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Many years ago, I read Xu Xinyu's Travels in Shu, and found it very interesting. Xu Xinyu's father was a magistrate of Jiajiang County, and the lobby of the folder is facing Emei Mountain. At that time, Xu Xinyu was still young, and he often ran around the lobby with a group of children. Occasionally, he was shocked by the beautiful scenery in front of him: "Look at the snow in Emei Mountain, and the official department is also full of eyes. The Jinding of Zhengshan is still blazing." Times have changed. There were already many tall buildings on the original site of the yamen. It's not easy to see such a scene. However, my search for Jiajiang cuisine started here, which may make up for my regret and get a different experience.

Of course, we have to start with Mount Emei. Jiajiang County is located at the northern foot of Mount Emei, which is the transition zone from the southwest edge of Sichuan Basin to Mount Emei. The overall landform of the county is composed of hills, plain dams and river valley platforms, with an altitude difference of several thousand meters. Fiona Fang has formed a unique regional ecological environment, and its diet is also affected by this, which naturally brings some regional characteristics.

Ma Xie roasted meat

Shanzhen: Ma Xie barbecue

Hong Chou, an Amin, once commented on Jiajiang: "Jiajiang is also a good city of Shu. In the upper reaches of history, people are mountains and rivers, and they are delicious. " The unique geographical conditions endow Jiajiang with rich products, which is also the material basis of a local diet. Jiajiang has the advantage of relying on mountains, so its food is naturally indispensable to the mountain people.

Jiajiang is the hometown of bamboo. Yang Xiong once wrote in Shu Du Fu: "Jiajiang is on the side of the mountain, looking for a pawn. Only by taking root can we fill the wilderness. " It's about the lush growth of bamboo forests with mountains and slopes here two thousand years ago. Previously, bitter bamboo shoots were mainly produced in Emei and Jiajiang mountainous areas. When bitter bamboo shoots came out in April and May, only places like Jiajiang could eat bitter bamboo shoots. In the 1980s, Zhang Chunrong, the apprentice of Blu-ray swordsman, went to Jiajiang, and the locals let him eat bamboo shoots. He was surprised that he didn't know about it.

Although bitter bamboo shoots are seasonal, Jiajiang has a long production cycle. The bitter bamboo shoots in Yingjiang Township have just been eaten, and the bitter bamboo shoots in Huatou Mountain are the first batch. The time to eat bamboo shoots is more than March, and it is rare in other places. The practice of bitter bamboo shoots in Jiajiang is quite common, such as roast chicken with bitter bamboo shoots, roast meat with bitter bamboo shoots and jiaozi soup with sauerkraut, which is the most common and fresh for a while. The bitter taste of bitter bamboo shoots is unique, which can best be reflected by cold bitter bamboo shoots. In fact, it is to shred bitter bamboo shoots and add a little salt, but it is full of bitterness, refreshing and refined.

Soak bitter bamboo shoots

Snow beans produced in Jiajiang, especially in Huatou Mountain, are white and waxy with rich nutrition. Today, the old chefs in Jiajiang are still talking about the stewed chicken and pig's feet with snow beans before the 1990 s. Snow beans are easy to stew, can be melted into thick soup, taste excellent, and are really good tonics. However, snow beans are almost oily and fleshy in nature, growing in deep mountains, with elegant appearance, which is very different from bitter bamboo shoots.

Ma Xie Barbecue is the best way to embody the characteristics of Jiajiang Mountain. Ma Xie is a place name of Jiajiang, located in the mountainous area on the edge of Jiajiang, bordering Emei Mountain in the west and related to the ancient road Ma Xie. Probably it was before pedestrians crossed mountains and mountains to this point, and it was at the sharp point that "resting horses and burning meat" came into being. "Ma Xie Barbecue" selects five flowers, scalds them in an oil pan, and cuts them into cubes. When cooking, fresh vegetables such as green bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage are seasonal vegetables. When it is medium-cooked, it is fat but not greasy, and it is fragrant and delicious. This is a very delicious dish, which can remind us of the taste buds of the later times.

Macun fish head is boiled in the pot.

Freshwater: Macun fish head

Jiajiang is not only beside Emei Mountain, but also beside Qingyi River. There are many streams in the territory. It is a famous water pier, and there are also many fresh and delicious rivers. Qin Jiucheng, the chef of Jiajiang in the Republic of China, had two famous dishes: mullet willow and red-roasted silver carp, which were unique, and this was related to the benefits of Jiang. There is a knack for mullet fillets. Fresh mullet fillets are used as raw materials, which are characterized by spicy but not impetuous, oily but not greasy. But now you can't eat mullet in restaurants, but fresh mullet is very common and is a local popular food. I ate this dish in a restaurant in Ganjiang town that day. It was red and white, but I felt that the white taste was better and the food was beautiful. Onions, ginger and garlic adorn it, and the meat is bright and white, which greatly increases my tongue.

Nowadays, in Jiajiang, the fish head of Macun is the most respected seafood. Macun is a small town more than ten kilometers away from Jiajiang County. The fish head comes from nearby Macun Reservoir, and a Macun River is connected with Qingyi River. I personally witnessed the whole process of cooking Macun fish head: Macun fish head is usually made of silver carp, and the fish head is washed for later use. Pour an appropriate amount of water into the pot, and pour the pickled cabbage fried in the morning into the water until it turns sour. It is said that fried sauerkraut is very important, but the ingredients and proportions are so secret. Then cook the fish, add seasoning, and put a lot of Toona sinensis buds, Pogostemon and shallots on the surface after cooking. Toona sinensis buds, in particular, have special fragrance, such as plant monosodium glutamate. Toona sinensis buds of Macun fish head should be used all year round, but the picking season of Toona sinensis buds is less than one month, so there is a knack for storage. You can eat Toona sinensis buds with unique fragrance all year round, which is indeed a major feature of Macun fish head.

Macun fish head soup is hot and sour, and the fragrant fish is fresh and tender, which makes people feast their eyes. Mr. Cai, who is over 70 years old, studied under Chengdu Rongleyuan in his early years. He is a very famous chef in Jiajiang. He also analyzed three characteristics of Macun fish head for me: First, the fish comes from Macun Reservoir, with a wide lake and good water quality. The so-called "river boiled fish" is fresh; Second, sauerkraut is unique, it is homemade sauerkraut, and the brewing is quite clever; Third, it tastes better to cook fish with pure lard instead of clear oil or blended oil. However, it is also a miracle that a remote village has a delicious mouth because of a fish.

Potted macun fish head

Flat dam mat: nine bowls

Anyone who has been to Jiajiang will find that the whole county is actually on a flat dam. If you stand on a tall building, this feeling is more obvious. Jiajiang is bounded by Qingyi River, Hedong is a plain dam, and Hexi is a hilly and mountainous area. This geographical condition is very unique. Wang Yuyang, a great scholar in the early Qing Dynasty, once wrote in Shu Yi Dao Ji Cheng: "Entering Jiajiang, that is, ditches are dotted all over the place, and the smoky villages are warm and moist, like Wuzhong scenery."

"Like Wuzhong scenery", this Jiangnan temperament is also reflected in catering. That day, I chatted with Mr. Zhao Xiaorong, vice president of Jiajiang Catering Association, and talked about the dietary differences in Emei, Jiajiang and Leshan Triangle. He decided that Emei was sour and liked to use vinegar. Jiajiang is sweet and loves to put sugar; Leshan is somewhere in between. These three places are just the core areas of Minjiang River and Emei Mountain, and their geographical locations are similar, but even the mountains and rivers of Fiona Fang, which are hundreds of miles away, have very different languages and diets.

Kusun Chinese sauerkraut jiaozi soup

Chengdu-Kunming line crossing the border, Qingyi River passing through the city, and the prosperity of traditional paper industry have all brought catering prosperity to Jiajiang. During the Republic of China, Jiajiang held Zhan Wanghui every August in the lunar calendar, which was a grand event of the local catering industry. There is also the Leizu Festival in March of the lunar calendar, where the white case masters get together to show their cooking skills. At that time, the most famous chefs in Jiajiang were Jinshan, Qin Jiucheng, Guo Zhengqing and Jin. The most famous restaurant is Xingshunju in Yamenkou, which is an authentic Nantang restaurant with a thriving business. Its location is next to the main hall where you can see Mount Emei, and the food and beautiful scenery actually gather together, which makes people think. Mr. Li Fangyuan, a famous chef in Leshan, said that Jiajiang's catering industry was once the best in Leshan, and most of master chef came from Jiajiang. I think these are the details of Jiajiang catering.

Jiajiang cuisine is still dominated by traditional Sichuan cuisine, and the nine bowls can best reflect its characteristics. The nine bowls in Jiajiang are called Tian Xi, which is a typical dining feature of Pingba in the past. But Jiajiang has its own characteristics, for example, the cooking of crispy fish is different. Jiajiang knife scissors generally use fine flowers instead of big flowers; Use dried bean powder instead of water bean powder on the wrapping material; Jiajiang is called Douban Douban, which is brewed locally in Jiajiang and pays attention to freshness, freshness and fragrance. Another example is ginger elbow. Jiajiang uses cold ginger juice instead of hot ginger juice, and ginger is scalded with hot oil, which has a strong local flavor.

Jiajiang cold chicken

Jiajiang's cold chicken is also very distinctive, a hard dish in nine bowls. It uses boiled juice and chicken soup cooked with various seasonings, without adding monosodium glutamate and chicken essence, and maintains its original flavor. In other places, cold chicken often uses mixed juice, such as Leshan white chopped chicken. In fact, the reason why Jiajiang cold chicken is famous is also related to the ceramic industry in Daxing in the 1980 s and 1990 s The number of teething teeth is increasing day by day. In those days, vendors selling cold chicken peddled along the street with baskets and slowly became famous.

Flavor seasoning: Tumen pickle

I heard that Jiajiang's bean curd is famous, which is related to the bean curd of Dechang Garden, a time-honored Chinese brand. Jiajiang tofu began in Xianfeng period. Zou Sanhe, the earliest master, went to Jiajiang to set up a workshop after studying in Dechang Garden. Later, the name gradually became louder and louder, and it became famous in Sichuan. Of course, Jiajiang bean curd brain also has its own characteristics, not only original flavor, five flavors, but also spicy, eclectic and innovative in inheritance. This also proves that Jiajiang has always been a gathering place for delicious food, and Zou Sanhe has opened up a new pier. I don't think he expected that a hundred years later.

Ganjiang bean curd

Jiajiang's kimchi is also very famous, especially Tumen Kimchi. The earliest chef was Hu Zhiqiang from Tumen Town. He used to run a restaurant in town and cook some pickles. The guest thought it was delicious and wanted to take it away after eating, which triggered his idea of making kimchi specially. At present, many pickles are processed by putting industrial salt and various seasonings in a big pit, stirring with a forklift, and then crushing and bagging with a machine. There is no altar at all, which is very different from traditional kimchi. But the real kimchi must be brewed by the ancient method. In Tumen town, after I saw the vegetables in the earthen altar, the vegetables fermented in the altar, and there was a bubbling sound everywhere. If you are in the country, frogs will come like the tide, which is very poetic. Tumen kimchi ushered in the peak season in May and June, and garlic and green onions began to step onto the altar, followed by cowpea and pepper. Vitex negundo and Vitex negundo are the best peppers with thin skin and thick flesh. The pickled peppers in Tumen are moderately hot and sour, tender and crisp, which is really a must.

Tofu and kimchi are not only eaten at home, but also the seasoning for cooking, which is similar to douban. It is with such a high-quality food "embryo" that the food in a place will become fascinating and charming.

Jiajiang pickle shop

There are many snacks: meat bars.

Look at the food in a place, in fact, you can get a general idea by looking at its snacks. You need a bowl of bean curd to go to Jiajiang. After eating, you can go around the town. It's called glad you came. Yebal should have tasted it this morning. The "Zeng Ye Er Ba" on Yingchun Road has a good reputation, and the steamer is steamed together. The meat in this shop is very special. The shredded leaves are as white as jade, slightly sweet, and there is a hint of fermented rice fragrance, which makes this morning fall into an instant trance.

Go to the "Ye Baozi" in Fruit Street. The fresh meat buns in this shop are not to be ignored by Tianjin dogs, with thin skin and strong onion flavor. The biggest feature of leaf steamed stuffed bun is that it only uses leeks instead of ginger and garlic, so the steamed stuffed bun smells all over the street, and sometimes you will find that this is the fireworks that a small town should have.

Jiajiang "Zeng Ye Er Bar"

There are many delicious things in Jiajiang. It seems that you can find delicious food at any stall. For example, when I passed by Wuchang, I saw a small restaurant called "Wuchang Beef", which steamed, roasted, stewed, mixed and fried everything. But I only ordered a dish I haven't eaten-crispy beef, which is spicy and tender and really delicious. I thought at that time that if I didn't order three or five dishes and put on two or two small wines, I would never be sorry for other people's craftsmanship.

Jiajiang Qili roast duck is being cured.

Jiajiang diet gives me the feeling that there are delicious foods hidden in the alley. Inadvertently, Jiajiang delicacies such as roast duck, stewed chicken, lei barbecue and Longjiang-style wonton soup may come upon us, making people feel gluttonous. Understanding a city often begins with delicious food. Walking on the streets of Jiajiang, I can feel a kind of tranquility, leisure and complacency. During the Tongzhi period, Chen Yuzan, the magistrate of Jiajiang County, sat in the lobby of the Department, facing Mount Emei. Perhaps what he wants is such a state: "I hope that the people will be safe and there will be no emergencies, so that I can get a word and sing a song casually on the road."

Extended reading

Archives around us | A taste of history ②: A pot of stew on the bridge beach made the rivers and lakes famous all over the world.

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