In our diet, there is such a food, which keeps pace with the times, keeps pace with the times and is updated every year. People, rich and poor, men and women, old and young, all yearn for it, and that is seasonal food. They are the products of mountains, rivers and lakes, and are the gifts of nature.
In spring, puffer fish is the most beautiful, bamboo shoots are the most tender, wild vegetables and spring buds appear; In summer, crayfish are bursting with heat, barbecue stalls can be seen everywhere, and fruits, pears and peaches are fragrant everywhere; In autumn in Man Cang, the fish and shrimp are plump, the mushrooms are delicious and the crops are cooked. In winter, all kinds of aquatic products are the protagonists, and a sumptuous dinner covers everything.
In a sense, from ancient times to the present, people in China are pursuing the trail of delicious food with the change of seasons.
There are many rivers and lakes in the south of the Yangtze River, which is a famous land of fish and rice in China. The unique terrain breeds rich aquatic products. When the golden breeze is refreshing and chrysanthemums are in full bloom, hairy crabs, a fresh lake that people never forget, are in the peak season of listing again.
Hairy crab, the scientific name of Eriocheir sinensis, is a kind of freshwater crab with black and gray hairs on its claws. Mainly produced in Taihu Lake, Hongze Lake, Gucheng Lake, Yangcheng Lake and other vast waters in Jiangsu, among which Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are famous.
As the saying goes, "autumn wind blows crabs' feet itch, and the navel is round in September and sharp in October." Autumn is the season to eat hairy crabs, and the female crabs in September of the lunar calendar are the most beautiful. At this time, the female crab is golden yellow, bright and full; Male crabs are fattest in October of the lunar calendar. At this time, the crab paste of the male crab is as rich as white jade. Hairy crabs in autumn are rare delicacies.
The traditional crab season only lasts for more than two months. During this period, the aquatic product market was prosperous and crowded. Diners in famous shops and crab farms are in an endless stream. Hairy crabs can be seen everywhere in the market and on the dining table. Eating crabs in crab season is the most grand and pleasant thing in autumn.
Not eating crabs several times a year is a waste of this rare autumn and this tempting delicious food.
For the practice of hairy crabs, local people who are well versed in cooking skills advocate a simple method-steaming, which is the best way to eat crabs without losing their original flavor. When steaming crabs, put them in a steamer, add a little shredded ginger and yellow wine to the water for a quarter of an hour, and with a burst of fragrance, the orange hairy crabs can be cooked.
The delicious food promoted by China people is hidden in crab shells. The crab meat of hairy crabs is firm and smooth, and the mouth is sweet. Golden and shiny crab roe, milky and sticky crab paste, make people's lips and teeth fragrant and memorable.
Gourmet Shen Hongfei has a criterion to judge the quality of hairy crabs: First-class crabs have stained their fingers after eating, but they are still stubborn after repeated washing for several days. At the same time, he also put forward a principle of eating crabs, that is, after eating hairy crabs, he would not eat other foods.
Hairy crabs are born in nature, longer than nature, strong and muscular. They feed on natural aquatic plants and small fish and shrimp, and can swim among pebbles at the bottom of the lake like flies when preying. Hairy crabs growing in this environment are bound to taste delicious. After eating crabs, the fresh fragrance of hairy crabs remains in the mouth, and other foods are naturally tasteless. As the saying goes, "A crab on the table is tasteless."
In China, the history of eating crabs has been more than 3,000 years. Crabs have played an important role in China people's dining tables since ancient times. Due to the complexity of eating crabs, in the Ming Dynasty, skilled craftsmen made a set of exquisite crab eating tools, including hammers, pliers, shovels, forks and needles, which were called "eight crabs". With the help of "eight crabs", smart diners can piece together finished crabs into a whole crab without noticing that it is empty. Eating crabs has become more and more popular since the appearance of tools.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, hairy crabs were divided into "martial food" and "literary food". "Wu Shi" refers to the way ordinary people eat, one mouthful wine and one mouthful crab. "Literati eat" is a unique elegant move of literati. In the golden autumn, friends meet, and the process of eating crabs, drinking, enjoying the moon and reciting poems becomes an elegant and unique food enjoyment, full of fun and beauty. Scholars have pushed China's crab-eating culture to its peak.
In the four classical novels A Dream of Red Mansions, eating hairy crabs has been vividly and meticulously described.
For the first time, Zhen presided over the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Although the original work only used a sentence of "needless to say", in the 87th TV series "Dream of Red Mansions", director Wang Fulin put this bridge on the screen, which reappeared the scene of literati eating crabs for the first time on TV, and the banquet was the finale of hairy crabs. As the zhenyinshi slowly pried open the crab shell, the golden and shiny crab yellow instantly jumped into the eye, making people drool and instantly absorbing countless powders.
In chapter 38, the author tells a colorful crab rhyme. At that time, Xue Baochai invited Jia Hougong to eat crabs in the Grand View Garden, and the family enjoyed drinking and joking. Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai each wrote a poem about crabs when the wine was warm and the ears were hot. Jia Baoyu even wrote a poem "Claws are more like sweet-scented osmanthus, and vinegar is poured on ginger", which is very timely and has a strong sense of picture. Now reading, the scene of everyone eating crabs seems to be in front of us.
Throughout the ages, hairy crabs, as a seasonal food, have attracted countless diners with their unique delicacies, and have been sought after by princes, nobles and literati of all dynasties. Isn't it fun to drink and sing poems with crabs?
Li Bai wrote a poem praising hairy crabs, saying, "Crab claws are golden liquid, and bad mountains are Penglai. And you must drink wine on the platform next to the moon and get drunk. " Crab with wine, what is life geometry? The poet's unrestrained feelings are unobstructed. Lu You's poem is even more subtle. "The crab fat drools temporarily, and the wine is green and the eyes are bright." After eating crabs and drinking wine, the poet's joy was beyond words, and his dim old eyes suddenly became bright. Zhang Taiyan's wife, Ms. Tang Guoli, even said frankly: "If Yangcheng crab tastes good, why live in Suzhou in this life?"
Swallows under the eaves of Wang Dao and Xie An have now flown into the homes of ordinary people.
Nowadays, eating crabs is no longer the patent of dignitaries and gentry, and the general public has become an important consumer group of hairy crabs. Although there is no poetry between pushing a cup for a change and making money, as an important carrier of emotional communication, hairy crabs still occupy a distinguished position in the banquet. As always, people regard hairy crabs as treasures and revel in the wonderful experience they bring to taste buds.
People often use "eating bear heart leopard gall" to describe a person's courage and courage, and by extension, eating hairy crabs also has this meaning.
This overlord in the water, waving two big pliers, runs amok and is arrogant in its world. Look at those people around us who have eaten hairy crabs. They were all smiles and angry. Even when they walk, they will be more heroic and domineering. Presumably, they will also bring this sense of pride to their work and life, and they will be invincible wherever they go.