China News Service, Kunming, February 16th: Yunnan Steam Pot Chicken: The most authentic flavor of strengthening righteousness
Author Chen Jing
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Qiu Tian's family of three, who lives in Kunming, Yunnan, accompanied his parents and grandmother to make a reservation at Fu Zhaolou Restaurant, which specializes in steam pot chicken. In the eyes of her 80-year-old grandmother, when the family gathers together every Spring Festival, a bowl of nourishing and fragrant steam pot chicken soup is an indispensable dish at the family banquet.
The steam-pot chicken, which can cook a pot of fresh soup without adding a drop of water, was once called "the most original flavor of chicken" by veteran "foodie" Wang Zengqi. Yunnan, located in the southwest border of China, has an altitude difference of more than 6,600 meters and is home to 26 ethnic groups. The extremely complex and diverse climate has given birth to “inexhaustible” mountain delicacies and game, as well as various specialties. However, the steam pot chicken, which has minimal ingredients and cooking methods, firmly ranks in the "C position" with a touch of fragrance.
The picture shows the freshly cooked steam pot chicken. Photo by Li Jiaxian
When the banquet begins, lift the pottery lid of the steam pot chicken, and the hot steam will hit your face and the aroma will flow everywhere. You can scoop it into the bowl. The chicken will be smooth and tender, and the soup will be delicious. It is said that during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Yang Li, the chef of Fudeju in Anfu (now Jianshui County), exclusively created the Jianshui purple pottery steam pot and used the steam cooking method to develop steam pot chicken, which later became a famous dish in central Yunnan and has been passed down to this day. .
Put the chicken pieces, ginger, pepper, shallots, and refined salt into the steamer, place the steamer on a steamer filled with water, plug the gaps in the steamer with gauze to avoid steam leakage, and then put it on the fire to cook. After the water boils, the steam continuously circulates through the steam nozzle in the middle of the steam pot, gradually steaming the chicken, and accumulates in the pot and turns into soup. After 3 to 4 hours, remove the green onion and ginger, and serve it to the table with the soup in the pot. The chicken in the pot is raked without being rotten, and the meat and bones are "separated" with just a flick of chopsticks. The chicken soup is fragrant and rich, with endless aftertaste.
Because steam pot chicken has very few seasonings and is simple to make, it is particularly particular about the raw materials and utensils. For example, the chicken should not be too small, otherwise the meat will fall apart after several hours of steam cooking; if the chicken is too old, the meat will be too hard, and if the chicken is too fat, it will be bland and tasteless. In the end, Wuding Chicken, which is "extremely fat and flavourful", became the first choice. According to the "New Compilation of Yunnan General Chronicles", "Wuding Chicken is the best in the province and became famous throughout Yunnan by the end of the Ming Dynasty."
The Jianshui pottery steam pot used to cook "steam pot chicken" is even more famous. As one of the four famous pottery in China, Jianshui purple pottery has the reputation of being "as strong as iron, as bright as water, as moist as jade, and as loud as a chime". The steam boiler made of it has good air permeability, which is beneficial to long-term heat preservation and even distribution of heat. During the pressure-cooking process, the pot body can allow some gas to escape without causing explosion due to excessive pressure.
The picture shows the Jianshui pottery steam pot displayed in the Fuzhaolou restaurant in Kunming. Photo by Li Jiaxian
Since steam is homophonic to righteousness, restaurants in Yunnan that serve steam-pot chicken as their signature dish often hang plaques reading "Cultivation of righteousness". "In the past, when people in Kunming said: 'Let's cultivate righteousness today,' the obedient people would understand that they were going to eat steam pot chicken." Wang Zengqi recalled that when he was studying at the Southwest Associated University in Kunming, he wrote, "When you enter into 'cultivating righteousness,' It's like walking into another restaurant, all five flavors are mixed, but pure and pure, with the aroma of chicken."
Upon closer examination, the so-called "cultivating righteousness" has two meanings. The first is to strengthen the vitality in the body, which belongs to the medical category. People in Yunnan still have the custom of eating steam pot chicken after childbirth or illness to restore vitality and resist diseases. Nowadays, Chinese herbal medicines such as gastrodia elata, cordyceps, and notoginseng are also added to steam pot chicken to make it more nourishing and nourishing.
The second is to cultivate the spiritual righteousness. During the Anti-Japanese War, a large number of steam boilers were inscribed on one side with calligraphy contents with strong national consciousness such as "Resistance to Save the Nation" and "Victory of the Anti-Japanese War", and on the other side were painted bamboo, orchids, green pine and other patterns that symbolized the integrity of the Chinese nation, reflecting the spiritual pursuit of respecting etiquette and morality. .
The picture shows the steam pot chicken placed in the "C position" of the ordering table in Kunming Fuzhaolou Restaurant. Photo by Li Jiaxian
Today, in front of the Fu Zhaolou Restaurant on Wenming Street in Kunming, a plaque with the Southwest Associated University's motto "Fortitude and Perseverance" hangs high on the door. There are portraits of Southwest Associated University celebrities, old books, etc. in the store. The ham chair with an armrest shaped like a ham on the right side can be seen here. Place a book on top to take notes.
"Fu Zhaolou was founded in 1938 and is famous for its steam pot chicken. Southwest Associated University moved to Kunming in 1938. There are many intersections between the two." Yu Haoran, chairman of Kunming Fu Zhaolou Steam Pot Chicken Catering Co., Ltd., told reporters, "I I regained this brand in 2002, hoping to combine modern catering concepts with traditional time-honored brands, and through a table of authentic Yunnan dishes, let people understand the history and temperature of Yunnan, as well as the spirit and power behind it."
Utensils convey the truth and objects express emotions. Steam pot chicken has long become the common memory and nostalgia of Yunnan people. This "righteous" fragrance is not only the Yunnan people's simple pursuit of the original taste of food, but also a vivid interpretation of the feelings of family and country. (over)