What's in the "vegetable basket" of the ancient Shu ancestors? Grapes and kiwis are home fruits
The diverse geographical environment of the Sichuan Basin gave birth to a variety of cultures. Different ethnic groups brought rice and millet civilizations, as well as mature livestock breeding technologies. They gathered in the Chengdu Plain and produced a combination of rice and millet farming. The system developed from a settlement to an ancient city site group, brewing a star fire in the basin.
As the saying goes, "The people take food as the heaven". Sichuan people have been awakened from a very early age in terms of taste and even eating.
In March of this year, in a new round of archaeological excavations in Sanxingdui, an unearthed cultural relic, "Three-legged Pottery Cookware", attracted widespread attention from netizens.
The three-legged pottery pottery cooks in a three-legged position. It can be heated with a single step, and it feels similar to the principle of a hot pot.
Some people speculate that this is the source of Sichuan hot pot. When the ancients used a three-legged cooker, they also cooked and ate as they did today.
In order to discover the delicacies on the dinner table of the ancient Shu people, in recent years, archaeologists have conducted a lot of research.
What's in the "vegetable basket" of the ancient Shu ancestors?
How has their "taste" changed?
With the help of science and technology, the secrets of the ancient Shu people's diet are gradually being revealed.
Mainly rice
The staple food of the ancient Shu people gradually fixed
When the archaeologists analyzed the soil at the Shifang Longan Bridge site more than 5,000 years ago, they found that the seeds of dry-farming plants were the main grains in the early days of the Longan Bridge site.
However, these dryland crops are likely to be "unacceptable" when they reach the Chengdu Plain.
In order to fill their stomachs, the ancestors had to look for more suitable foods everywhere.
Through plant archaeology, the Baodun site discovered the remains of carbonized rice, millet, millet and other plants 4500 years ago. Through the analysis of the proportions of rice, millet, and millet unearthed from different relics, it was confirmed that the agricultural economic structure of the ancestors in Baodun period was dominated by rice. , And planting millet and millet.
A "dietary revolution" was set off in the land of Bashu. Since then, rice has been the staple food of Chengdu people's dinner table.
In the Bronze Hall of the Sichuan Museum, there is a peculiar bronze 甗, which is a cultural relic of the Warring States Period before 475 BC.
The 甗 is a utensil used to cook rice. The ancients placed a pot-like utensil on the bronze stove, but there is something inside: it is divided into two parts, the lower half is used for boiling water, and the upper half is the 甑. Used to place rice, there is a hollow grate between the two, "the steamed rice is soft and sweet".
Today, Sichuanese who can eat have unlocked a variety of ways to eat rice.
Yuan Tingdong, an expert on Bashu culture, told reporters that in the past, every household would cook “konggan rice”. One way is to “konggan” the rice first, leaving a layer of crispy rice at the bottom. Another more common cooking method is to cook the rice until half-cooked. Afterwards, use a shao-kei to remove the draining water and set aside. “The drained rice soup is very nutritious, especially the dolls like to drink it.” Yuan Tingdong said, pour common vegetables such as peas, string beans, and potatoes into the pot and stir-fry for a while. Then pour in the drained rice, cover the pot, slowly "hole" to cook with a simmering heat, and when the aroma overflows, a bowl of "kong dry rice" with vegetables and rice can be out of the pot.
In some areas, people still use corn flour instead of vegetables, which are cooked together with rice, hence the name "Golden Wrapped Silver".
If Mapo tofu made Sichuan-style tofu famous, then in the memory of old Chengdu, bean curd rice is even more lingering.
Bean curd rice, a bowl of bean curd, a bowl of white rice, a plate of spicy and delicious dipping sauce, both rice and vegetables.
The rice of bean curd rice is boiled until it has a little hard core. It is drained and then steamed in a wooden barrel. It is commonly known as "Yunzi rice". One mouthful of bean curd and one mouthful of rice will solve the hunger and relieve the gluttony.
Fried rice with soy sauce is also a very homely staple food. It tastes salty and fragrant. It is a simple and satisfying meal that can be used quickly.
For the past 200 years, Sichuan Jiangyou has produced good soy sauce. For a long time, local people have developed the habit of eating bibimbap with good soy sauce.
Inheritance of Vicia and Cowpea
The long history of home cooking in Chengdu
In the rainy and lush Chengdu plains, rivers are scattered, golden ears of rice are swaying in the fields, wild peas, cowpeas, and coix are hidden among these weeds. The wise ancient Shu people found these edible wild beans. .
As the "high frequency" dishes on the table of Sichuan people, peas and cowpea are also used in a variety of ways.
Don't underestimate the small peas. Not only can you harvest fresh pea tips, but also pods and bean grains, which are made into jelly jelly, which is a big love for foodies.
Especially for Sichuan people, no matter how advanced or simple the food is, once there is a handful of fresh pea tips, it is instantly infused with soul.
It's summer, and it's also the season when cowpeas are on the market in large numbers.
Li Shizhen said: "This bean can be used for vegetables, fruit, and grain, and it is the top grade of beans." Cowpea is rich in nutrients and provides high-quality plant protein that is easily digested and absorbed by the human body. It is called "the meat of vegetables."
On the food map of Sichuan, "Ginger Beans" must have a name.
Ginger juice flavor is a flavor type in Sichuan cuisine. It has the characteristics of strong ginger flavor, salty but sour, refreshing and not greasy.
There are also many delicacies made with cowpea.
As the weather gets hotter, pickles are indispensable on Sichuan people's tables. Take out the kimchi jars and cut them into pieces, add red oil, sugar, pepper and other condiments, and then eat a bowl of porridge. It's refreshing.
Sichuan's kimchi can be described as "soaking everything". Meat, fruits and vegetables can be used as raw materials as long as you can think of. The soaked cowpea has a unique flavor. The soaked cowpea has both sourness and deliciousness. Soaked cowpea can be eaten directly. , Cut into small pieces and stir-fry "minced meat cowpea" with minced meat, which is also the "artificial artifact" of Sichuanese.
Who would have thought that the home cooking of these Chengdu people has such a long history?
Rich fruit plate
Grapes and kiwis are home fruits
Is the food of the ancient Shu people only staple foods such as rice and millet?
In fact, the ancestors of Bashu were also very good at "living", and they also had "snacks" to eat.
In the analysis of plant seeds, the researchers found many seeds of Vitis, Actinidia, Peach, Plum, and Walnut.
Jiang Ming, an associate researcher of the Science and Technology Archaeology Center of the Chengdu Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that in the plant remains unearthed at the site of Shishiqiao Xinyi Village in Chengdu City and the site of Pineapple Village in Pidu District, researchers have found the seeds of Actinidia genus.
Although it cannot be directly determined that these were the daily fruits of people at that time, they appeared in archaeological sites and are closely related to human activities, and they are very likely to be cultivated and used by people.
The poet Cen Shen of the Tang Dynasty once wrote the phrase "On the well fence of the atrium, a kiwi fruit". This is the first time that the name of kiwi fruit appears in the classics.
In fact, our ancestors have a longer history of contacting wild kiwifruit. There is a record of "Chang Chu" in the "Book of Songs", which was the name of kiwifruit by the ancients more than 2,000 years ago.
As a native Chinese specialty, this kind of fruit was taken by New Zealanders who came to China more than 100 years ago, and then drifted on a boat to take root in a foreign country. After cultivation and improvement, it was sold back to China, and it was named kiwi fruit.
Our reporter Duan Zhen