city (hence the name Guanbu). When the ancients walked along the official road to the county town, they would see the majestic Wenbi Tower standing on the mountain. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the Wenbi Pagoda fell into disrepair, but this old wonton shop at the foot of Tagang Mountain was still passed down from generation to generation, and its business was booming. There were many diners passing by, hoping to taste the famous Guangfu delicacies. Guangning tourists who go out to do business, work, or visit relatives and friends, when passing by the Tagang Mountain wonton shop, will also go in to eat wontons, dumplings, and bamboo noodles. In addition to satisfying their hunger, they also don’t know when they will return to their hometown. Have to pay it back? After eating wontons, you will remember the unique delicacies of your hometown in your heart and take them to other places to relieve your homesickness.
Longhai County, Fujian Province, was appointed as the magistrate of Guangning County in the 23rd year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1684). When he took office, he took an official boat from the provincial capital Guangzhou up the Pearl River and Suijiang River, disembarked at Guanbu Pier, and entered the county town in an official sedan with his entourage. He had heard for a long time that Guangning wontons were particularly delicious, so he asked his entourage to pay attention to wonton shops along the way. After passing Shouyu, he took the ancient road and took a break to drink tea at Shi'aoling. He felt even more hungry. The tea stall owner told me: There is a wonton shop in Tagang Mountain in the southwest of the county that has been around for more than a century. There are so many diners that the supply exceeds demand. The county magistrate thanked the stall owner and urged the sedan to get up. When we arrived at the foot of Tagang Mountain, we saw that the wonton shop was full of diners and the aroma was overflowing. The entourage rushed to the counter. Ask the shopkeeper to quickly make wontons for the master to eat. When the owner saw that the official was tired from traveling far away, he asked the diners to wait and let the official eat to satisfy his hunger before he could continue on his business trip. The owner quickly went to the workshop behind the store to send extra manpower, and he and his waiters rushed to cook and serve the wontons himself.
After enjoying the wontons, the magistrate was full of praise, saying that he had never eaten wontons with such thin and crispy skin, thick and smooth meat filling, and mellow soup. He went to the kitchen to observe the production process. The entourage wanted to buy some more wontons and take them to the county government, but the county magistrate said: "No! We are disturbing the people by eating them before our friends. How can we waste the time of our guests? Let's come back another day." Everyone said: " I have important work to do, so I can wait for you later." The magistrate asked his attendants to give him more money to thank the shop owner. After that, the group went north through Duxiang Village, crossed Qingyun Bridge, entered Qingyun Archway, passed through Qingyun Lane, arrived at the south gate, entered the county government office, and took up their duties.
Huang Jin has been in Ningren County for many years and loves Tagang Mountain wontons. In your spare time from work, you can go to the store with your entourage or alone to enjoy handmade wonton noodles. Many times, he and his family would eat Quang Ninh wontons as a main meal. Later, they simply asked the local home chefs to go to Tagangshan Wonton Shop to learn the skills from his master. This young Guangning chef was ingenious and learned the unique skills of making wontons, so that the magistrate could eat at home almost as good as those from Tagangshan. The wontons, dumplings and bamboo noodles taste the same as the wonton shop. Every person in charge of the county magistrate brought Guangning wontons to the provincial capital as gifts to relatives and friends, and the reputation of Guangning wontons became more widespread. He also uses his own salary to reward the shops and masters who are skilled in traditional handicrafts, so that the quality of Guangning wontons, dumplings, and bamboo noodles are constantly improved, passed down, and famous in Lingnan.
In the 30th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1691), Emperor Nian Huang had outstanding political achievements in "putting an end to theft and protecting the people, building a school palace, setting up free schools, and making the people happy and peaceful", so he was summoned to Beijing. Huang Jin was promoted to a Beijing official from "Acting on the Order", and Guangning was "missed by the soldiers and the people."
Huang Jin invited his Guangning chef to accompany him to the imperial capital Beijing.
After taking office smoothly and having a stable life, he asked the chef to buy the same ingredients as those in Quang Ninh and make Quang Ninh Tagang Mountain wontons, dumplings and bamboo noodles. Dried bamboo shoots, fungus, mushrooms, etc. were brought from Quang Ninh. In his spare time from official duties, he invites colleagues, relatives and friends to taste the gold. Everyone had endless aftertaste after eating, and they all said that they were lucky to have tasted such delicious Lingnan delicacies, and they regretted meeting each other so late. After this matter spread in the capital and the north, more people came one after another. The Huang Mansion was crowded, but it was a hardship to everyone in the Huang Mansion, especially the Guangning chef.
Nowadays, a TV tower stands on Tagang Mountain. Amidst the green forests, Guangning Wonton Shop inherits the ancient craftsmanship and welcomes diners from all over the world and tourists returning home with its exquisite delicacies.