Why is the pea yellow in "Huang Er" expensive?
Pea yellow has already bid farewell to the past. A delicate, sweet, delicate and meticulous food that Cixi once enjoyed seriously has now been submerged in the temptation of countless new and old Beijing cuisines.
The hero worship in childhood should be a benign inheritance of genes buried deep in the bones. Legendary heroes are sometimes regarded as a rigid memory. Perhaps, pea yellow, as a street food, has affected and scratched "a blank sheet of paper" for generations.
Old details of the story about Cixi wanting to eat pea yellow.
The ancient capital Beijing. The unique background, the "emperor" and "emperor theory" that come out from here, often have no resistance. True or false, I take it seriously, there is no need to explain it in detail. Domineering-always.
In other words, 100 years ago, at the turn of spring and summer, Empress Dowager Cixi was happy to be in Beihai Park. Of course, at that time, this garden was not the boundary that everyone could enter. After walking around the big garden, the old lady sat down in the "meditation room" in the garden.
In this small garden, pea yellow was born wonderfully.
Not too early, not too late, just in time for dinner. At this time, there was movement outside the high wall of meditation. Several shouts and gongs sounded, which shocked the curious nerves of Cixi. People are too scared to go out.
Fortunately, Galeries Lafayette didn't hang his face happily at the moment: "What's that noise outside?" -"Report back to Lafayette, this is a shoulder vendor selling pea yellow and kidney bean rolls in the street."
According to the orders of Galeries Lafayette, Xiao Dan Tiao was searched out first, and then people called him into the small garden of meditation room. Have you seen the empress dowager? The peddler was afraid of losing his head, and with a bang, a man knelt down. When I woke up, I didn't know what the old Cixi's inquiry meant. I am busy holding pea yellow and kidney roll in my hand. "Please come to Lafayette." The peddler's voice trembled.
Unexpectedly, a small pea yellow and kidney bean roll was "sipped" into her mouth, and Cixi looked happy. "Stay!" This is directly approved by the organization. Vendors went into the imperial kitchen and put on imperial clothes, specializing in the production of two varieties that have just evolved into "imperial food".
From the folk street to the entrance of the imperial city, and from the imperial city to the folk, the life experience of pea yellow has changed repeatedly. It has nothing to do with disputes over other resources in other towns. No one, just one.
I have a question. Beihai Park, once a royal garden, has been surrounded by high walls. Even some old wall sections still exist. How can the sound outside be suddenly captured by the "old ears" of the old Cixi, with such a high, thick and strong wall?
Fictional stories, oral legends, and extra gossip? It's possible. One more, one less, and nobody cares.
In fact, it is more accurate to prove that as early as the Ming Dynasty, pea yellow bears roamed the streets of Beijing, but there was no "child care" and there was no way to go in and serve Zhu Jiachao, so they wandered around the Forbidden City.
Pea yellow in Beijing is divided into intensive cultivation and coarse cultivation.
I forgot to emphasize that pea yellow, as it is called in Beijing, must be called "Er". One is pure and unique to Beijing; Second, people understand that "Huang Er" is the core feature of pea yellow; Third, it looks kind and sounds soft.
There is a poem in the Qing Dynasty's capital "Hundred Chants of Gourmet in the Old Capital": "Gourmet has always belonged to Yanjing, and peas have long enjoyed a good reputation. Red dates are inlaid with gold chips, and ten pieces are bought in Huang Qiong. "
Ha ha! "Uh" has been called for hundreds of years. There is another key word: Huang Qiong. Topaz: expensive, marked in color, as fat as jade.
Peas are a traditional snack in Beijing. It turns out that between spring and summer, there are always people carrying burdens in the street. -Big! "Cried, and there was a unique rhythmic little gong outside.
Now all the year round, all the time, there is no shortage of pea yellow business. Preservation, anti-corrosion, packaging, refrigeration, manual production, mechanized production, not afraid that you can't buy it, but afraid that you can't buy it well.
There are always two ways to make pea yellow in Beijing.
One is an exquisite masterpiece: it refers to the classic Palace Que "Huang Zhuan" made of imitation food in Beihai Park. High cost, high consumption, exquisite appearance and feel. For example, Huang Qiong is average. Suitable for cocktail parties and banquets, as well as entertaining VIPs.
One is daily rough tillage: it refers to the coarse pea yellow sold by merchants who used to walk around the streets. Snack bars, supermarkets and small restaurants are now sold, and they all belong to this category unless otherwise specified. The cost is slightly lower, the manufacture is slightly simplified and the consumption is slightly lower. Color, shape and exquisiteness are not on the same level as the "Palace School".
Delicate is the transformation of rough. It turns out that the traditional folk practice is very simple: soak peas, cook them, lay them flat on a plate, cool them and cut them into pieces. In short: raw peas-cooked peas-fried with sugar-pressed into cakes.
The meticulous method is also simple, removing the coarse residue of pea pulp and taking its essence. Peel before cooking; After boiling in water, beep with a thin reed. One more process can keep the most delicate slurry as fat. The other part is not in the finished product. This can ensure that "pea yellow" is just like "Huang Qiong".
Another difference is that folk pea yellow is inlaid with red dates. When it entered the palace, it removed the combination of dates and left the purest and most delicate pea kernel.
In addition, in order to stabilize and enhance the lubricity of the finished product, the fine pea yellow is cooked by adding an appropriate proportion of agar during heating.
A flash of ancient heroes, even engraved in it?
Several buddies around me are still guarding street paintings. There is a big brother Dou, because my interest has attracted my repeated attention. You must ask: Why? Brother Dou told me a story about "pea yellow" between him and his family.
A lanky figure appeared in the alley mouth. Several round cages were slung over his shoulders, and a small gong was knocked in his hand. Seeing the children running towards him, the peddler put the round cage on the stone steps. The round cage containing pea yellow is fastened with brass nails; The upper and lower bite of the three-layer cage is tight and seamless; There is a copper bar across the bottom, and both sides are fixed with good beef tendons-this is the pick selling pea yellow.
Look into the round cage again: large pieces of pea yellow are sold piece by piece. What I am most interested in is not these, but the semi-finished products that spread together. Pea yellow and sugar are together, and they are not grouped when eaten. There are all kinds of molds and knives. These are "exciting" guys
I gathered around Uncle Pea and listened attentively, just to touch the gong: snap my fingers and listen to the sound. By the way, what is the floral design of pea yellow today?
Later, when I got acquainted, I realized that the vendor selling pea yellow was surnamed Chen, and the craft was passed down from generation to generation. My grandfather has even eaten pea yellow made by his elders in his life. I wonder if I'm bragging. Chen Shu dares to say that his grandfather's craft served Lafayette in the late Qing Dynasty.
I asked in a low voice, "Is there a new water margin?" "Yes!" Chen Shu replied. "How many molds do you have?" I'll be right there, boss. I like "Water Margin" since I was a child, which is related to my grandfather reading casual books together. From my grandfather's mouth, I learned Song Jiang's wit and forbearance, understood that Kung Fu was invincible, and especially admired Lu's great strength.
The semi-finished products of pea yellow spread together came in handy. I saw Chen clean his hands, hold up the material that can only hold one mold with white drawer cloth, and stuff it into the mold. Press it with your hand and scrape it with a ruler, and you will knock out a lifelike hero of the Water Margin.
There are always * * * ten models of the water margin characters, which are arranged without much effort. On-site production, exquisite to make a few little girls blindsided.
They begged Uncle Chen, can you make flowers? I saw Uncle Chen: Take a piece of pea yellow, knead it, and then carve it with a knife to carve several flower shapes. Peony is graceful and luxurious; Roses are delicate and small; Yulan thinks highly of herself. All this seems to be explained clearly with a meat cleaver.
Pangpang in the yard is good at fighting, so he begged Chen Shu to carve some guns. Shu's knife is fast and fast, and both the spear and the gun have been formed, so I clap my hands for joy.
In the end, it's up to Brother Dou to say it himself. Find a few plates, and how can you see how authentic these ten "Water Margin" are? That is fondle admiringly! I'm afraid I'll hit it. But pea yellow is edible after all! I really can't keep it for long. The old family said that it can only be released for seven or eight days. I always put it in my mouth until I can't put it down any more. I still have to read it in my heart, sorry heroes!
This solar term is to eat pea yellow.
Just like jiaozi and Zongzi, want to celebrate the holidays? Well, we eat it every day. It's also pea yellow. Snacks are always available, and you can buy them in supermarkets, with or without small packages, and you can do whatever you want.
Originally, the night market was quite formal, and it must be led by pea yellow. Because of this, there is the signboard of Cixi; Also, there is also a place for pea yellow in the thirteen cold foods; Again, this thing melts at the entrance. Who says it's unhealthy?
Pea yellow is an ancient food of China people. Now the longest-lived Muslim chain snack bar selling old Beijing-style snacks is really hot; Buy a box of fresh pea yellow, that's it! Other places? You don't go either.
Visiting the temple fair to eat pea yellow is also a pleasure. Just like holding a string of mutton skewers in your hand, it is also like shaking a string of Sugar-Coated Berry; Not just a plate of fried enema and a small bowl of mutton soup. In short, you will feel wronged if you don't eat a temple fair stall! The kids on the other side are yelling, is it so embarrassing not to give money?
Pea yellow is also a substitute for homesickness. People who wander overseas should imagine a kind of delicious food every holiday as a nostalgia for their hometown. No matter how well we get along, missing our hometown will always be a constant theme.
The following is a short essay on Thinking about Pea Yellow written by a veteran from Taiwan Province Province in 1990s. For the reader, the excerpt is as follows.
Pea yellow, freshly baked. The color of Huang Chengcheng is like a new green duck head and a tender golden willow tip. White porcelain plates, stacked in a pyramid shape, remind people of a girl who has just taken a bath-fresh and not contaminated with a trace of dust.
I carefully picked up a piece and put it in my mouth. Take a sip with your tongue and melt it. Miansha is sweet and rich, full of beans, and has a long aftertaste, just like a little coolness, reaching the hometown of dreams.
Suddenly, I woke up like a dream. Finally, I know: Why is pea yellow favored by Lafayette who has tasted all the delicious food in the world? Indulge in a summer afternoon rest, wait for the mottled shadow of the sun under the canopy of the courtyard, then brew a pot of jasmine tea, taste a few mouthfuls of pea yellow that I miss day and night, and freeze in the remnants of the Qing court.
That scene is like "stealing a half-day leisure is worth ten years of dusty dreams"-Beijing, your son came back from the other side of the strait to see you and worship you!
As the saying goes:
Soaking, boiling, sieving and filtering,
Reborn, reborn.
The wall has ears to attract food,
Moisturizing, smells like Huang Qiong.
It is said that teenagers worship heroes,
Carving the water margin is a great feat.
Pointing to the sunset in the yard,
Close observation of fragrant tea peas.