China News Agency, Xining, December 27th, title: Salah banquet: the exclusive flavor of "combination of agriculture and animal husbandry"

  China News Agency reporter Zhang Tianfu

  "After tasting it, I thought that the readers of "Chinese Cuisine" might not have this opportunity. I wrote down the menu at that time and came back to write this briefing." Fei Xiaotong, a famous sociologist who ridiculed himself as a "greedy eater", once wrote for a long time Contributed by the journal "Chinese Cuisine", in 1987, after experiencing the traditional Salar banquet in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, Qinghai, he wrote the article "Sala Menu", which was published together with other short articles as "Words to Help Taste".

  Xunhua County, located in the east of Qinghai Province, is the birthplace of the Salar ethnic group in China.

Fei Xiaotong said in the article that Salar's menu fully reflects "the characteristics of this nation that are both farmers and herders."

  Before entering the table, several plates of dried fruit have been prepared.

When the guests are seated, first taste a bowl of Gaiwan tea and start the salad feast.

  Tea leaves, longan, rock sugar, jujube, wolfberry, raisins, pineapple slices, pear slices, roses... People in many parts of China love to drink Gaiwancha, but the tea bowls are so rich and even full, it may be the first of its kind in a salad feast.

  In Fei Xiaotong’s observation, tea, longan, rock sugar, etc. are not local products in the Northwest, and the porcelain used by farmers to entertain guests is “by no means native products in pastoral areas.” Wild", "in modern language, this is also the 'time difference' between regions".

  Xiao Fuquan, who was in his forties, was born in Xunhua County and has been engaged in the catering industry for 20 years. Now he runs a large-scale "Salarenjia" restaurant in Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province.

  In Xiao Fuquan's hometown, the Salar, Hui, Han, Tibetan, Tu and other peoples have lived together for generations, and the Salar banquet also incorporates a variety of food cultures.

Xiao Fuquan said, for example, Wuji (Yangbeizi) is a noble meat commonly eaten by nomadic peoples, while pasta is a product of farming culture.

  In Xiao Fuquan's view, more than a dozen types of pasta are the essence of a salad feast.

  Sanzi, flower rolls, sugar buns, meat buns, yam buns, leek buns, carrot buns, ground vegetable buns, and finally the sparrow noodles, oil stir-fried dough, Xunhua noodles... "I used to think that the pasta was colorful It reached its peak when we arrived in Shanxi, and it was unexpected that the Salar people could be unique in pasta and broke the record.” According to Fei Xiaotong’s records, sanzi is a kind of fried pasta, flour is added with eggs and pepper water, and fried into thin strips Strips, both loose and crisp.

The sparrow tongue noodle is made by imitating the size, thickness and shape of the tongue tip of a sparrow. "I just feel that after importing, it will not drag the tongue or suffocate the throat, and it is especially suitable for the elderly."

  According to Zhang Haining, chairman of the New Dishes Research and Development Committee of the Qinghai Provincial Restaurant Cuisine Association, the stuffing of the carrot buns should be slightly over the top of the prickly ash. Saute till soft.

Use old yeast to make dough, then neutralize it with alkaline flour, roll out the skin, wrap the stuffing, and put it on the steamer.

  Served between several noodle dishes is a "bowl dish", which is made of mutton, Chinese cabbage, potatoes, vermicelli, etc., and is called "a typical combination of agriculture and animal husbandry" by Fei Xiaotong.

  The "highlight" is the hand-caught mutton.

When making it, it is more important to cook it than stew it, and avoid stewed meat spices such as star anise, cinnamon bark, and grass fruit.

Zhang Haining put nearly 20 catties of grass-dart mutton into the pot with cold water. When the water temperature rises, the foam is skimmed off, salt and Chinese prickly ash are sprinkled in, pepper and rock sugar are added to enhance the flavor, and green onion and ginger are added to remove the smell.

  The soup is ready to eat, it is for boiling mutton, but you have to rely on a pair of good teeth.

It can also be stewed slowly, cooked rotten, and eaten with garlic slices, salt and pepper or chili sauce.

In Zhang Haining's opinion, a whole lamb rib that is as long as chopsticks not only has a visual impact, but also has a unique taste when biting along the texture.

  After grabbing the mutton by hand, there is also a hot pot beyond the Great Wall.

As Fei Xiaotong said, "Salah's menu is a complex of many ethnic groups. If you try to get the best out of it, it will inevitably be too many to eat."

  Almost all the dishes described in "Salad Menu" are still used today, but they were far less abundant in the past. With the convenience of transportation, rainbow trout, tiger spot, and quinoa seedlings have become new ingredients in the salad feast.

"Now, the dishes in the salad banquet are becoming more and more elaborate, but the original taste is still the pursuit." Zhang Haining said.

  Salad ends with a glass of frozen yogurt.

"After eating a lot of meat, it ends up like this. The trick is in a sour word." Fei Xiaotong wrote at the end of the article "Salah Menu", "I hope that one day there will be special sala restaurants in major cities, which can serve the masses to taste. The unique flavor of the combination of farming and animal husbandry.”

  Today, the Salar people who are good at traveling north and south have opened "Salarenjia" in many cities in China.

(use up)