The history of bowls

From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Yibin people got married, mourned, celebrated the opening of business and invited the "full moon". Traditional banquets are mostly nine kinds of meat dishes, commonly known as "nine bowls" or "nine bowls". It is said that this custom of "nine bowls" originated in Xiaogan Township, Macheng County, Hubei Province. This kind of Xikou, which Yibin people love to see and hear, has the characteristics of "Dahebang" among the five major schools of Sichuan cuisine, and its spicy taste is slightly inferior to that of "Chongqing Bang". The salty taste is slightly stronger than that of "Chengdu Gang"; Unlike the "Xiaohe Gang" in Suining, Santai, Nanchong and Guang 'an, it focuses on "speculation"; What's more, unlike those "self-help" who win by "strange dishes", they satisfy the tastes of "Grandpa Salt" and "Sugar Factory Boss"; Almost all the nine bowls are named after "pig", with bamboo shoots, taro, pedals (also known as "Hu Aishan" and fire sticks) and so on. In the old society, materials were scarce, and most people took "nine bowls" as the top grade. Therefore, up to now, Yibin folks still take "eating nine bowls" as a synonym for banquet guests. Although today's dishes are mostly in the form of ten or twenty when entertaining guests, Yibin people still shout with the humor of "fuzzy numbers" and "misty poems": Those gentlemen are eating "nine bowls" again.

The structure of the "nine bowls" of Yibin folk banquet guests is generally as follows: steamed head bowls (generally steamed head bowls, crispy meatball head bowls, and miscellaneous shake head bowls), meat buckles (boiled white) and miscellaneous buckles (steamed pork powder) are the main dishes; In addition, it is served with pork tripe and scraps from the above four dishes, and mixed with bamboo shoots, taro, simmered kelp and vermicelli to make five bowls, that is, nine bowls. If it is all pork and mutton (beef was not served in the old society) and there are no chickens and ducks, it is also called a "big water mat". Poor and middle peasants often subtract braised pork from their last meal and put their heads and feet into the water (miscellaneous belly), also called "eight bowls of water". In order to show their wealth, the rich often add main ingredients to the first bowl, which are called "tendon mat", "bamboo sun mat", "sea cucumber mat" and "shark fin mat" to show their higher grade. Some even made a fuss about the last course, adding steamed chicken with mushrooms, ribs and laver to make a "mushroom mat", burning sand hot pot to make a "hot pot mat", and inviting master chef in Zhaotong and other places to hold a "barbecue mat".

In the old society, Yibin generally used "nine bowls" to entertain guests in urban and rural areas, so a group of amateur chefs commonly known as "cooks" emerged in towns and villages. They usually grow vegetables or work to support their families, but they are good at cooking. Some are equipped with large steamer, hot pot, large casserole and dozens of pottery cups and saucers, which can be rented to meet the needs of banquet guests. Most of them don't open restaurants and hotels, but take "catering" as their skill. They are far from the present skills such as "jambalaya, whole chicken and whole fish boneless, dried seafood", but they have a set of excellent skills. Bamboo shoots weighing several kilograms can be cut into shredded bamboo shoots as thin as a stick with their "knife skills". A chef only needs to bring three or five hands (usually apprentices), from killing pigs in the dark, shaving their heads, cutting strips and staying up all night until hundreds of tables are served on time the next morning. Some banquets only use about three kilograms of meat on average, and ancient costumes can also be carefully designed so that each guest at the Eight Immortals table can get at least two crispy meatballs. No wonder Yibin folks often call kitchen workers "chefs and teachers", which seems to prove that they have the ability to be "officials" and are good at planning and coordinating various tastes.

Just as folk customs will inevitably develop and alienate with the changes of the times, the "nine bowls" of Yibin folk banquet are also "several storms, several spring and autumn". After liberation, during the cooperative period, people's lives were better, and the "Nine Bowls" were still popular. However, during the "three-year difficulties" and "ten-year catastrophe", due to the lack of materials, not only the "nine bowls" were closed long ago, but many people "didn't know the taste of meat in March". Sometimes people get married for weddings and funerals, and the happy events make up nine bowls, which are nothing more than more vegetables and less meat, tofu and melons, sweet potatoes, corn and rice. It is said that if a wax gourd is dyed red and sliced with salt as "white", the "nine bowls" will be unrecognizable. Since the reform and opening up, in just a few years, grain production has increased, fat pigs have had enough to eat, and people's living standards have steadily improved. Therefore, since the 1980s, "Nine Bowls" has become more popular because of its solid foundation. In the 1990s, the "Nine Bowls" not only changed their packaging, but also spread from pork to chicken, duck, fish and seaweed. At the same time, the number of dishes has increased from nine to several times. The old "Nine Bowls" are only kept in some rural areas.

In recent years, people began to talk about whether it is still appropriate to use "nine bowls" when entertaining guests. Some people have been accusing the outrageous behavior of "the more dishes, the better". Most people think that when recalling "nine bowls", don't forget the difficulty of "boiled melon", especially those over 40 years old think that we should cherish the hard-won food and clothing.