A furnace of Hu Shi a pot, slow stew out Huizhou's hospitality and years of love

in late autumn, Jixi is always wrapped in a thin layer of mountain fog, and the wind is clean and moist. As soon as I set foot on the stone road to Shangzhuang's old house, I can smell the fresh fragrance stewed slowly in the alley, mellow and long, and can't disperse around the white wall and tiles-needless to think, grandma must be stewing my favorite Hu Shi in the stove, and the fragrance boiled slowly is Huizhou, which is the deep smoke in autumn.

I am Jiang Zhiyu, 29 years old, a native of Jixi Shangzhuang. On weekdays, I slowly share Huizhou's home-made Huizhou cuisine in howcooks. I don't catch up with the flow or write fancy copy. I only pay attention to the taste of Huizhou from small food to large and the food handed down from my ancestors, and tell my friends who like fireworks in detail. I am not a professional inheritor of Anhui cuisine. I just grew up with my grandmother guarding the stove of Huizhou's old house. I have learned all kinds of home-made Anhui cuisine. in my bones, I prefer the temperament of Anhui cuisine that "slow work gives fine flavor, heavy oil and heavy fire are not greasy". in particular, I love this pot that requires patience and slow stewing. it is not street fast food, but the sincerity of Huizhou people's hospitality in my hometown. it is engraved on my taste buds, if you don't taste it for a while, your heart will be empty.

Today, I would like to have a good talk with you about this * * Hu Shi Yipin Pot * *, which is the representative of authentic Huizhou cuisine and the business card of our Jixi Shangzhuang. When outsiders mention Huizhou cuisine, most of them have heard of this elegant and mellow hard dish. Many people only know its name is elegant, but they do not know that it hides the simplicity of Huizhou folk and the warmth of literati. This dish was originally a home-cooked dish for guests in Jixi countryside. Earlier, it was difficult to walk in the mountains. When distinguished guests from afar came to visit, the villagers put the good ingredients saved in their homes, stewed them layer by layer in a big iron pot, and poured all their hospitality into the guests.

As for its origin, it has been handed down from generation to generation in Jixi. It is said that Ganlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River via Jixi, and farmers stayed in the mountains in the rain. The peasant women stewed dried beans, radishes, meat pieces and bean curd bags in the pot layer by layer. After eating, Ganlong was full of praise and gave the name "one-product pot", implying the kindness of "one-product honor". Later, Mr. Hu Shi, whether it is to entertain friends from the same village at home or later serve as ambassador to the United States to entertain foreign guests, we must make this one-piece pot. Slowly, this dish has the name of "Hu Shi one-piece pot" and has become a famous signboard in Anhui cuisine. It is also an essential hard dish for Jixi to celebrate festivals, weddings and funerals, and entertain distinguished guests. It carries the courtesy and warmth of Huizhou people.

The authentic Hu Shi one-piece pot pays most attention to "layered stacking and slow stewing over small fire". It is by no means a random stew. This is the rule that Grandma has adhered to all her life, and it is also the ingenuity of Huizhou cuisine. The bottom of the pot is paved with vegetarian dishes, dried beans, slices of winter bamboo shoots and white radish pieces, which are soft and glutinous after being filled with soup. Chicken nuggets and oily tofu bags in the middle are fresh and juicy. The top layer is braised pork and handmade egg dumplings. The meat is mellow and fragrant, usually four or five layers stacked layer by layer. Add stock soup after the yard is ready. Boil and simmer, during this period, there is no need to turn it frequently, so that the fragrance of the ingredients will slowly blend and the stew will become fresher.

I stood by the hearth and watched the firewood crackle and the double-ear iron pot stewed slowly. The aroma seeped into the air little by little. There was no pungent seasoning taste. Only the fresh and mellow of the ingredients themselves, the meat fragrance was not greasy, the vegetarian fragrance was clear and sweet, mixed with the clear and moist of Huizhou mountain forest, and I felt warm when smelling it. Grandma always said that a pot of food is patient, not urgent, the fire is too big to burn, stew is too short to taste, Huizhou people always pay attention to slow food, just like living, steadfast and gentle for a long time.

When the lid of the pot was lifted when the stew was full, the fresh fragrance came to the face. The soup was thick and red, and the ingredients were neatly packed. The egg dumplings were golden, the meat was soft and glutinous, the bean curd was full, and the vegetarian dishes were bright. Each ingredient sucked enough of the freshness of the stock soup, with distinct levels and flavors. A piece of braised pork is stewed until it is soft, rotten and boneless, fat but not greasy, and melts in the mouth. Take a bite of handmade egg dumplings, the egg skin is fragrant and soft, and the meat stuffing is fresh and tender. The bottom dried bean and radish are full of meat flavor, soft and glutinous, and delicious than meat. Even the soup is mellow and long. You can eat two more bowls of rice.

In our Huizhou, a pot is never a simple dish, it is a symbol of reunion, is the sincerity of hospitality. When I was a child, when guests came to my family, my grandmother would stew a pot and a pot. The family sat around the hearth and ate with steaming pots. They talked about everything. They were warm and harmonious. There was no exquisite plate setting and complicated etiquette. However, they were full of family companionship and the warmth of guests. This was the most simple fireworks in Huizhou.

I sincerely recommend you to try this Hu Shi one-piece pot. First, it is a classic representative of Huizhou cuisine. You can taste Huizhou's food culture and local customs in one bite. The ingredients are exquisite and traditional. Each bite is the taste inherited by ancestors. Secondly, it has extremely rich taste, balanced meat and vegetables, soft and glutinous, fresh and mellow flavors, and is suitable for all ages. Whether it is family reunion or friends gathering, one pot is served on the table, the atmosphere is full, eating comfortably and enjoying itself. Third, it hides full of warmth and sincerity, no fancy decoration, all slow work and careful work, warm body and heart after eating, can dispel all fatigue and impetuousness, and feel the steadfast happiness in ordinary days.

Later, when I lived outside, I also tried to re-carve this one-product pot, but the taste of grandma's cooking was always missing. Only then did I realize that what was missing was the fireworks of Huizhou's old house, the patience of slow firewood stewing, and the original taste of the ingredients in my hometown. This Hu Shi pot is not only a dish for me, it is the mountain fog and kitchen smoke of Huizhou, the love and etiquette of grandma, and the homesickness that can lead me home no matter how far I go.

If you have the chance to come to Jixi, you must find an authentic farmhouse, taste the stewed Hu Shi pot, sit in the old house with white walls and tiles, slowly taste the slow stewed Huizhou flavor, and feel the warmth and sincerity of Huizhou people. Have you ever tried a pot of authentic Anhui cuisine? What is the most popular dish for guests? Welcome to the comment section to talk with me.