A dish of garlic steamed loofah, steamed Lingnan summer and moist home

I am Elena Jade Cooper. My friends who know me well are used to calling me Lena. I am 34 years old this year. I have been sharing delicious food for just six years. I am not a professional food creator, nor have I delved into the theoretical knowledge of cuisine schools. I just grew up in the old alleys of Lingnan small town in the Pearl River Delta and was fed by my grandmother's old-fashioned bamboo steamer. The midsummer in Lingnan is long and humid. There is no bitter night breeze, only sticky and greasy heat. The local people's dining table never likes heavy and spicy dishes. Instead, they prefer fresh, fresh and unburdened seasonal vegetarian dishes. The simplest cooking method is used to keep the original taste of the ingredients and eliminate the dryness and heat in summer. Grandma's kitchen corner is always piled with two bamboo steamers, one old and one new, which are her exclusive treasures for steaming vegetables. Garlic steamed loofah is a home-cooked dish that she cannot cook after summer every year. There are no expensive ingredients and no complicated seasoning. Only tender loofah and fragrant garlic are steamed, but with a mouthful of fresh and sweet ironing, it is tied to the midsummer of my childhood, it is also the healing taste that can best soothe the heat and irritability when I grow up wandering in a foreign land. I always follow the seasons in cooking. I prefer steaming and cooking to preserve the original flavor. I never stick to fancy techniques. I always feel that the true meaning of home-cooked food is never seasoning, but conforming to the weather, the true nature of the ingredients and the wishes of my family. This steamed loofah with garlic is the simplest and most touching proof.

My memory of steamed loofah with garlic has been firmly bound to the midsummer of Lingnan since I can remember. Every year in June, the vegetable market in the streets and lanes is filled with fresh and tender green skin loofah. The vines are still covered with dew. The melon body is full and straight, and there is no old and hard fiber. It is the most grounded seasonal vegetable in midsummer. At that time, there were not so many iced drinks and air-conditioning desserts in summer, and the relief of summer depended on home-cooked food. Grandma always said that eating loofah in midsummer was the most refreshing and relieving dryness, and it was more nourishing than any cool drink. Every sultry afternoon, or before dinner, grandma would go to the vegetable market at the corner with a bamboo basket, pick out two of the freshest green loofah, buy a pair of full garlic, and move out of the bamboo steamer on the table when she gets home. after a simple tidying up, the kitchen will have a faint fragrance. I always like to move a small bench to sit in the patio, watching grandma busy, lingnan afternoon sun hot, patio big banyan tree covered a cool, cicadas singing, the wind with gardenia fragrance, with the kitchen is about to come out of the pot of loofah fragrance, became the most unique picture of childhood summer.

Grandma is very particular about handling loofah. She never uses a peeler to peel off all the green skin. She only gently scrapes off a thin layer of hard skin on the surface and retains most of the tender skin. She said that steamed loofah with skin tastes crisper and tender, can also lock in sweet juice, and will not soften and rot seedlings once steamed. She cut loofah into even hob pieces and put them in a clean white porcelain plate. They were placed neatly without squeezing or overlapping, ensuring that each piece could be heated evenly and steamed with consistent taste. Next is the soul of this dish-minced garlic. Grandma will never be lazy in making minced garlic, only release garlic, and will not fry garlic until it is scorched. She will always chop garlic into delicate minced garlic and divide it into two halves. One half will fry it slowly with a little warm oil. When it is yellowish, the fire will be turned off. The other half will be kept as raw garlic. Finally, it will be mixed together and poured on towel gourd, only a small spoonful of thin salt and a few drops of extremely fresh raw soy sauce are added to improve the flavor, and even sesame oil is rarely put. Grandma always said that the sweetness of loofah is unique to the freshness in summer. Garlic paste is good as long as it is perfumed. The extra seasoning will only destroy the sweetness. Simple, it is the flavor that summer should have.

When ready, grandma put the porcelain plate with loofah into the bamboo steamer, put it on the iron pan with boiling water, cover the steamer lid, and steam it quickly. Bamboo steamer has a unique air permeability, steamed vegetables will not have the smell of water vapor, but also with a faint fragrance of bamboo, which is not comparable to the metal steamer. The whole steaming process takes only a few minutes and does not need to be steamed for a long time, otherwise the loofah will become soft and rotten and lose its crisp and tender taste. Grandma, with years of experience, can always control the time accurately and turn off the fire and uncover the lid as soon as the temperature arrives. At the moment when the cover of the steamer was lifted, a moist aroma came to the face. There was no strong smell of oil smoke or heavy seasoning. Only the sweet of loofah and the mellow fragrance of garlic were mixed with the light bamboo fragrance of the bamboo steamer, which instantly dispelled the heat in the patio and even the sultry wind became refreshing.

Steamed garlic loofah, simple but particularly moving, loofah pieces still maintain a full shape, no soft rotten deformation, the skin with a light green, garlic and a little sauce soaked slightly shiny, garlic finely spread on the loofah, golden yellow and green contrast, look fresh and greasy. The loofah that has just come out of the pot must be eaten while it is hot. When it is cold, the taste will be soft and the aroma will be greatly reduced. I always can't wait to pick up the chopsticks, pick up a piece and put it in my mouth. The first bite is wrapped by the refreshing feeling of midsummer. The taste of loofah is crisp, tender and soft. With a gentle sip, the full sweet juice will burst in the mouth without any astringency, only the sweet fragrance of natural fruits and vegetables. After steaming, the spicy of raw garlic completely fades away, leaving only the mellow garlic fragrance, which is perfectly integrated with the sweet fragrance of loofah. The fragrance is not washed, thick but not greasy. The salty fresh flavor of a little raw smoke is just right, every bite is refreshing, sliding down the throat, even the hot and dry bottom of the heart has been smoothed. At that time, the summer dinner, a bowl of rice congee, a plate of steamed loofah with garlic, and a small plate of pickles were the most comfortable match. The warmth of the porridge neutralized the freshness of loofah. One mouthful of porridge and one mouthful of vegetables relieved the summer heat and filled the abdomen. After eating, the whole body felt comfortable, and even the sleep on summer nights became stable. This was a steadiness and cure that no iced food could give.

Only when I grew up slowly did I understand this seemingly insignificant garlic steamed loofah, which hides the unique summer diet wisdom of Lingnan people and is a classic representative of vegetarian dishes made by the north and south folk. Luffa is a typical summer vegetable. Its growth period is concentrated in midsummer. It has a clear and sweet taste and sufficient water. Since ancient times, it has been recognized as a clean and moist food material among the people. It is suitable for the humid and hot climate in Lingnan. It can help dispel the heat and moisten the intestines and stomach. The old people often say that "eating loofah in summer keeps all diseases away". Although it is a common saying, it, it shows the core logic of seasonal diet. Garlic with loofah is an excellent combination explored by the folk. Garlic is warm in nature, can neutralize the slight coolness of loofah, make the dishes more peaceful in nature, and can be eaten by the elderly and children. At the same time, garlic can also enhance the flavor of vegetarian dishes, make light loofah no longer light, and can make fresh, fragrant and beautiful vegetarian dishes without meat matching. It is a cheap delicacy that ordinary families can easily realize.

From the perspective of regional practice, steamed loofah with garlic does not have strict cuisine attribution. It is a home-cooked fast-food all over the country. However, there are slight taste differences in different places, but the core is always around "clear and moist, original flavor". This dish in Lingnan area is very simple and light. Garlic is half cooked and half cooked, only a little salt and raw soy sauce are added for seasoning. It pursues the original flavor of loofah, crisp, tender and juicy taste, and never adds heavy seasonings such as chili and oyster sauce, which is suitable for the light dietary preference of Lingnan people. In Jiangnan region, a little shrimp skin will be added to minced garlic to enhance freshness to enrich the taste of seafood; in some areas of southwest China, a little chopped pepper will be added to add a little spicy food, which is suitable for the local heavy taste eating habits. However, even if the method is slightly different, the people-friendly nature of this dish has never changed-the ingredients can be seen everywhere, the method is simple and convenient, there is no need to fry and fry, there is no trouble with lampblack, the steaming method is healthy and light, especially suitable for summer kitchens, and can make a refreshing small dish without enduring high temperature.

In the logic of folk diet, steamed loofah with garlic can become a summer classic handed down from generation to generation, but also because it hides the simple philosophy of living. It does not cost money or energy. The most common seasonal vegetables and the simplest cooking method can meet the taste buds of a meal. It does not pursue the abundance of big fish and meat, but only pays attention to the comfort of eating in season. For the older generation, this dish is a money-saving delicacy in summer. The loofah produced in the vegetable garden, together with the garlic that is always available at home, is a dish at hand and can easily handle a meal. For children, this dish tastes sweet, not spicy and not greasy. It is one of the few vegetarian dishes that they like to eat. It can moisten and relieve the summer heat without worrying about getting angry. For those who are far away from home, this dish, A mouthful of moist loofah can remind you of the patio in your hometown, grandma's bamboo steamer, and lingnan's midsummer evening breeze. this is the power of home-made vegetarian dishes. ordinary but warm, simple but can poke the softest place at the bottom of the center.

When I grew up, I left the small town of Lingnan and went to work in the northern city. The summer in the north is also hot and dry. Compared with the hot and humid in Lingnan, it is more likely to make people dry and upset. Every hot summer, I miss the steamed loofah made by grandma with garlic and the taste of moistening and relieving dryness. When I first tried to make this dish myself, I took many detours, either peeling loofah too clean, steaming it soft, rotten, and losing juice seriously. Either the garlic is all fried and the taste is bitter, which hides the sweetness of loofah. Either the steaming time is too long, loofah becomes a puddle of soft mud, with no crisp and tender taste, and the taste is far from what grandma made, eating in the mouth is full of loss. At one time, I felt that I didn't master grandma's skills and couldn't remember the taste of childhood until I called grandma. she smiled and told me not to peel loofah too hard, not to fry garlic too hard, and not to steam for more than five minutes. vegetarian food was fresh gas, and the simpler it was, the better it was.

According to grandma's words, I put down my impatience. Every time I cook this dish, I specially choose fresh and tender loofah. I control the temperature of garlic and the time of steaming. I don't add any extra seasoning at will. I slowly find out my own common practice. When the bamboo steamer was lifted and the fragrance of Qingrun filled the rental house, I seemed to have returned to the patio of my hometown in Lingnan. Grandma was sitting next to me, cicadas were singing and the fragrance of flowers was curling. All the fatigue in the workplace, the irritability in foreign countries and the unbearable heat were smoothed by this breath. At that moment, I realized that the soul of this dish was never the cooking technique, but the freshness of the ingredients, the gift of the season, the homely memory engraved in the bones, and the taste of belonging no matter where you are.

Now, every summer season, steamed a dish of garlic loofah, has become my fixed life ritual. Sometimes I eat alone, with a bowl of rice congee, which is refreshing and dispels the heat. Sometimes I invite friends to my home and make a dish. Everyone says that this dish looks simple, but it tastes particularly greasy and refreshing. It is refreshing on the summer table. I also often share these seasonal home-cooked dishes in the howcooks, and pass on Lingnan's summer fireworks and home-cooked healing warmth to more people. I always feel that, food sharing should not be a cold tutorial, but to convey the beauty of the season, the happiness of life and the love of family through words, so that more people can stop in the fast-paced heat, eat a mouthful of fresh and moist dishes, and feel the comfort of one meal and one meal.

I always feel that the most touching thing about garlic steamed loofah is never how amazing its taste is, but its ordinary, clear and healing. It is a small poem written to the dining table in midsummer, a gentleness left to the years, a good way to dispel the heat, and a small beauty in the life of ordinary people. It has no gorgeous appearance, no loud name, no expensive ingredients, but it can use a mouthful of fresh and sweet in every sultry summer, reminding us of the change of seasons, reminding us to eat in season, reminding us of the fireworks in the world, which is the most touching. It taught me that the beauty of life is never in vigorous events, but in the ordinary of one meal, in the freshness of seasonal ingredients, in the simple and pure taste, and in the comfort that need not be deliberately created.

We always chase iced drinks, heavy oil and spicy food in summer, coveting temporary stimulation, but often ignoring the most nourishing and comfortable homely taste. Summer is long and the heat is hard to dissipate. However, a dish of steamed loofah with garlic does not need to be fried or tasted. It only uses the simplest way to lock the freshness and sweetness of the ingredients, lighten the burden on the intestines and stomach and cool the mood. This is the most important dietary state in summer. It does not need delicate plate, does not need tedious steps, as long as the ingredients are fresh and cooked carefully, you can reap a full sense of happiness, which is the most precious place of home-made vegetarian dishes.

In fact, in everyone's memory, there is such a seemingly ordinary home-cooked vegetarian dish that carries time and emotion. It may not be rich or amazing, but it can evoke the warmest memories in the bottom of my heart at a specific time. Cure all irritability and uneasiness. To me, steamed loofah with garlic is the midsummer evening breeze in Lingnan, the love of grandma, the coolness of childhood, the comfort of a foreign land, and the memory of summer engraved in the depths of taste buds. No matter how far you go, as long as you eat it, it is like returning to your hometown, to the patio full of bamboo fragrance and cicadas.

In the midsummer of the year, the loofah is fresh and tender, and the garlic is rich. You might as well go into the kitchen, steam a dish of garlic loofah with the simplest ingredients, and take a bite while it is hot to feel the warmth of midsummer and the warmth of home. No need to pursue complex practices, no need to add extra spices, adapt to the season, taste the truth, is the best kindness to life. Do you have a simple taste that reminds you of your childhood, your family, and those gentle and cool summer days? If you have a story about steamed loofah with garlic, or a taste that is unique to you, you might as well share it with me to keep this summer warm and warm.