(Looking for China) From saving waste vegetables to fashionable vegetables, steamed vegetables "change their shape and their souls remain unchanged"

  China News Agency, Zhengzhou, May 22, telegram: From saving waste vegetables to fashionable vegetables, steamed vegetables for thousands of years are "transformed and the soul remains unchanged"

  China News Agency reporter Li Guigang

  The spring breeze blows, and wild vegetables grow.

In spring and summer, the buds, leaves, flowers, and grasses all over the mountains and plains are steamed and become the delicacy of the Central Plains.

  Choose fresh wild vegetables, tree sprouts, vegetables and other ingredients and wash them; add the ingredients to the flour and mix them evenly, put them in a steamer, and steam for about 10 minutes; after steaming, put them on a plate and pour a salty sauce. Distinctive steamed dishes can be served on a plate.

  "Steaming" has a long history.

According to research, the ancestors of the Neolithic Age invented the retort, which developed from boiling to steaming.

Later, with the continuous emergence of bronze ware and iron ware, the ancient and unique steaming methods became increasingly rich and diverse, and various types of steamed vegetables came into being.

  "Catering culture has gradually developed along with the progress of human civilization." Li Zhishun, an international judge of the World Chef Federation, a national first-level judge of China's catering industry, and executive vice president of the Henan Catering and Accommodation Industry Association, recently accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency. He said that the catering industry generally believes that steamed vegetables flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, especially in the Central Plains, and were known as "rescue vegetables" and "life-saving vegetables".

  "The barren land is the granary." Li Zhishun said that in the era of scarcity, people often used a wide variety of wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.

  Jiang Bangcheng, 74 years old this year, is the chairman of the Culinary Association of Changyuan City, Henan Province, the "hometown of Chinese chefs".

He recalled that in the 1950s and 1960s, sophora japonica, elm money, purslane, celery leaves, etc. could be steamed and eaten. It was simple and easy to make and suitable for all ages. It was a common meal for ordinary families.

  Nowadays, with the improvement of people's living standards, the steamed wild vegetables of "raw, fresh, green and wild" and "nutritious, medicinal, delicious, and seasoning" are soft, glutinous and delicious, fresh and rich, healthy and healthy. more and more popular.

  "Steamed vegetables are a must-order dish." Feng Jianzhong, founder of Mantianxing Restaurant, has a deep understanding of this, especially the salty and umami flavors (salt, sesame oil, garlic paste), garlic and spicy flavors (garlic juice, salt, sesame oil), spicy Steamed wild vegetables with taste (salt, chili oil, sesame oil, scallion oil, cooked sesame) are more popular, and the overall serving rate is high.

At the same time, the purchase price of wild vegetables has also increased significantly.

  After thousands of years of development, steamed vegetables, which means "prosperous", have gradually developed into powder steamed, clear steamed, cannon steamed, buckled steamed, packaged steamed, and stuffed steamed. The catering industry has also continuously developed fashion, bird fish, and ink art. And so on a variety of patterns.

  After the reform and opening up, Chinese chefs have also taken the cooking skills of steaming vegetables abroad to foreigners' tables, which are well received.

"When we communicated in Italy, our Chinese chefs made a lot of delicious food after steaming the tomatoes." Li Zhishun said.

  "Whether it is to satisfy one's hunger or embark on a diversified high-end fashion, whether it is a village chef, a village woman's cuisine or a professional chef to refine and improve, the connotation and soul of steamed vegetables cannot be changed. This is the food for thousands of years. The essence of culture passed down." Jiang Bangcheng said that more and more people are pursuing a healthy life of the original ecology, and steamed vegetables just retain the original shape, original juice, and original flavor of the dishes, which are simple and easy to make, and are more in line with people's healthy eating concept. .

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