China News Agency, Harbin, December 27th: How does "Longjiang Cuisine" integrate the diverse cultures of the East and the West?
——Interview with Zhang Jinchun, President of Heilongjiang Catering and Cooking Industry Association
China News Agency reporter Shi Yifu
"Longjiang Cuisine" is the abbreviation of the local cuisine of Heilongjiang Province. It is based on the cooking techniques of Beijing and Shandong cuisines, including the food customs of Manchu, Korean, Hezhen and other ethnic minorities. , using the raw materials, auxiliary materials, seasonings and unique cooking techniques of Longjiang specialty products for processing.
China News Agency "Dongxiwen" recently interviewed Zhang Jinchun, the president of the Heilongjiang Food and Beverage Industry Association and the executive chairman of the Heilongjiang Restaurant Association who has been engaged in the research of "Longjiang Cuisine" for many years. Starting from the formation and development of "Longjiang Cuisine", the It carries the charm of the diverse food culture of the East and the West.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Located in northern Xinjiang of China, how did "Longjiang Cuisine" come into being, a fusion of Eastern and Western cuisines? What is the evidence of the integration and mutual learning of civilizations?
Zhang Jinchun:
Heilongjiang Province is located in the northeastern part of China. It has a vast territory, surrounded by water and mountains, fertile fields, and rich animal and plant resources, which provide rich ingredients for Longjiang cuisine.
Here is also a place where ethnic minorities live in harmony. All ethnic groups live in harmony, showing different living customs and food styles, and providing rich and profound technical support for the inheritance of cooking skills of Longjiang cuisine.
The formation of modern Longjiang cuisine was at the end of the Qing Dynasty. The increase in the number of immigrants who "passed through the Guandong" and the opening of major cities and foreign negotiations promoted the formation and development of Longjiang cuisine.
In the past, due to the small population, low level of economic development, and primitive and rough diet, there was no cuisine.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the "Crossing the Guandong" and the invasion of Russia, Japan and other big powers caused the population of Heilongjiang to increase rapidly, and a large number of immigrants in the Guan and Russian and Japanese immigrants settled down. Economic activities became more and more active, and the diet also developed accordingly. , Tianjin and Shandong cuisine.
At that time, Shandong cuisine with Jiaodong flavor was popular in Beijing and Tianjin.
The crowd of “Crossing the Guandong” is mainly from Shandong, and Shandong cuisine has also taken root in Heilongjiang. After decades of precipitation and integration, Shandong cuisine with Heilongjiang characteristics has been formed.
Therefore, Beijing and Shandong cuisines are the basis of Longjiang cuisine.
Today, some representative dishes of Longjiang cuisine are still the traditional techniques of Beijing and Shandong cuisine.
Longjiang cuisine mainly combines the specialties of Manchu, Korean and Hezhen ethnic groups and Russian-style western food.
Russian-style western food is mainly served in Harbin. From the end of the 19th century to the 1920s, with the construction and opening of the Middle East Railway, Harbin jumped from a small fishing village to a metropolis. It is unique in the whole country and famous in the Far East.
It distinguishes Longjiang cuisine from Northeast cuisine, and is one of the few Chinese cuisines with "foreign flavor".
"The roughness contains the essence" is a major feature of Heilongjiang's diet.
There are not only local dishes such as chicken stewed with mushrooms and butchered vegetables, but also "exotic products" such as red sausage, canned shrimp, and canned beef. The skewer effect.
Heilongjiang food and Russian food both prefer greasy food, and are also close to North Korea and Japan. For example, they like raw food, which is a common point brought about by regional factors.
Master Zhang Jinchun prepares the Northern Manchu and Han Banquet and the characteristic Longjiang cuisine in the studio.
Photo provided by the interviewee
Reporter from China News Agency: Heilongjiang Province is a border province where many ethnic groups live scattered and mixed together. Each ethnic group has its own food culture. What is the relationship between this and the formation and development of "Longjiang Cuisine"?
Zhang Jinchun:
Some scholars have positioned Heilongjiang as a complex food culture area, which reflects the original appearance of Longjiang food culture.
Heilongjiang Province is not only the birthplace of the Liao, Jin, and Qing dynasties, but also the settlements of Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Daur, Oroqen, Ewenki, Korean, Hezhe and other ethnic groups. In addition, European and Russian immigrants, multi-ethnic cultural impact and long-term integration have contributed to the Today's unique compound Longjiang food culture has laid a humanistic foundation.
Heilongjiang Province is the birthplace of the Manchu people. The social life and eating habits of the Manchu people have a great influence on the local cuisine.
The Manchus were one of the earliest ethnic groups that raised pigs. When the Manchus were still living in the cellar, they used lard to keep out the cold for the winter; sauerkraut was probably invented at that time as a method of storing cabbage.
When the Manchu people sacrificed, they killed a pure black pig in front of the altar and cooked it. The dishes with pork and sauerkraut as the main ingredients have become a major feature of Manchu cuisine.
Saqima, xiaobobo, sticky bean buns, and millet rice are common staple foods of the Manchu people.
The cooking of Manchu cuisine is mainly boiled, stewed, mixed, fried, boiled, and deep-fried. The craftsmanship is relatively simple and exquisite, and it is one of the sources and foundations of today's Longjiang cuisine.
Pickle powder.
Photo provided by the interviewee
Oroqen, Ewenki, and Daur are hunting peoples. Their staple food is hand meat, raw mixed roe liver, milk and its products, fried rice, and they have the habit of drinking tea and alcohol, which fully reflects the hunting food culture of these peoples. This has become Longjiang cuisine indispensable part.
The Hezhen people make a living by fishing and hunting, and fishing is their most important source of livelihood, "eating their meat and clothing their skin".
The slaughtered fish of the Hezhen nationality uses live fish as the main ingredient, slices the fish meat on both sides, shreds the fish meat with a knife, mixes it with white vinegar, adds salt, monosodium glutamate, and coriander, and is a famous Longjiang dish.
Grilled fish is also unique. Clean up the live fish, marinate it with salt, put on iron bars, and roast it on an open fire. The fish is delicious.
Raw mixing or cold mixing has become the basic cooking technique of Longjiang cuisine, and now it has developed into warm mixing, spoon mixing, etc.
These eating customs and cooking methods are the source of Longjiang cooking techniques and become the basic cooking techniques of Longjiang cuisine, namely boiling, mixing, stewing, steaming, frying, deep-frying, and roasting.
Crispy white meat.
Photo provided by the interviewee
China News Agency reporter: How can "Longjiang Cuisine" with its distinctive characteristics get out of the traditional positioning of "a branch of Northeast Cuisine"? How to keep the integrity and innovate while inheriting "Longjiang Cuisine"?
Zhang Jinchun:
Northeast cuisine includes dishes from Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang.
The Northeast is a place where many ethnic groups live together. Shenyang, Liaoning is also the former capital of the Qing Dynasty. There are many palace dishes and palace dishes.
Northeast cuisine is influenced by it, and the preparation method absorbs the essence of cooking methods in Beijing, Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangsu and other places, forming Northeast cuisine with local characteristics.
In Heilongjiang Province, there are Xiaoxing'an Mountains, Songnen, Sanjiang Plain and four water systems of Heilongjiang, Wusuli River, Songhua River and Suifen River, and three lakes of Xingkai Lake, Jingbo Lake and Wudalianchi.
Rich material resources, vast mountains and plains provide an extremely rich material basis for cooking.
Multi-ethnic groups thrive on the vast black land, each with different living and eating customs, ethnic characteristics and historical heritage all add luster to this rich and beautiful black land and form a unique food culture.
Longjiang cuisine is good at cooking mountain vegetables, game, meat, poultry, and freshwater fish and shrimp. The characteristics of the scenery form a unique system.
The connotation of Longjiang cuisine is diversity and inclusiveness. It absorbs the food characteristics of Shandong, Henan and other places, and integrates the flavors of Russian and Western food.
With the improvement of people's living standards and attention to health preservation, the shape and taste of Longjiang dishes are gradually changing to "clean, light, elegant and nourishing", and many dishes incorporate new concepts and elements.
Race bear paws.
Photo provided by the interviewee
China News Agency reporter: In the context of the Internet age, what opportunities and challenges will "Longjiang Cuisine" face in the future development?
Zhang Jinchun:
Heilongjiang Province has a relatively complete ice and snow industry, and the number of tourists keeps increasing every year, which provides development opportunities for the catering industry.
In the future, we must carefully sort out the development of Longjiang cuisine, restore, inherit and develop traditional dishes, absorb new cooking techniques, use standards to lead the development of the industry, and better research, publicize, promote, protect and inherit "Longjiang landmark cuisine".
Master Zhang Jinchun made the "pot-wrapped sturgeon fish" on the spot.
Photo provided by the interviewee
The unique natural resources are a gift from nature, and "food material export" is also the future of Longjiang cuisine.
The mobile Internet is providing a platform for this purpose, such as the special products of the Daxing’an Mountains, cold-water fish such as Sanhuawuluo, Shibazi, and 72 miscellaneous fish in the Songhua River, salmon, salmon, and big white fish. In the future, we will " Shout "People from all over the country come to eat Longjiang fish."
It is necessary to use these authentic ingredients and unique skills to inherit and innovate representative delicacies, start the integrated development of food industry chains such as landmark famous dishes, landmark ingredients, landmark restaurant restaurants, and landmark food streets in Heilongjiang Province, and enhance the popularity and reputation of landmark cuisine in Heilongjiang Province degree, to create a city business card.
(use up)
Respondent profile:
Zhang Jinchun, Vice President of China Hotel Association, Executive President of China Hotel Association Famous Chef Professional Committee, President of Heilongjiang Catering and Cooking Industry Association, Executive President of Heilongjiang Restaurant Association, Vice President of Heilongjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Society.
National judge of Chinese hotel industry, international gourmet judge, Chinese culinary master, China's top ten famous chefs, has won gold medals in famous chef competitions at home and abroad for many times, and is the fourth generation successor of the royal chef.
He led the team to absorb the essence of three generations of culinary arts, innovated and improved the royal imperial cuisine, and compiled a series of standards for the local standard Manchurian banquet (Northern Pai Cuisine) in Heilongjiang Province, and incorporated the Northern Pai Manhan Banquet into Longjiang Cuisine.