China News Agency, Tianjin, January 3rd, title: Tianjin Pancake Guozi: Soybean flour "painting" cake with egg fragrance
Author Wang Junyan Wang Zaiyu
In the twilight of morning in Tianjin in the cold winter, a simple signboard "Jiuhe Zhangji" hangs on the blue brick wall of an old house on the street, and the scent wafts from the old house with the heat.
Having a set of pancakes in the morning and chatting with the neighbors in the neighborhood has become the habit of "Weizuizi" Ding for decades.
"If you want to eat the most authentic Tianjin snacks, you have to buy pancakes, especially the old shops in the corners of the street. They still have the same old taste after decades."
Jiuhe Xiashao Tianjinwei, prospered because of the river, has a history of 618 years since it was officially built in 1404 in the Ming Dynasty.
Crispy rice dishes, roll rings, fried cakes... Tianjin, which is called "carbohydrate paradise" by netizens, has an extremely rich "breakfast", the most representative of which is "pancake glutinous rice".
According to You Guoqing, a folklore expert and columnist in Tianjin, the origin of pancakes is closely related to Tianjin’s ancient wharf culture.
"Old Tianjin Wei is a large wharf in the Hehai commercial port. There are many porters and businessmen. They can roll a meal with one hand and work without delay. Pancakes and rice dumplings have become a fast food that comes on demand."
"It's up to the diners to decide whether it's authentic or not." Before he finished speaking, Chef Zhang Jianming of "Jiuhe Zhangji" scooped a spoonful of mung bean noodles onto the iron plate, and with a slight twist of his wrist, a pancake was spread out in a few seconds .
Crack an egg and spread it evenly, supplemented with noodle sauce, fermented bean curd, chopped green onion, etc., spread the glutinous rice or glutinous rice (bì) (thin and crispy), fold it lightly with a shovel, and a set of pancakes will be freshly baked in a few minutes. The tangy aroma dispelled the chill in the air.
Spreading pancakes may seem simple, but there are many things to pay attention to.
"You have to use pure mung bean noodles, and the mung beans have to be freshly ground. The temperature of the iron plate must reach about 210 ℃, and the hand speed must be fast. The pancakes spread out can be fragrant and crispy, and they can't be battered." Master Zhang Tianjin The words are "slippery", the work in hand is even more "slippery", and after a while, another set is settled.
Afterwards, Master Zhang took out a small bottle from under the stove to show his "exclusive secret recipe" - homemade seasoning.
"The taste of each pancake is different, and the secret is in the small bottle. There is no secret recipe, but each family is a little different." Master Zhang said that the taste of each pancake is different, and diners After you get used to one flavor, you will feel that other people's homemade "unauthentic", but in fact, this kind of love and dislike for nuances is just the taste memory left by everyone in childhood, and over time it becomes a pancake at home. "The most authentic".
Zhang Rong, a girl from Tianjin, has been studying in Canada for six years.
The first thing she did when she returned to China was to eat a set of pancakes to relieve her nostalgia.
Not only that, before going abroad, Zhang Rong would also buy a set of pancakes at home to eat on the way to catch the plane. She said that only the pancakes at home belonged to childhood memories.
"The 'Home Edition DIY Pancake Guozi' we produced has been exported to Australia this year, so that diners in foreign countries can make their own delicacies without leaving home." Song Guanming, president of Tianjin Pancake Guozi Association, picked up a Guozi said, "Don't look at the small box, it has all kinds of seasonings, such as mung bean noodles, grits, sweet noodle sauce, etc., and even the bamboo pancake scraper specially prepared for spreading pancakes. , complete with all internal organs'".
Many Tianjin people who are far away from their hometowns walk the streets and alleys of other places and see the various "pancake set menus" on the shop menu, and they can't help but think that it is a "heretical" delicacy.
The only way is to go back home, buy a set of freshly baked pancakes early in the morning, eat while walking in the familiar city streets, watch pedestrians strolling, listen to the busy traffic, chat with the neighbors when you have time, and come back at the end Hot soy milk, opening up a day's life in this way, may be regarded as authentic Tianjin Wei.
Maybe the sense of taste is nostalgia. Whether you are a foreigner or a traveler, even if your accent changes, the memories of your hometown pancakes are still branded in your heart.
This kind of folk snacks all over the streets and alleys carries the complex of hometown, as if a piece of light falls on a corner of the floating world, letting the smoke and fire illuminate the wanderer's way back.
(use up)