Speaking of Shandong specialty food, how many people first think of pancake rolls with green onions? The decisive chewing that tests the teeth, coupled with a spicy nose, seems to really represent the tenacity and boldness of Shandong people. Before the yellow stewed chicken became popular, green onions and pancakes could be said to be the voice of Shandong food on their own.
The name "Lu cuisine" seems to have been silent for a long time, and people now don't talk much about it under the topic of bringing gourmet dishes.
The king of the "Eight Cuisines" that was once famous in the jianghu seems to be dying of old age, and in this era when traffic is king, it seems that it is impossible to catch up, and the spicy dishes of Chuanxiang spicy have strongly covered the scenery of the former big brother with a strong and warm taste.
△ Everyone is asking, how did Lu Cai fall /Zhihu screenshot
Twenty or thirty years of running and shouting by industry insiders has not reversed the situation in which the living space of Lu Cai is becoming increasingly tight. When the acquisition of ingredients and flavors is no longer difficult, it is difficult for the "eight major cuisines" to continue to demarcate the boundaries of Chinese cooking, and reform and opening up continue to give birth to new attempts, integration and transformation, constantly enriching the taste buds experience of Chinese.
At this time, Lu Cai seemed to be incarnated as a kind elder, watching over the Chinese's diet. It does not shout slogans, but only smiles meaningfully in the face of the voice of the singing.
01
Who said that Shandong cuisine only has pancake rolls with scallions
If you are really blinded by the leaf of the pancake roll, you miss a world.
Shandong's cuisine is so easy to underestimate. Speaking of noodles alone, Zhoucun baked cakes, Laiwu baked cakes plus Zaozhuang dish pancakes, Weifang meat fire-roasted, Heze noodle bubbles, and mackerel dumplings, one by one, do not repeat the sample, Shandong people can instantly build their own kingdom, break the stereotype of "pancake rolls and green onions", and take you into the wonderful Qilu food culture.
△ Mackerel dumplings
As the most influential cuisine in northern China, Lu cuisine has always held high the banner of traditional Chinese food culture. It is named after its birthplace, but its influence spreads almost throughout north and northeast China, and the food flavor system in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River basin and its north all belong to the radiation range of Lu cuisine forces.
Every Chinese who has experienced Chinese banquets is really difficult to know nothing about Lu cuisine.
Let's talk about roasted sea cucumber with green onions, this hard dish with a handle, its name is almost unknown to everyone. Starting from the selection and processing of ingredients, the excellent student of grilled sea cucumber with green onions vividly shows the spirit of Lu cuisine.
To harvest the delicious flavor of this big dish, you first need to wait for the process of dry sea cucumbers to wake up, and change the water repeatedly for a week to make them chubby and get the texture of clear Q bombs. Mixing the soup requires a precise grasp of the heat, and the fire is not hurried or slow, in order to cook a thick and mellow aroma.
△ Lu Cai carry handle /figure worm
Zhangqiu green onions are white and full, which is the best material to match with sea cucumbers, and the shallots are boiled into the pot to produce thick green onion oil, the aroma is fragrant, and the taste is sweet. The rich aroma of green onions can not only remove the fishy smell of sea cucumbers, but also contrast with the unique flavors of seafood, fresh and refreshing, which is really a wonderful CP composed of seafood and land plants.
Sweet and sour fish is also a well-known player in the Lu cuisine industry. Shandong people have a long tradition of eating fish, and the saying "no fish, no seat" is derived from Lu cuisine. The Shandong people's styling requirements for sweet and sour fish represent the importance that Lu cuisine attaches to the appearance of dishes. The finished sweet and sour carp, the head and tail of the fish must be raised high, which needs to be achieved by wrapping the dough and frying the operation.
△ Fry first to set the shape
The chef must be bold, with his hands on the head and tail of the fish, keeping the right distance from the hot oil, and at the same time mastering the strength and time just right to ensure that the fish body is intact and not broken, so that a carp can achieve a gorgeous turn.
The proud and upward posture, coupled with the thick and sour sauce, such a fish has been given the auspicious meaning of "carp leaping dragon gate" by the Shandong people, representing the spiritual inheritance of the people of Qilu for thousands of years.
△ Then pour the juice
The selection of ingredients, the grasp of the heat, the harmony of taste, the arrangement of the shape, each step is a solid learning, without several years of dedicated cultivation, it is impossible to achieve. Lu Caisu walks the rivers and lakes with his profound cooking techniques and wins the reputation of Bafang with exquisiteness, but the level of cooking difficulty is often daunting to chefs.
For example, Zibo's famous dish Boshan tofu box, at first glance looks like a vegetarian dish, but in fact it is an excellent dish that integrates color, aroma, taste and shape, and to achieve such a dish, it must go through a process of carving crafts:
The hard tofu with the sour pulp point is fried until the outer layer is firm and golden, the lid is opened, the tofu is pulled out, and the tofu is evenly thin and even on all sides of the "box", and the golden fried tofu is carefully made into a small "box".
Only when the heat, oil and knife are all-round online can you get the main body of the tofu box, and then you can continue to fill it with pork, dried scallops, fungus, apricot abalone mushrooms and other high-grade ingredients.
△ Boshan tofu box with hidden mysteries
The cloth bag chicken, which also needs to be enriched with filling, must remove the skeleton of the whole chicken intact before filling the filling, and without destroying the integrity of the chicken body, transform the whole chicken into a "cloth bag" and use it as a container for filling. This God of War-level operation is also quite a test of the chef's knife skills and techniques.
You see, how many "excellent student" attributes are collected on Lu Cai's body, starting from the selection and processing of ingredients, the chef must be meticulous, and there must be exquisite cooking skills when cooking.
Knife work, seasoning, heat, technique, which link must invest time and thought, only in this way, the charm of Lu cuisine can burst out to the greatest extent.
02
Shandong cuisine used to be advanced
Behind Lu Cai is the deep atmosphere and heritage of Qilu Land, which will never change because Lu Cai did not catch the express train of "net red economy".
Shandong pancakes and green onions remain in the minds of the people of the whole country, which also attracts the impression of "straight" and "grassroots", but behind the real Lu cuisine is the deep atmosphere and heritage of the Qilu land, full of history and culture.
△ Hey, Lu cuisine is not only it
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Shandong was a region of economic prosperity, and it was also a place where the ideas of the Hundred Sons and Hundred Schools of Thought converged, especially sitting in the hometown of Confucius and Mengmeng, and was deeply infiltrated by Confucian culture. Confucius's attitude of "not tired of eating, not tired of fine" laid the basic background of Lu cuisine's temperament.
△ Qufu Confucius Temple Lubi / wikimedia
Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the land of Qilu has given birth to many family families, and the aristocratic class of "Zhong Ming Ding Food" has made great efforts to improve the quality of food and fine grinding, which has gradually generated the exquisite and complex cooking techniques of Lu cuisine. The unique historical development trajectory has created a relatively advanced food culture in Shandong.
Since ancient times, Shandong has been rich in products and has the benefits of fish and salt. Shandong Peninsula is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the overall altitude is not high, the terrain is mainly plains and hills, roughly can be divided into the western alluvial plains, the central mountain hills and the eastern coastal peninsula several parts, is a treasure land with mountains and seas.
△ A treasure land with mountains and seas
Half of Shandong's land area is arable land, and the rivers and lakes are dense, and the watershed area of the province is more than 48,000 square kilometers, which means that 1/3 of Shandong's land area has rivers passing through. There are a total of 589 islands assigned to Shandong Province, most of which are very close to land.
In terms of climate, Shandong is located in the warm temperate monsoon climate zone, and the average is in the frost-free period for more than half a year. Nature's love has brought rich products to Shandong: on aquatic products, sea cucumbers, prawns, abalone, dried scallops, crabs, sea rice, kelp, Yellow River carp, Weishan Lake seasonal flower fish are all star products of Shandong Peninsula;
△ Raw seafood
On grain and vegetables, Shouguang 'China's vegetable town' name is well-known at home and abroad, the legend that Zhangqiu scallions grow taller than people is relished, Jiaozhou cabbage, Zhangqiu scallions, Weifang radish, Laiwu ginger is also the darling of the people of the country.
△ Zhangqiu green onions, frighteningly tall / figure worms
The profound culture and rich ingredients have jointly created the richness of Lu cuisine. It is difficult to generalize the rich Lu cuisine, the culinary specialties of Shandong vary according to regional differences, and traditionally, Lu cuisine is roughly divided into Several series of Jinan cuisine, Jiaodong cuisine, and Kongfu cuisine.
Jinan cuisine is widely used in materials, with soup dishes as a major feature, including nine-turn large intestine, stir-fried waist flowers, plucked sweet potatoes, milk soup pu vegetables and other representative dishes.
△ Nine turns of the large intestine
Jiaodong cuisine is known for cooking seafood, paying attention to maintaining the natural flavor of ingredients, the taste is relatively light, and has a direct impact on the diet of the Liaodong region, such as grilled sea cucumbers, braised prawns in oil, and boiled fish fillets are often considered to originate here.
△ Braised prawns in oil
Confucius cuisine has become a representative of official cuisine with its exquisite ingredients, fine production, and time-consuming cooking, a pot, a poetry ginkgo, and a belt on the dynasty, just by looking at the name of the dish, you know that Kongfu cuisine is a model of beauty and elegance.
△ Shili Ginkgo Biloba
Confucius cuisine originated in the Qufu area, and was often used in history to receive emperors who came to pay homage to Confucius due to the hometown of Confucius.
Confucius cuisine pays attention to the complete shape of the dish, cooking meat pays attention to not hurting the skin, not breaking the bone, but also pays great attention to the beauty of the dish utensils, and even specially customizes the utensils for the dishes, duck with duck plate, fish with fish plate, which just perfectly meets the needs of court cuisine for auspicious meaning and beautiful shape.
△ Confucian cuisine / figure worm that pursues a sense of culture
According to legend, when the Kangxi Emperor visited Confucius, he stayed in the official's home, and the vendors who delivered the ingredients did not dare to disturb the holy car, so they quietly left the green bean sprouts sent at the door. Who expected that a basket of bean sprouts was pinched by children playing nearby, and the original "Ruyi dish" actually turned into a single stick, and it looked like it was going to burn the eyebrows.
At this time, the home cook was in a hurry, cut the bean sprouts open, clipped a shredded chicken into it, and hung the paste and stir-fried. After tasting it, the Kangxi Emperor felt that the meat and vegetarian dishes of this dish were harmonious and delicious, so he asked for the name of the dish. The chef replied, "Gold wire and silver bars." In this way, the clever home cook used his exquisite skills to solve the dilemma, set up a sign in front of the emperor, and also created the legend of Confucius cuisine.
Confucius cuisine was therefore favored and gradually entered the court. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, many of the imperial kitchens and imperial cuisines of the court have come from Shandong, and the "Han table" in the Manchu and Han dynasties is based on Shandong cuisine. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing's famous restaurant "Badaju", many of the signature dishes were Lu cuisine.
△ Many of the signature dishes are Lu cuisine/tu worms
As a court official, Lu cuisine has a noble bloodline and an outstanding position, and in the twentieth century, it sat on the top spot in Chinese cuisine. The cooking techniques of the imperial court chefs gradually spread to the people, and over time, the folk dishes in the Beijing area had many similarities with Lu cuisine.
In the passage of time, the dishes of Tianjin, Hebei and Northeast China have also been obviously influenced by Lu cuisine, you have me, I have you, and they are connected to each other. Lu cuisine is the only one of the eight major cuisines that belongs to the northern cuisine, perhaps because it has long been silently integrated into the eating habits of people in the entire northern region of China.
03
Who said that Lu cuisine has fallen on the market at present, it seems that few people have opened restaurants specifically under the name of Lu cuisine. Even in Shandong, many long-established Lu cuisine brands are in an awkward situation. Jinan's traditional Lu cuisine three famous stores Jufengde, Yanxitang, Huiquan Lou has long ceased to be the peak of the past, some return to the ordinary, some encounter mergers and acquisitions, and some even cease to exist.
In the latest wave of the times, the traditional Lu cuisine "not red enough" may be an inevitable trend.
△ Shandong Lucai's long-established brand represents Yanxitang
The "eight major cuisines" is originally a relatively old concept, and the diet of Chinese has long ceased to be limited by geographical restrictions.
From the moment southern cuisine flowed into the north, the northern taste represented by Lu cuisine was strongly impacted. Southern cuisines such as Cantonese cuisine and Sichuan cuisine have teased the curious taste buds of northerners, and spicy dishes have been sought after by the younger generation with their strong and refreshing taste.
△ Capture the spicy mouth of young people
Chinese's food map has long been not limited to the local area, with more choices, hamburger fries, pasta pizza, French cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine, Mexican cuisine, foreign cuisine more and more to seize the market, by many urban white-collar workers love.
Fool sauce buns, instant takeaways, and fast chains of fast food can better meet people's needs for low prices and fast access to food. What consumers need, the corresponding products quickly appear in the market, and our era has defaulted to such logic.
△ Crazy squeeze sauce
Lu Cai rarely makes a big splash on the Internet to attract the attention of young people, and this extremely un-commercial style is inevitably out of place. Moreover, people now pay more attention to the satisfaction of dishes for appetite, and are not so keen to carefully feel the cultural significance of food while enjoying food, and the etiquette and indoctrination attributes carried by Lu cuisine are automatically ignored most of the time.
△ Exquisite Lu cuisine
The exquisite ingredients, complex techniques and beautiful shapes of Lu cuisine obviously do not perfectly match the current spirit of the times. Without two hundred yuan bills, you may be difficult to pay for the authentic scallion grilled sea cucumber and nine-turn large intestine, the cost of money is very high, and the waiting time for the dish is also very long. Jiaodong seafood is fat, but the regional nature of these ingredients is very strong, and the real delicacy may only be enjoyed locally.
Wang Yijun, a Master of Lu Cuisine who once presided over the state banquet, studied hard for eight years before becoming an apprentice, and now there are many young people who are willing to pay such a time price for obtaining a real cooking skill.
△ Lu cuisine back kitchen pomp
In fact, the Lu cuisine industry and Shandong Province have noticed the fading situation of Lu cuisine in the public diet, and are determined to contribute to the rebirth and rejuvenation of Lu cuisine.
Not long ago, Shandong Province launched the Lu Cuisine Innovation Competition, the catering industry, cultural tourism departments together to help publicize, looking forward to taking this opportunity to launch new explosive products and new brands of Lu cuisine, to create new dishes loved by the public and welcomed by the market, so that the ancient golden sign of Lu cuisine can shine again.
The old artist feels that the shadow of Lu cuisine has never been far away from the public table, when stir-frying vegetables with onions and garlic pots, when talking about Chinese food, we mention "color and flavor", we inadvertently touch the spirit of Lu cuisine. Lu Cai has never only proudly hidden in the Hall of Daya, but also exists in the rivers and lakes.
△ Lu cuisine with "full color and flavor"
Don't forget, the "sauce explosion" method of Beijing sauce meat shreds comes from Lu cuisine, Liu Fengxiang, the founder of Tianfu Sauce Elbow, is a Native of Shandong, and garlic eggplant, Sixi balls, and dried croquettes were first invented by Lu cuisine masters. On the menu of today's Chinese chain fast food restaurants, there are too many contents that have a relationship with Lu cuisine.
We don't have to worry that Lu Cuisine is really gone. Lu cuisine will not really disappear.
Resources
Wang Saishi, "Modern Understanding and Re-Evaluation of Lu Cuisine Culture"
Yao Jicheng, "Confucian Thought in the Form of Qilu Food Culture"
Wang Chenguang, "Analysis of the Dilemma and Path of Lu Cuisine Innovation: Reflections Based on the Perspective of Culture and Folklore"
Dazhong Daily, "Foodies" look over! Lu Cuisine Innovation Competition Launched》