A pot of North and South Apricot Vegetable Dried Yifei Soup, the Lingnan Warming and the Years Warming

I am Iris Mae Thompson. My friends around me are used to calling me Iris. I am 39 years old this year. I have been focusing on sharing Cantonese old fire soup with home-made health food for seven years. I am not a professional health dieter, nor a food critic who delves into cuisines. I am just an ordinary life recorder who grew up in the alleys of the old city in the Pearl River Delta and was fed by grandma's old fire soup. The dining table of Lingnan people has always been inseparable from a bowl of soup cooked with slow fire. We do not pursue the luxury and luxury of soup. Instead, we cling to the common wisdom of "not eating from time to time and keeping people warm". Especially in the dry season of autumn and winter, a bowl of health soup that moistens and returns sweet is the most intimate daily comfort. In the corner of grandma's kitchen, there are always several stoneware pots of different sizes. under the wall are sun-dried vegetables, north and south apricots, figs and other home-made soup ingredients. the north and south apricot vegetable soup is the soup she cannot cook every autumn and winter. there are no fancy ingredients and no complicated collocation. however, with a smooth and peaceful taste, I ironed every dry festival from childhood to adulthood, it has become the smell of Lingnan fireworks that I am most concerned about after I am far away from my homeland. I always follow the season and heart in making soup. I never believe in rigid health-preserving formula. I always feel that the essence of a bowl of good soup is never the piling up of valuable ingredients, but the patience of conforming to the heart of the day, slow fire and slow cooking, and the heart of the family hidden in the soup. This soup of dried apricot vegetables and benefiting the lungs in the north and south is the simplest proof.

My memory of this soup has been firmly bound to the autumn and winter of Lingnan since I can remember. The autumn and winter of the Pearl River Delta is not as cold as the north, but it has a lingering sense of dryness. When the autumn wind blows, the air becomes dry and cold, the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, the throat is easy to dry and itch, and the nasal cavity always feels astringent. After running and jumping, it is easier to cough and discomfort. At this time, grandma will prepare the ingredients in advance, move out of the coarse pottery pot that has been used for more than 20 years, and start cooking soup early. The earthen pot is brown and brown, with thin cracks on its body. It is an old object that Grandma had when she married. The soup cooked is more mellow and moist than the iron pot and stainless steel pot. It has no miscellaneous flavor and can lock the original flavor of the ingredients to the greatest extent. When I was a child, I always liked to squat by the small coal stove in the kitchen and watch my grandmother busy. She never used a quick fire to cook soup. The small fire simmered slowly throughout the whole process. The charcoal fire in the coal stove was warm and swallowed. The soup in the tile pot rolled slightly without boiling. Only a faint fragrance drifted out. The whole kitchen was wrapped in this warm breath, and even the dry autumn wind became soft.

Grandma is very particular about choosing ingredients. She never uses quick dry goods. She takes care of them herself or chooses authentic goods from neighborhood markets. The core of this soup is dried cabbage, which is unique to Lingnan and is the wisdom of the older generation to retain the delicate flavor of autumn-Chinese cabbage grows best in autumn and winter. Grandma will pick fresh and full cabbage, wash it and hang it on the bamboo pole on the balcony. Take advantage of the autumn sun to dry it slowly. The dried cabbage is golden in color, with the sweet and dry fragrance of the vegetable itself, no musty, still soft and extremely strong in soup absorption ability, it can also neutralize the greasy meat and is a "wild artifact" in Cantonese soup ". The other core is North and South apricots. Grandma always said that the combination of North and South apricots is the soul of this soup. South apricots are too big, with clear, sweet and warm taste, mainly moistening and nourishing. North apricots are small in size, slightly bitter in taste, focusing on benefiting lung and qi. The two are matched in proportion, neither cold nor dry, and peaceful in nature. No matter the elderly, children, or people with weak physique, they can rest assured to drink without excessive burden. With a small piece of fresh pig meat, it is not fat or greasy. purelly, in order to improve freshness, add one or two candied dates and a few figs to neutralize the slight bitterness, so that the soup will naturally return to sweet. Only a few simple ingredients, no extra spices, no complicated seasoning, are all the confidence of this soup.

Grandma's soup cooking process is as slow as the old days. She never shortens the cooking time or seasonings in advance in order to save time. First, slowly soak the dried vegetables in warm water, wash the sand and dust inside, squeeze out the water and cut into sections; put the pork in cold water, add two slices of ginger to simply blanch the blood, remove and wash, put into the tile pot, add enough water, add the soaked dried vegetables, north and south apricots, candied dates and figs, immediately turn to the smallest fire, cover the pot, and simmer slowly for two and a half hours to three hours. During the whole process, grandma would come over from time to time to look at the temperature, so as not to let the soup boil and overflow, nor to let the fire be too small to cook. she always said: "old fire soup, hurry not, the fire is too strong, the soup will be turbid, the time is too short to taste, slowly cook, the nutrients of the ingredients will melt into the soup." When I was a child, I was impatient and always looked forward to drinking soup quickly. From time to time, I lifted the lid of the pot and peeked. Grandma would hold my hand with a smile and let me wait patiently. It was said that good things need time to settle down. Making soup is the same as living a life, and it is only good enough to taste slowly.

The moment when the soup is cooked is the most healing moment of the whole autumn and winter. Grandma turned off the fire, did not rush to open the lid, and let the tile pot simmer for ten minutes to lock in the last fragrance. The moment the lid was lifted, a moist aroma came to my face. There was no strong meat aroma or pungent spice flavor. Only the sweet and sweet dried vegetables, the light aroma of apricot in the north and south, and the mellow aroma of meat were mixed together to be moist and comfortable. Soup head was light amber, clear not turbid, surface floating a thin layer of oil star, grandma will use a spoon gently skimmed, a bowl of refreshing soup became. Pour it into a white porcelain bowl and take a sip of it while it is hot. The soup slides down the throat and instantly smooths the thirst and dryness in autumn and winter. The warm warmth spreads from the heart to the limbs. The originally dry and itchy throat becomes comfortable and even breathing becomes smooth. The dried vegetables are full of soup, soft and glutinous, not dry and sweet, and one bite is full of fresh and sweet. The pork is stewed soft and rotten, and it will spread out with a gentle tear. It tastes neither wood nor greasy. The north and south apricots are soft and melted in the mouth, with a faint sweet taste and no bitter taste. At that time, I didn't know what health preservation was. I only felt that this bowl of soup was delicious, warm and comfortable, and the whole person became warm and moist after drinking, which was the most practical sense of peace of mind in autumn and winter.

Later, when I grew up, I understood this seemingly ordinary soup, which hid the unique wisdom of eating and keeping in good health of Lingnan people, as well as the folk philosophy of life handed down from generation to generation. North and South Apricot Vegetable Dried Yifei Soup is not a famous soup in traditional banquets, nor is it a health-preserving medicated diet deliberately advertised. It is a homely soup that people in Lingnan conform to nature and care for their daily life. It belongs to the category of Cantonese Qingbuliang Soup. The core is "peace and nourishing, clear but not light, tonic but not dry". Lingnan is located in the subtropical zone, and the climate is humid and dry all the year round. The local people always pay attention to "clearing and nourishing" rather than "big tonic". They reject too strong and nourishing ingredients. They prefer to use common household ingredients to cook mild and nourishing soup, protect the spleen, stomach and lungs, and adapt to the local climate and physique. This is also the reason why Cantonese-style old fire soup can be spread for a century and deeply rooted.

From the perspective of food culture, dried vegetables are the epitome of Lingnan folk diet. In the past, the storage conditions of materials were limited, the cabbage was harvested in autumn and winter, and the endless cabbage was dried into dried vegetables. It can be preserved for a long time and can change the taste. It is suitable for cooking soup and cooking. It is the wisdom of the older generation to run the house with thrift and skillful use of food materials. The combination of north and south apricots in the soup is a gentle way of health preservation explored by the folk. It has no bitter feeling of medicinal materials, and only fragrance is left in the soup. It is suitable for long-term drinking. It is not as taboo as medicated diet. It really achieves the homelization of "medicine and food homology" and integrates health preservation into three meals a day, rather than deliberately. This soup has no regional limitations, but it has a strong Lingnan brand. It does not choose the season. Autumn and winter are the most suitable for moistening dryness. Drinking in spring and summer can also clear moistening and relieve greasy. Whether it is the daily three meals with staple food, or drinking a bowl of moistening throat after a meal, or the family members are recovering from a cold and throat is not timely, it is the real "soup for the whole family".

Different from those soups that require complex techniques and valuable ingredients, the moving part of the North and South Apricot Vegetable Dried Lung Decoction lies in its "ordinary and close to the people". Food materials are available everywhere, the method is simple and casual, there is no strict matching requirement, no professional kitchen utensils, a tile pot, a casserole, or even an ordinary soup pot can cook a delicious taste, do not bother to take care of it, as long as you can endure simmering, you can harvest a bowl of warm and moist soup. For Lingnan families, this soup is not a tonic to be drunk occasionally, but a frequent visitor on the dining table in autumn and winter. It is the daily way for grandmothers and mothers to take care of their families. There is no vigorous love. It is hidden in this bowl of slow cooking soup.

When I grew up, I left the Pearl River Delta and went to work and live in northern cities. The autumn and winter in the north were bitter and dry, which was even worse than that in Lingnan. After staying in the heating room for a long time, my throat was dry and painful, and my skin was tight and uncomfortable. At this time, I especially miss the South and North Apricot Vegetable Dried Tonifying Lung Soup cooked by Grandma, and the taste of Qingmoistening and Gan. When I first started cooking my own soup, I always thought about the taste of grandma, but I made many mistakes. Either the dishes were not dry-cleaned and the soup was filled with dust. Either there are too many apricots in the north and south, and the soup is bitter. Either the fire is too urgent, the soup cooked is turbid and unclear, and there is no such warm taste as grandma's. At one time, I felt that I didn't have grandma's skills and couldn't cook the taste of my hometown. Until I called grandma, she told me carefully that I should soak and wash more dried vegetables, not more apricots in the north and south, enough handful, small fire, enough time, no need to deliberately pursue anything in cooking soup, just with my heart.

According to grandma's words, I slowly adjusted my mind and stopped rushing for success. every time I made soup, I prepared the ingredients in advance, patiently soaked the dried vegetables, simmered slowly for three hours on a small fire, guarded the soup pot, watched the soup roll slowly, smelling the fragrance a little bit, as if I had returned to the kitchen in my hometown, grandma was standing beside me. Finally, I cooked the North and South Apricot Vegetable Dry Yifei Soup, which tasted similar to Grandma's. When the first warm soup slipped into my throat, the familiar feeling of moistening hit me, instantly smoothing the discomfort brought by the dryness in the north and the loneliness and fatigue of wandering in a foreign land. At that moment, I realized that the taste in this bowl of soup was never a simple superposition of ingredients, but a time of slow stewing, the heart of the family, and the nostalgia of Lingnan engraved in the bones.

Nowadays, every autumn and winter season, I will insist on cooking this soup of dried apricot vegetables and lungs, which has become a fixed ritual in my life in a foreign land. Sometimes I drink alone to warm my body and moisten my throat and relieve the tiredness of the day. Sometimes I invite friends around me to come home and cook a big pot to let them taste Lingnan's homely soup. Many friends are amazed by this bowl of light but sweet soup for the first time. They say that drinking the whole person feels comfortable, without heavy greasy feeling, and it is a warm taste that they have never tasted. I also often share the feeling of this home-made health soup howcooks, not to teach everyone how to cook, but to share the Lingnan fireworks in this bowl of soup and the warmth of my family. I didn't expect to gain the resonance of many friends who also love home-made soup. Some people say that they often cook this soup in their own family, which is the taste of childhood. Some people say that according to this heart-warming soup, the original health is never deliberately nourishing, but so into the daily gentle care.

I always feel that the North and South Apricot Vegetable Dried Yifei Soup has never been just a bowl of soup. It is the epitome of Lingnan people's attitude towards life, a concrete expression of family care, and a small fortune in ordinary days. It has no precious ingredients, no amazing taste, but it has the most healing power. It takes care of the body in the dry season, soothes the soul in the busy days, and comforts homesickness in the time in a foreign land. It taught me that the best health preservation is never how many precious supplements to eat, but to conform to nature and treat three meals a day attentively. The best taste is never the delicacies of mountains and seas, but the homely taste cooked by family members with time and heart. It is plain but long, warm and long-lasting.

In the fast-paced moment, we are always busy on the road, busy running, often neglecting to eat well, take good care of ourselves, and forget to slow down and feel the tenderness of life. And a bowl of old fire soup with slow fire and fine cooking is the reason for us to stop. Let us feel the original taste of the ingredients, the slowness of time, and the care of our family in the warm soup. This North and South Apricot Vegetable Dried Yifei Soup has no gorgeous appearance or resounding name, but with a mouthful of peace and peace, it has accompanied generations of Lingnan people, warmed countless dry autumn and winter, and cured countless wandering foreigners.

In fact, our life does not need too much vigorous and wonderful, more is the ordinary of a meal, a soup and a dish of warmth. Just like this bowl of seemingly ordinary lung soup, there is no strong taste, but it can slowly moisten into the bottom of my heart, leaving a long-term warmth. I don't know if there is such an ordinary but healing homely soup in your hometown? Is there a bowl of soup that hides the love of family, the memory of childhood, and the warmth of your region? If you have also tried this North and South Apricot Vegetable Dried Yifei Soup, or have your own homely soup story, you may as well share it with me, so that the warm taste hidden in the fireworks will accompany us through the years and feel the most authentic and beautiful life.