A plate of Yangzhou fried rice, fried with Huaiyang fireworks and years of happiness

I am Clara Wei, whose real name is Wei Qingyue. My friends like to call me Qingyue. I am 29 years old this year. I am a native of Dongguan Street in Yangzhou. Now I run my own niche food account in Shanghai. On weekdays, I always record the Huaiyang homely flavor hidden in the old lane in howcooks, specializing in sharing local food that is not fancy and authentic. I am not a food blogger with a professional background, and I have never delved into complicated cuisines. I just grew up on the bluestone road of Dongguan Street and grew up in the old-fashioned kitchen with my grandmother. In my bones, Huaiyang cuisine is engraved with the dietary obsession of "fresh, peaceful and original taste. In Yangzhou, fried rice is never a leftovers dish that can be handled casually, but a classic dish that can be served on the home table and banquet table. It is the most common and amazing taste in my grandmother's hands. It is the homesickness comfort that I can drag back to my childhood in one bite after leaving my hometown for Shanghai. I have always felt that the essence of Huaiyang cuisine is never in thick oil and heavy sauce, but in fine, fresh but not greasy. This seemingly simple Yangzhou fried rice is to rub this essence into the rice grains, ordinary but seeing skill, simple but hiding deep feeling.

Today, I would like to have a good talk with you about Yangzhou fried rice. This home-cooked staple food, which is popular all over the country, seems to be cooked by everyone and can be seen everywhere. However, the real taste of Yangzhou is hidden in the fireworks details of old Yangzhou and in the culinary exquisite handed down from generation to generation. It is by no means comparable to ordinary egg fried rice. It does not have the hot and strong flavor of Sichuan cuisine, the heavy atmosphere of Shandong cuisine, and the unique warm and refreshing flavor of Jiangnan water village. The rice grains are distinct, the color is bright, the taste is elastic, and the fresh, fragrant, loose and soft balance is just right. In one bite, it is the delicate fragrance of rice, the mellow fragrance of egg liquid, the fresh alcohol of ingredients, and the blending of fresh alcohol of ingredients, it is also a classic representative of Huaiyang food culture.

Speaking of the history of Yangzhou fried rice, it is far more distant than we thought. Its embryonic form can be traced back to the Sui Dynasty. The "broken golden rice" recorded in the ancient book "Food Sutra" is the predecessor of Yangzhou fried rice. According to legend, this meal was created by Yue Gong Yang Su. Cooked japonica rice and egg liquid were fried together, so that each grain of rice was wrapped in golden egg liquid. The color was as bright as broken gold and the taste was loose and elastic. Therefore, it was named "broken gold rice" and was a popular exquisite staple food in the palace at that time. Later, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal and toured Yangzhou several times, bringing this palace delicacy to the water villages in the south of the Yangtze River. With the prosperity of the canal's water transport, boatmen and merchants from the south to the north spread this meal, allowing it to slowly enter the folk market from the palace imperial food and take root in Yangzhou, a fertile land.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yangzhou, as a hub of water transportation and a gathering place of salt merchants, was rich in economy and prosperous in food culture. Local cooks combined with Jiangnan products and refined improvements were made to the broken golden rice. Instead of simply stir-frying eggs and rice, Yangzhou added fresh river shrimps, diced Jinhua ham, diced bamboo shoots, diced mushrooms, green beans and other delicate ingredients to enrich the taste and color of fried rice, slowly formed now Yangzhou fried rice classic appearance. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, the kitchen of Yangzhou Taishou Yi Bingshou optimized the practice, controlling the humidity of rice grains, the size of the temperature and the proportion of ingredients, and setting the standard of "gold wrapped in silver, bright grains, uniform ingredients, fresh and clear", making Yangzhou fried rice a classic staple food in Huaiyang cuisine and has been passed down to this day. Nowadays, Yangzhou fried rice is included in the list of local intangible food, and has become a taste card of Yangzhou and even Huaiyang cuisine. It can be seen in restaurants in the north and south of the Yangtze River, but only the local old taste of Yangzhou is the most suitable for its original appearance.

My memory of Yangzhou fried rice has been firmly bound to the figure of the old kitchen and grandmother in Dongguan Street since I can remember. When I was a child, I lived in the depths of Dongguan Street. The bluestone road was winding. The alley was filled with the aroma of dried tea, pickles and cakes. Grandma's old-fashioned kitchen was not big. There was a black iron pot that had been used for decades, a wooden chopping board, no exquisite kitchen utensils, but it could always make the most authentic Yangzhou flavor. Grandma is a native of Yangzhou. She has been cooking home-cooked meals all her life. She has an almost stubborn emphasis on Yangzhou fried rice. In her eyes, fried rice is not a "modified product" of leftovers, but a delicate staple food to be treated with care. Every step can't be careless. At that time, the family was not rich, but the fried rice made by my grandmother always made ordinary ingredients especially amazing. During the holidays, family visitors, or when I came home from school and cried hungry, my grandmother would slowly make a plate of Yangzhou fried rice. The aroma filled the whole alley, which was the most practical smell of fireworks in my childhood.

Grandma never uses freshly cooked hot rice when cooking Yangzhou fried rice. She always says, "hot rice is sticky and glutinous, and fried rice can't taste loose. overnight indica rice is the soul". Cook Yangzhou local indica rice one day in advance. The rice grains are slender and moderately hard. When cooking, use less water to make the rice grains clear. After cooling, let it stand for one night. The water will dry up and will not stick and agglomerate when frying. This is the basis for making Yangzhou fried rice well. The egg liquid should also be fresh local eggs. The egg yolk is full and the egg liquid is thick. When beating the egg liquid, no drop of water is added, only a little white pepper is added to remove fishy smell to ensure pure egg fragrance. Ingredients are even more exquisite. River shrimps are selected from local small river shrimps, which are now peeled and used, and are tender and tasteless. Ham is made of Jinhua ham, which is thin and fatter, cut into even small cubes with salty flavor. Bamboo shoots only take the tender bamboo shoots, mushrooms are soaked in warm water, green beans are full of fresh green beans, all ingredients are cut into small cubes of 0.5cm square, uniform size, and taste, and taste.

Before grandma fry rice, she always burns the iron pan to a hot temperature, and then puts a little cooked rapeseed oil. when the oil temperature is 60% hot, she pours half of the egg liquid, quickly slides and fry it into a finely divided osmanthus egg shape, and puts it out for later use. this step is to make the egg more fragrant and soft in taste. Then put a little lard in the pan. The fragrance of rapeseed oil is matched with the mellow nature of lard. The fried rice is more fragrant but not greasy. Then add diced ham, diced mushroom, diced bamboo shoots and green beans. Slowly stir-fry with small fire to produce fragrance. Slowly disperse the fresh gas. Then add drained overnight rice. Turn the fire to stir-fry quickly. Grandma holds the wooden shovel with her wrist and gently, heat the rice grains evenly so that each grain becomes dry and loose.

When the rice grains are fried until they are slightly shiny, pour in the remaining egg liquid, stir-fry quickly, so that each grain of rice is evenly wrapped with egg liquid, and the color is golden and bright. This is the "gold wrapped in silver" in the mouth of old Yangzhou, which is the core standard of authentic Yangzhou fried rice. The golden egg liquid wraps snow-white rice grains, and the color is bright, so you have appetite. Finally, add the fried shrimps and sweet-scented osmanthus eggs, stir-fry them evenly, add a little fine salt to taste, do not add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and never add any extra seasoning. Grandma always said that Yangzhou fried rice eats the original flavor. Excessive seasoning will cover up the fresh flavor of the ingredients. Sprinkle a small pair of chopped scallion before cooking. The aroma is instantly stimulated and a plate of authentic Yangzhou fried rice comes out of Yangzhou.

There is no delicate plate, it is put in the ordinary white porcelain plate, golden rice grains, pink shrimps, dark red ham, green green beans, light brown mushrooms, the color matching is harmonious and bright, the oil is bright but not greasy, the aroma is light and mellow, there is no pungent oil smell, only the fragrance of rice, egg and ingredients is fresh and intertwined. In Yangzhou, eating Yangzhou fried rice is also exquisite. You must eat it while it is hot. When it is cold, the rice grains will harden and the aroma will be lost. When the fried rice just comes out of the pan, the rice grains are loose and elastic, and a chopstick is put into your mouth. First, the fragrance of rice, then the mellow egg liquid, followed by the fresh and sweet shrimp, the salty ham and crisp bamboo shoots. Each bite is distinct, it is fresh but not fishy, fragrant but not greasy. The rice grains are chewy in the mouth. The more you chew, the more fragrant they are. There is no sticky feeling of ordinary egg fried rice. Even if you stutter, you can eat a full plate.

When I was a child, I always squatted at the door of the kitchen and watched my grandmother fry rice. The sound of the fire and the aroma of the ingredients were the most healing images of my childhood. At that time, when I came home from school, I could smell the fried rice coming from the kitchen when I put down my schoolbag. Grandma would always put a large plate on the eight immortals table with a bowl of light green vegetables and bean curd soup, which was the most satisfying meal. I always choose shrimps to eat when I eat, and my grandmother doesn't stop me. she smiles and says, "eat slowly, no one will rob you." sometimes I have a bad appetite, but my grandmother's Yangzhou fried rice can make me eat an extra bowl. the warm and refreshing taste accompanies me through my whole childhood and is carved into the depths of my taste buds.

In Yangzhou, every household has the habit of making Yangzhou fried rice by itself. You can see this fried rice in time-honored restaurants on the street, snack bars at the entrance of the lane, and the kitchens of ordinary people. It does not have a fixed luxury ingredients, all depends on the food reserves at home, but the core "gold wrapped in silver, grain clear, fresh but not greasy" standard, the old Yangzhou people adhere. Yangzhou people pay attention to peace when eating and do not like heavy taste. Yangzhou fried rice is just in line with this diet concept. It is not greasy, light, fresh and fragrant. The elderly and children love to eat it. It can be used as breakfast, lunch, supper and staple food. It is the most down-to-earth and practical home-cooked delicacy. During the holidays, Yangzhou fried rice is also the final staple food at the family banquet. After eating the big fish and meat, the guests have another plate of refreshing fried rice, which is greasy and full, showing the delicacy and appropriateness of Huaiyang cuisine.

Later, I left Yangzhou and went to Shanghai to work and live. In the fast-paced days, I always ordered Yangzhou fried rice on the take-out software. Every family I could eat lost the authentic taste made by my grandmother. Either the rice is sticky and glutinous and has no clear taste. Either the egg liquid is unevenly wrapped and does not look like "gold wrapped in silver"; Either the seasoning is too heavy, soy sauce and oyster sauce are put too much, which hides the original taste of the ingredients, is full of greasy feeling, and tastes dull. Every time I miss home, I miss my grandmother's fried rice in Yangzhou, the old kitchen in Dongguan Street, and the way my grandmother cooked rice. I tried to choose indica rice, control the temperature, streamline the seasoning, and tried repeatedly, and finally fried the taste close to my hometown. When the rice grains were golden and loose in the pan and the aroma filled the rented house, I seemed to return to the old alley of Dongguan Street. Grandma was standing beside me. The fireworks in the alley were blowing in my face, and all the tiredness of foreign land was smoothed by this fresh fragrance.

I often share this authentic Yangzhou home-cooked fried rice in my howcooks. I don't talk about the rigid proportion of ingredients or the complicated cooking steps. I only talk about this childhood memory hidden in Huaiyang fireworks. I didn't expect to gain the resonance of many Yangzhou villagers who work hard outside. Some people say that after watching it, they immediately think of the taste made by their grandmother and mother. Some people say that every time they go back to Yangzhou, the first thing is to eat a dish of authentic fried rice in a time-honored brand. Many friends from other places also try to abandon the heavy seasoning and make it. The refreshing and authentic Yangzhou fried rice fell in love with this Huaiyang freshness. I suddenly understood that Yangzhou fried rice is not just a staple food, it is the daily three meals of Yangzhou people, the epitome of Huaiyang food culture, the homesickness of wanderers, and the taste symbol engraved in the bones of Yangzhou people.

I always feel that the moving thing about Yangzhou fried rice is not how famous it is, but its simplicity and intention. It has no precious ingredients, no complicated techniques, but relying on respect for ingredients, control of temperature, and adherence to the original taste, it has become a classic that has been passed down for thousands of years. It taught me that the best food is never a fancy pile, but the ultimate heart in simple ingredients, the gentle companionship of fireworks in daily life, and the taste of hometown that can be cared about no matter how far you go. The gentleness and gentleness of Huaiyang cuisine and the gentleness and tenderness of Jiangnan water town are all hidden in this small plate of fried rice and in every loose golden rice grain.

Now, whenever I calm down to fry a plate of Yangzhou fried rice, watching the rice grains roll and change color in the pan, smelling the faint fragrance of rice and eggs, my heart is extremely calm. This is not only a meal, but also the yearning for hometown, the nostalgia for childhood, and the persistence of Huaiyang fireworks. If you also like the light, fresh and fragrant homely flavor, you may as well abandon the heavy seasoning and try the authentic Yangzhou fried rice method, feel the delicacy of "gold wrapped in silver", taste the fresh fragrance of the original flavor of the ingredients, and experience the Huaiyang amorous feelings hidden in the fried rice.

If you have the chance to come to Yangzhou, don't miss Yangzhou fried rice, which is a time-honored brand in the street. Find an old restaurant, sit down and order a dish of fried rice, match it with a bowl of light soup, taste it slowly, feel the bluestone fireworks in Dongguan Street, feel the freshness and peace of Huaiyang cuisine, and this warm and fresh fragrance will definitely make you remember the gentleness and charm of Yangzhou. What is the most memorable taste of home-cooked fried rice in your heart? Do you have any memories of your hometown fried rice? Welcome to share in the comment area and talk about the warmth of fireworks and meals together.