China News Service, Hangzhou, March 10th: "Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night": Yijia's delicious food is very different

　　Author Yan Yan Tong Xiaoyu

　　In the novelist Jin Yong's writings, steamed tofu with ham is not only a delicacy, but also a poem - Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night.

The bright yellow Jinhua ham is embedded with 24 round white tofu. When you dig out the tofu and taste it, it is light and has the salty aroma of ham.

　　March 10, 2024 is the centenary of the birth of Mr. Jin Yong. Born in Zhejiang, he has a special liking for Hangzhou cuisine.

Dishes that often appear on Hangzhou people's tables, such as beggar's chicken, wild rice shrimps, and Longjing tea-leaf chicken, are all Jin Yong's "martial arts delicacies."

　　In comparison, "Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night" may be relatively "unpopular".

This line from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu became the name of the dish in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

In the novel, Huang Rong used this dish to induce Hong Qigong to teach Guo Jing the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms".

Yi Jianmin's reproduction of Jin Yong's dish "Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night".

(Photo provided by interviewee)

　　What magic power does a seemingly ordinary dish of steamed tofu with ham impress Hong Qigong, a "foodie"?

A few days ago, a reporter walked into Yijiaxian Restaurant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and asked Yi Jianmin, a veteran Hangzhou gourmet, for answers.

　　Yi Jianmin is the head of Hangzhou Yijiaxian Restaurant and a fan of Jin Yong. He is committed to developing "classic Jiangnan cuisine".

When Jin Yong visited Hangzhou, he tasted delicious food at Yijiaxian Restaurant many times and wrote three inscriptions.

One of them wrote: "There is delicious food everywhere in the world, but the delicious food of Yi family is very different. Hong Qigong was drunk and he bowed to Xiao Huangrong. The inscription was Jin Yong."

Jin Yong wrote an inscription for Yi Jiaxian.

(Photo provided by interviewee)

　　"Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night" is one of Yijiaxian's signature dishes. Yi Jianmin began to restore and develop it more than ten years ago.

But it usually appears on the "hidden menu" and you have to say hello in advance to do it.

　　"The Legend of the Condor Heroes" introduces it like this: First cut a ham open, dig twenty-four round holes, cut the tofu into twenty-four small balls and put them into the holes respectively, tie the ham and steam it , when it is steamed, all the flavor of the ham has been absorbed into the tofu, but the ham is abandoned and not eaten.

　　It looks simple but is difficult to present.

Yi Jianmin said that the difficulty is not the method, but the ingredients.

You must choose the ham well. Hangbang cuisine pays attention to freshness and tenderness. Jinhua ham is the source of the umami flavor of this dish.

　　As an intangible cultural heritage delicacy, Jinhua ham has been passed down for thousands of years.

There are many requirements for its production. It needs to use the "two-headed black" hind legs, known as the "Chinese Panda Pig", and pickle them at low temperature from the beginning of winter to the beginning of the next year. It goes through more than 80 processes.

　　Ham is the soul of "Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night", and the choice of tofu is also very important.

In order to restore the taste in the novel, Yi Jianmin tried a variety of tofu on the market, but the results were not satisfactory.

Made from beans that have been squeezed for oil, the natural flavor of tofu is lost; lactone tofu is brittle; white water tofu does not taste mellow; smoked tofu tastes too overbearing and "robs" the salty flavor of ham.

　　Later, he found tofu ordered with brine in the village.

After steaming, the ham flavor is strong and the tofu flavor is light. Although the ham is removed, the meat flavor is completely penetrated into the tofu.

Yi Jianmin felt that it tasted right and felt right.

　　"'Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night' is very artistic. Although I have not tasted it, I have already 'planted the seeds' and will definitely try it when I return to China." Mao Feng, honorary chairman of the Spanish Overseas Chinese Association, has read many works by Jin Yong.

He said that the food in Jin Yong's writings is no longer a pure diet, but has risen to the level of a culture.

"For example, Jade Flute Who Can Listen to Luomei, Junzi Haoqi Soup, etc. are all dishes that perfectly integrate martial arts, poetry, and food science. This is also the essence of Chinese food culture."

　　Having lived in Spain for nearly 30 years, Mao Feng has never forgotten the delicacies of his hometown, and he has greater expectations: In addition to "Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night", can other delicacies written by Jin Yong be restored?

　　Yi Jianmin is doing this.

　　In 2002, Jin Yong happily wrote an inscription after dining at Yijiaxian: "There is a true meaning in food, and it can only be found through deep thinking and careful study."

This year, Yi Jianmin is 61 years old. He feels that the time has come to restore and innovate the Jiangnan cuisine described by Jin Yong.

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