Category: Chinese Food

Jinggang city is located in Hunan province of China, which is near Yangtze River. Once serving as an important water transport port, Jinggang welcomed different kinds of people always on the move, who would land and experience delicious food of Jinggang and bring in food of all varieties from other places and the processing method of rice noodles to Jinggang.靖港位于中国湖南省长江边。靖港作为曾经的重要水运口岸，南来北往的各色人等势必登岸入镇，饱尝靖港的美味佳肴，同时也把外地的各类吃食以及米粉的加工制作方法推介给了靖港。
Jinggang rice noodles have a history of hundreds of years. The most famous rice noodle restaurant in Jinggang – Yuchun Restaurant was built in the period under the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. Previously, dozens of rice noodle restaurants opened along Beizheng Street, Xichang Street and Taiping Street in Changsha were run by Jinggang natives. Back then, many famous rice noodle restaurants in Changsha, Ningxiang, Xiangyin and Tongguan on the opposite side of the river bought rice noodle processed in Jinggang by water as only rice noodle processed in Jinggang exquisitely with the moistening of “Luhuashui” (waves stirred up in Lujiang River as beautiful as reed catkins) can make their business grow and prosper.靖港米粉，算来已有数百年历史。旧时靖港最有名的米粉馆玉春楼便始创于清朝乾隆年间，而从前长沙的北正街、西长街、太平街的数十家米粉店，便是靖港人开的。当时长沙、宁乡、湘阴以及对河铜官的许多招牌米粉店，皆通过船运购买靖港加工的米粉皮，经过了“芦花水”的滋润和精工细作的靖港米粉皮，才能撑起他们的招牌而生意兴隆。
In old days, rice used to make Jinggang rice noodles was early season rice as noodle produced therefrom is tender with good stickiness and proper tenacity. Rice must be cleaned up without any sediment and residual bran. It’s said that famous rice noodle restaurants, such as Yuchun Restaurant and Changchun Restaurant, arranged dedicated staff to pick and choose grains which couldn’t be washed away, in an effort to ensure pure white and flawless rice noodles. Cooking steps are as follows: raise flawless rice, mix rice with certain leftover, wet grind to powder and then steam. Exclusive aluminum steamer which has round bottom, shallow edge like a gong, was used. There are strict requirements on steaming. If under-steamed, the sheet jelly is fragile; if over-steamed, the sheet jelly will not be tender any more. Then, tear off sheets of steamed sheet jelly when they are hot; put them on bamboo spar so that the vapour water will be volatilized, thus, making the sheet jelly freezing yet non-sticky. A good slicing technique is necessary to slice the sheet jelly. First, roll the sheet jelly into a strip and slice it. If every noodle is made even in width, the one must be a master-hand. If not, when noodles are put in the soup bowl, it will be not that beautiful and will affect appetite.旧时，靖港米粉所用稻米要早稻粒谷米，磨出的粉，细嫩，粘性好，韧度适中，为加工米粉之最佳。米要淘洗得无丝毫泥沙和残留糠皮，干干净净。从前玉春楼、长春阁等靖港知名米粉馆，还有专人挑拣米中无法淘洗掉的谷粒，以确保米粉的洁白无瑕。无了瑕疵的米用清水泡发，掺适量现饭，湿磨成粉，再蒸。蒸有专用的蒸盘，为铝制品，圆底浅边，像是一面锣。蒸的要求也十分严格，过生则粉皮易碎，过熟则粉皮不嫩。蒸熟后的粉皮还要趁热从蒸盘中一张张揭下来，搭在竹篙上，使其汽水挥发，凝固而不粘。把粉皮切成粉丝则需刀功，先把粉皮卷成条状，一刀刀切下去，每根粉丝皆宽窄一致方为高手，若切得宽窄不一，夹到汤碗里后，外观上首先就打了折扣，而且影响食欲。
The soup of Jinggang rice noodles is the most tasteful. White rice noodles are tasteless and inedible without fresh soup. Boiled with swine bone, fresh soup is called “original soup”. All of the swine bones of every slaughter house in Jinggang were ordered by rice noodle restaurants. Alongside the brick kitchen range of various restaurants, casserole was placed exclusively for boiling bone soup. Milky soup is boiling in the pot, sending tempting fragrance. The service steps as: scoop up a spoon of original soup into the bowl, with soy, salt, chopped green onion, and Chinese parsley put in advance, pick up hot rice noodle into bowl, when the fresh soup and fragrant green onion penetrate into rice noodles, the tasteless food immediately become delicious and tasty gourmet. There are a lot of tastes of Jinggang rice noodles, such as sauce, beef, beef offal, seafood, pork trotter, shredded pig bag, bouilli, among others. There are shredded additions for you to choose which you like.靖港米粉的汤最是讲究。白白的米粉本是淡而无味之物，若无鲜汤几乎难以下咽。鲜汤乃猪骨熬成，是为“原汤”。从前靖港街上各家屠行的猪骨，均被面粉馆订购了去。各米粉馆的大灶旁，都安置着专门用来熬骨头汤的砂锅，乳白色的汤汁在锅内微微地沸滚着，散发着诱人的鲜香。吃米粉的顾客来了，舀一勺原汤在预先放好酱油、盐、葱花、芫荽的碗里，然后把烫热的米粉夹到碗中，原汤之鲜和葱花之香渗入米粉丝中，淡而无味之物顿成鲜而爽口的美食。靖港米粉有很多种口味，比如：酱汁、牛肉、牛杂、三鲜、猪蹄、猪肚丝、红烧肉……任君选取。你可以根据你喜欢的口味选择盖码。

Zhengyang Restaurant is also called Zhengyanglou Restaurant. It is a restaurant seated on the eastern side of Qianmen Street, opened during the reign of Emperor Daoguang during the Qing Dynasty, as one of the eight famous restaurants in ancient Beijing.正阳楼又叫正阳楼饭店，是前门大街路东的一家饭馆，却是老北京时代著名的八大楼之一，开业于清道光年间。
Zhengyanglou Restaurant was at first simply a booth selling liquor, whose owner’s name was Sun Xiaobian from Ye County, Shandong Province. He came to Beijing to seek his fortune after a serious drought struck his hometown. In the daytime, he went out to do some part-time jobs, and in the night he sheltered himself in the shabby temple of a grinding factory in Qianmen Street. As time went by, he got acquainted with several town-fellows, with whose help Sun Xiaobian opened the liquor stall on the eastern side of Qianmen Street. Several years later, Sun Xiaobian had some savings and wanted to find a storefront. As chance would have it, a tavern in Qianmen Street was to close its business, so Sun Xiaobian entrusted a friend to rent the tavern and renamed it Zhengyanglou (the sun at noon), following the name of Zhengyang Gate, wishing that his business could be as thriving as the sun at noon and never decline.正阳楼的前身是个小酒摊子，掌柜的姓孙名小辫，山东掖县人。家乡遭受大旱灾，他谋生来到京城。白天他外出找活干，夜里就在前门打磨厂的一个破庙里栖身。日子长了便结识了几个老乡，他们帮助孙小辫在前门大街路东开了家小酒摊子。几年之后，孙小辫有了一些积蓄，便想着找家铺面房。说来也巧，正好前门大街上有家小酒馆想歇业，孙小辫就托人把小酒馆给盘了过来，易名为正阳楼，意欲借正阳门之名，让自己的买卖像正午的太阳一样兴旺不衰。
After Zhengyanglou opened, seats were available both upstairs and downstairs. Besides the commonly seen boiled peanuts, rose dates, fried ginger-slice cakes, small crisp fish, spicy cabbages, lamb-head meat and sliced pig tongue with chili oil, fat crabs were also available here in autumn. The liquor and rice wine sold in it were never adulterated. Thus, business here became better and better. In the years of Emperor Guangxu, Sun Xiaobian’s son Sun Xueren inherited the tavern. He invited several chefs from his hometown who were adept at cooking Shandong cuisine. This contributed to the shift of Zhengyanglou from a small tavern to a restaurant.正阳楼酒馆开张之后，楼上楼下都设了座位，酒菜除了一般的煮花生、玫瑰枣、炸排叉、小酥鱼、辣白菜、羊头肉和猪口条外，到了秋天还有大螃蟹。所卖的白酒、黄酒，从来不掺假，生意因此越来越红火。到了光绪年间，孙小辫的儿子孙学仁当上了掌柜的，他从山东老家请来了几位善于烹制山东风味菜的师傅，正阳楼便从小酒馆一跃而成了饭馆。
Later, Sun Xueren opened a steamed bean-cake shop named Zhengming House in a meat-selling street alongside Qianmen Street, and entrusted the restaurant to one of his family members called Sun Xueshi. In the late Qing Dynasty, Sun Xueren and Sun Xueshi came into conflict and resorted to the law to resolve their issues. After the mediation, Sun Xueren left Zhengyanglou Restaurant to Sun Xueshi who was very sociable and had friends in all circles. In the period of the Republic of China, Sun Xueshi became a celebrity in business circle and joined the Chamber of Commerce. In the twelfth year of the Republic of China, he was elected the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. He was influential not only in the business circle but also in the military and political circles. With the enhancement of Sun Xueshi’s social status, Zhengyanglou Restaurant gained an unprecedented impetus in development. Back then, Zhengyanglou Restaurant was full of customers every day. Many important military and political figures such as Yuan Shikai, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui were also regular visitors. Some important banquets were even held there.随后，孙掌柜又在前门大街肉市街里开了一家叫正明斋的饽饽铺子。饭馆则交由本家一个叫孙学士的管理。清朝末年，孙学仁和孙学士之间发生了矛盾，以至对簿公堂，后经调解，孙学仁将正阳楼分给了孙学士。这个孙学士生性喜爱交际，各界都有朋友。到了民国期间，孙学士成了商界的知名人士，还入了商会。民国12年，孙学士当上了北京商会的会长。不仅在商界，在当时的军界、政界他都有一定的位置。由于孙学士社会地位的提高，正阳楼饭馆也有了前所未有的发展。当时，天天宾客盈门，许多军政界的要人，如：袁世凯、黎元洪、段祺瑞等，都成了正阳楼的常客，连一些重要的宴请也在此举办。
The popularity of Zhengyanglou Restaurant at that time should not only be attributed to Sun Xueshi’s superior status and good social network, but also to the good taste of its food. The big crabs and instant-boiled mutton were especially preferred by the customers. It is said those who loved eating crabs would come here to taste the steamed crabs every autumn. As is known to all, the crabs in autumn are the fattest. When autumn came, Zhengyanglou Restaurant would send people to buy crabs in the Tianjin coastal areas. They bought the biggest and most active ones from local fishermen and transported them to Beijing in specially-designed baskets. The crabs were left to disgorge for a couple of days, and then they were washed and had their claws tied with hemp strings. Then they were put into a bamboo steamer. When people ate crabs, they dipped the crab meat in bruised ginger and vinegar for dispelling the coldness and improving the flavor. Zhengyanglou Restaurant was also said to have prepared small hammers, small pinchers, small tweezers and small boards to facilitate people’s eating of crabs.正阳楼饭馆红极一时，不光得力于孙学士优越的地位及极好的人缘，正阳楼的饭菜也确实色香味俱佳。特别是大螃蟹和涮羊肉，深受顾客的偏爱。据说每年的秋季，爱吃螃蟹的人都要到正阳楼来品尝蒸螃蟹。众所周知，秋天的螃蟹最肥最壮。所以，每到秋天，正阳楼便派出伙计到天津沿海一带去选购螃蟹。他们从当地渔民手中挑选又大又活的，放在专门的篓子里运回北京，先让螃蟹吐两天杂物，然后由小伙计把螃蟹清洗之后，用细麻绳将其爪子和大钳子捆好，放进大笼屉里蒸熟。吃的时候，蘸上鲜姜和米醋，为的是去寒提味。据说正阳楼为了方便顾客吃螃蟹，还专门准备了小锤子、小钳子、小镊子和小木板。

Wenchang chicken(文昌鸡Wénchāng Jī) is usually made in the baizhan (白斩, plain chopped-up) or baiqie (白切, plain and sliced) way, which involves first boiling and slicing the chicken, then dipping the pieces in cold sauce. This helps retain the chicken’s original taste while allowing the sauce to warm on the skin. Below we list three sauces you can use: the first is salty with a touch of ginger and garlic spice; the second is sweet and sour; and the third sauce is a fragrant mix of ginger and spring onion. Whichever option you choose, don’t let all the painstaking preparation go to waste by skimping on the presentation. All the ingredients for the dipping sauce must be organic and fresh. Local people also use leftover chicken oil and broth to cook their rice, making for the perfect side dish: Hainan chicken rice (海南鸡饭, Hǎinán jī fàn).

The Chinese New Year is coming, which is of vital importance to all the Chinese people. All family members come together to eat at this time. Chinese New Year foods are not only delicious but it is traditional to eat certain foods over this festival. Fish, Chinese Dumplings, Spring Rolls, Nian Gao are usually seen as delicious and eaten at this time.

Rice is the main food in China.China is the world's largest rice producer, and one of the earliest centers of rice cultivation.For thousands of years, the Chinese people have been diligently cultivating their land for favorable harvests. The agricultural way of life, with rice as the center, has played an important role in China’s history. In the past, people held the belief that the precious things of life are the five grains with rice being number one, instead of pearls or jade.