Exploring Ningxia-a feast on the tip of the tongue

Food bears the culture and memory of a region, and also embodies the deepest mourning for a hot spot. Ningxia, which is located in the geometric center of the motherland's territory, has been one of the areas where multi-ethnic cultures have exchanged and merged since ancient times. The collision and integration of civilizations have created the diversity and inclusiveness of local food culture, and made local food form a quaint and exquisite flavor, which precipitated the unique taste of Ningxia in the process of integration.

If the food in Ningxia is written as a story, the authentic food features such as Yanchitan sheep in Ningxia, Lycium barbarum in Ningxia, wine at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, beef in Liupanshan Mountain, Xiji potato, mugwort noodles in Zhongning, etc. will be the protagonists, as well as the long-term memories of Ningxia travelers and tourists from all over the world who come to Ningxia.

Lao Mao's hand is grasping.

Legend of the warm world of Yanchitan sheep

Walking on the streets of any city in Ningxia, restaurants featuring mutton are also the most eye-catching. The food signboards named after straightforward names and place names reveal the generous character of Ningxia people. As for mutton, there is a local proverb that "no sheep can leave Ningxia alive", which fully reflects the loyal love of the people of Ningxia for mutton.

On the way to eat mutton, there are only things you can't think of, and there is nothing that Ningxia people can't do. From head to toe, a sheep cooks dozens of unique lamb banquets according to the characteristics of ingredients in different parts, such as roast whole sheep, hand-grabbed mutton, frozen mutton, stir-fried mutton, stir-fried mutton, stewed mutton, mutton skewers, chop suey, roast mutton hoof and so on. , with 18 cooking methods.

The reason why Yanchitan mutton is delicious is inseparable from the quality of mutton ingredients. Yanchi County is located on the edge of Mu Us Desert, with endless Gobi Desert and vast saline-alkali land. Tan sheep growing here eat 29 kinds of desert plants such as licorice, Sophora alopecuroides and matrine, and grow up drinking bitter alkaline water. Alkaline food and water neutralize the acidity in sheep, making mutton tender but not tender and delicious. In the words of local people in Yanchi, Yanchi sheep "eat Chinese herbal medicine and drink mineral water."

Since 20 16, Yanchitan sheep, as the representative of Ningxia's ingredients, has been "four-boarded" in state banquets and enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad. Guoqiang's hand-grabbed rice and Du's entrails of sheep appeared in China 2 on the tip of the tongue. Mutton is also one of the most delicious foods in Ningmin Town. The impressive line is "You can't eat this beach sheep in Ningxia anywhere, it's not fragrant at all!"

Lycium barbarum feast: crispy wolfberry beach sheep back.

Red fancy ceremony of Lycium barbarum banquet

In 20021year, Ningxia released 28 dishes with Lycium barbarum as ingredients, which was the first time in Ningxia history that Lycium barbarum was put on a banquet. There is a crystal jelly-iceberg amber medlar, which is mainly made of fresh medlar. It not only looks good, but also tastes the original flavor of fresh fruit. Lycium barbarum is used as an auxiliary material, with famous products such as Yanchitan sheep, Liupanshan beef, Hu Sha fish head, Xiji potato, Zhongning Artemisia argyi noodles, wild Allium mongolicum Regel, etc., to stimulate the unique taste of the ingredients to the maximum extent. Lycium barbarum tastes sweet and sour. Use Lycium barbarum juice to make common cold dishes stick to one pattern in the dishes such as asparagus Lycium barbarum juice, coral Lycium barbarum juice, radish club, etc. Grinding Lycium barbarum fresh fruit into Lycium barbarum powder and scattering it in beef and yogurt will add flavor and color to these dishes. Ningxia people not only make their pulp into delicious food, but also use the stem tips and roots of Lycium barbarum as auxiliary materials to cook unique delicious food such as seven lilies in Shawo and thin-skinned Lycium barbarum bud packets.

As a special product of Ningxia, Lycium barbarum has been cultivated here for at least 500 years, and it was listed as "tribute fruit" during Hongzhi period of Ming Dynasty. There is a record about Lycium barbarum in the Annals of Zhongwei County in Qing Dynasty: "There are several kinds of Lycium barbarum gardens in Ning 'an area (now Zhongning County, Ningxia), and all provinces are willing to produce Lycium barbarum as medicine. Located in Yinchuan, Ningxia, Ningxia (Bairui Garden) Lycium barbarum Museum is a national 4A-level tourist attraction with Lycium barbarum as its theme. It is an open Lycium barbarum museum integrating China Lycium barbarum culture exhibition and Ningxia specialty exhibition. Because of Lycium barbarum, it has become a special network celebrity scenic spot in Ningxia, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

From the initial edible dried fruit to the deep processing of Lycium barbarum powder, Lycium barbarum seed oil, Lycium barbarum concentrated juice, Lycium barbarum fresh fruit powder, quick-frozen Lycium barbarum, chinese wolfberry wine and so on. And then to the stunning four-seat banquet, Ningxia people took the usage of medlar to the extreme.

Wine cellar of Cui Lan winery in Ningxia.

Wine, mellow purple dream

With the rise of the new format of winery tour, more and more tourists are attracted to Ningxia to taste wine and enjoy the starry sky. Ningxia has developed five sets of leisure tourism product menus of "wine at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain+landmark food" by matching wine with excellent local scenery. This menu was jointly created by Hu Zhongying, the head of catering culture expert of Hangzhou G20 Summit, Chen Yibin, the head chef of the reception unit of BRICS Summit, and four national star sommeliers. The side dishes are mainly Ningxia wine, and authentic ingredients such as Yanchitan sheep, Jingyuan yellow cattle, Yellow River carp and Lycium barbarum chicken. From the integration of Chinese and Western cuisine, plate design, creative aesthetics and other dimensions of innovation, giving wine a delicate taste bud experience of Ningxia specialty food.

The grape corridor at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain is located at 38 degrees north latitude, which is recognized as the golden zone for wine grape cultivation in the world. In 2002, the high-quality grape producing area at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain was identified as a national geographical indication product protection area, and was included in the world wine map in 20 13. 20 13 Ningxia was selected as one of the 46 best tourist destinations in the world by The New York Times. In 20021year, Ningxia was awarded the title of "recommended destination of global wine tourism" by the Global Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO). Lv Wen, Ningxia launched 10 winery boutique leisure travel route, which has become an important tourist route for tourists coming to Ningxia. The wine cultural tourism at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain has become the most famous "purple cultural tourism business card" in Ningxia. More than 2,000 years ago, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions to introduce grape varieties and brewing technology, and arrived in Ningxia via Hexi Corridor in Xinjiang and Gansu, making Ningxia one of the earliest regions for growing grapes and brewing wine in China. Today, the grape planting area at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain is 550,000 mu, and more than 200 wineries with different styles are scattered under the continuous Helan Mountain. In the past 65,438+00 years, thousands of wines from more than 50 wineries have won the highest prizes in international competitions. Wine is exported to more than 30 countries and regions such as France, Germany, Spain and Belgium. Changyu Mosel XV Winery, yuanshi county Winery and Sig Winery attract more and more tourists to taste wine and food.

Every year, all kinds of tourism experience projects sponsored by Ningxia Cultural Tourism Department and undertaken by wineries are deeply loved by tourists. Agricultural Carnival Haitang Festival held in spring, Citizen Class held in summer, Starry Reading, West Pigeon Poetry Club, Red Wine Marathon and National Reading Contest held in autumn, etc. Attract more tourists into the wine world to taste and learn about wine, and create a strong atmosphere of people from Jing Yue, people from wine and people from culture.

Zhongning stewed chicken.

Homesickness hidden in a bowl

Going to the countryside, watching the mountains, watching the water and remembering homesickness have become the new highlights of leisure tourism and holiday consumption in Ningxia, and they have also made rural foods full of fireworks, such as nine bowls and three rows, warm pots and steamed chickens, come into more people's lives, which is unforgettable.

Jiuwan has a history of more than 300 years in Ningxia. As early as the Yuan Dynasty, they had begun to take shape and gained popularity. It is called nine bowls because all the dishes at the banquet are served in nine bowls of the same size, and the nine bowls are arranged in a square with three bowls on each side, so that there are three rows from north to south or east to west, hence the name nine bowls and three rows. The dishes are mainly beef, sheep, chicken and fish, and are mostly cooked by steaming, stewing and burning, which highlights the simple and kind folk customs of Ningxia people.

Steamed chicken is one of Jingyuan specialty snacks located in the hinterland of Liupan Mountain. The key to the delicious steamed chicken is the exquisite materials, which need to be steamed with local chicken and homemade seasonings such as potatoes, onions, ginger, pepper powder and salt. This dish is delicious and convenient, with both vegetarian dishes and bread as the staple food. When eating steamed chicken, local wild vegetables such as bitter vegetables and acanthopanax senticosus are used, and steamed bread sent by farmers is full of pastoral and pastoral flavor.

The low temperature in winter in Ningxia makes steaming hot pot very popular, especially in Longde County, Guyuan City. Longde Warm Pot is made of more than a dozen ingredients and is suitable for all ages. It is one of the unforgettable delicacies in country travel, and it is also the homesickness that wanderers carve into their souls.

Wuzhong morning tea Lamian Noodles.

The temptation of spicy noodles in the early morning

The morning in Wuzhong was awakened by Lamian Noodles, the morning tea. More than 300 ramen restaurants all over the streets have received tourists from all over the country and experienced the morning tea culture. Clear soup noodles, Babaozhen tea, sauce beef, mutton offal, small flower rolls, oily instant noodles, tartary buckwheat rice crust, egg cakes, exquisite cold dishes ... The energy of a day is ignited in a table of morning tea. Visitors from all over the world who come to Wuzhong for morning tea are often amazed by the rich, hard-core and exquisite dishes here. It can be said that there is beauty in taste, enjoyment in beauty and joy in music.

"Visit Ningxia and eat Wuzhong" has always been a proud business card of Wuzhong people. Wuzhong morning tea has a long history and profound cultural heritage. After years of accumulation, it has formed a catering industry with regional characteristics and a unique catering culture. In Wuzhong, which is only an hour's drive from Yinchuan, the provincial capital, Ningxia cuisine accounts for half of the country. 465,438+0 dishes, such as hand-grabbed mutton and hand-shredded chicken, were rated as "China Famous Cuisine", and Wuzhong was also rated as "202,654,38+0 China Top 100 Special Cuisine Counties and Cities".

For Wuzhong people, eating morning tea is not entirely for breakfast satiety, but gives them a deeper and unique food culture connotation. Business talks between partners, chatting with friends and relatives, and eating together often start with a morning tea Lamian Noodles that lasts for two or three hours. Taste the time slowly in the aroma of morning tea, talk business and exchange feelings calmly.

Eating morning tea in Wuzhong, a pot of eight-treasure tea is one of the standard items. As one of the representative projects of intangible cultural heritage in Ningxia, Babao tea is based on tea, supplemented by more than a dozen accessories such as rock sugar, rose sauce, Lycium barbarum, red dates, walnut kernels, longan pulp, white sesame seeds, raisins and dried fruits. It tastes sweet and delicious and has a unique taste. Liu Sanduo Eight-treasure Tea is blended into the family's centuries-old ancestral formula, and dozens of flowers and plants with the same origin of medicine and food are selected to develop health tea products suitable for different groups of people, which are deeply loved by tourists.

Guyuan cuisine: nine bowls.

Stuck on the fireworks in the night market.

The night market is a concentrated space of local cultural customs and delicacies, and it is a place full of strong historical atmosphere and lively markets. Because of the differences in climate and topography, night markets in different cities have their own regional and cultural characteristics, from lakes such as Yinchuan, Wuzhong, Shizuishan and Zhongwei to Guyuan ancient city.

Huaiyuan Night Market, located in Xixia District, Yinchuan City, is adjacent to many universities such as Ningxia University. Every night, it is crowded with young people who are mainly students. With the shouts of merchants, the sound of "Lalala" cooking and the sound of "ancient" boiling, handmade spicy strips, roast lamb feet, spicy sauce, beef patties, etc. 100 have stirred the taste buds of diners, making it a "punch-in place" for food lovers and attracting more and more foreign tourists to taste the punch-in. Jianfa Joy City Sightseeing Night Market is a 24-hour food city, a city that never sleeps, a tourist city, a shopping city and a cultural city integrating leisure, sightseeing, special catering and cultural interaction in Yinchuan. Yuan Laosi hot pot and Ermayina pub with grounded gas ... and Xicha and Starbucks, which are sought after by young people. ...

At night, the food street of Huinong Night Market in Shizuishan City and Xinglong Night Market in Dawukou City are full of fireworks, the aroma of food and the fun of the crowd. The local people who come here to visit the night market must order dishes, or the first dish that the local people give tourists must be Shizuishan Chili cake and Dawukou cold rice noodles. These are two kinds of delicacies named after place names, which shows that local people recognize them. The entrance of Dawukou cold rice noodles is smooth but not greasy, thin and hard, sour and refreshing. In particular, Chili oil, which is deeply loved by diners, is a unique hot and sour flavor made from local peppers with garlic water and mustard water. Dawukou cold rice noodles can be eaten not only by mixing, but also by rolling. Rolling cold rice noodles is to mix cucumber, cooked peanuts, gluten, coriander and sesame sauce, and then put them into a whole cold rice noodle and roll them for eating. Because of its convenience and delicious taste, it is deeply loved by office workers.

A corner of the night market. Photo by Huo Xiaogang

There are Guangyao Food Street in Wuzhong, Xiangyang Street Night Market in Zhongwei, and Jiulong International Liupanshan Sightseeing Night Market in Guyuan. In order to accommodate the open-mindedness of cuisine from all over the world, local cuisines such as wormwood noodles, fried shredded belly, face, jiaozi and the most distinctive local cuisines gather in the noisy night market, allowing diners to appreciate the temperature of the city in authentic cuisine.

Wang Zengqi once said that the four sides eat food, but a bowl of fireworks. Ningxia, as the only province in China where the Yellow River crosses the border, has experienced the inheritance and development of the times, vividly reappearing the natural endowment and humanistic character of one side of water and soil. These regional representative cuisines are the business cards that Ningxia has transmitted to the world, and they have also become the deepest concern of wanderers for their hometown and the distant cuisines that tourists miss most.

[Editor: Johnny]

[Source: Hunan Daily]