A pot of bacon and winter bamboo shoots, fresh through southern Anhui, hide all Huizhou winter mountain fireworks

in Huizhou in southern Anhui in deep winter, the green hills are covered with thin frost, the bamboo forests are clear and cold, the cured meat hanging under the eaves is dripping with warm grease, and the winter bamboo shoots broken in the mountains are fragrant with soil. When these two extreme mountain and wild tastes meet, the most haunting delicacy of Anhui people in winter-the cured meat winter bamboo shoots are achieved. There are no complicated seasonings, no fancy cooking techniques, the salty fragrance of bacon hits the fresh crisp and tender of winter bamboo shoots, the soup is fresh and mellow after slow stewing over a small fire, the fragrant meat of bamboo shoots blends, one bite down, it is the crisp mountain, the salty fragrance of years, the winter homesickness carved in Huizhou people's bones, and the most authentic mountain delicacies on ordinary peasant tables.

I am Cheng Muyao, 28 years old this year. I am a native of Huizhou in Huangshan, Anhui Province. I have been sharing Huizhou's local home-cooked food in howcooks for three years. I have a warm and simple temperament. I grew up in an ancient village in Huizhou. I followed my grandfather up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots, followed my mother to smoke bacon, and have a love for Huizhou's mountain and wild ingredients. I never pursue exquisite and complicated dishes, but I only love these homemade tastes from Shan Ye and hand-made. Winter bamboo shoots of cured meat are the delicious food I most hope for in winter every year. They are my mother's specialty home-cooked dishes, the necessary hard dishes for reunion during the New Year, and the warmest fireworks in Huizhou winter.

Huizhou people pay attention to "relying on the mountain to eat the mountain". In the mountains and fields in winter, the most important thing is the fresh and tender winter bamboo shoots. Under the eaves of every household, there must be smoked bacon in autumn and winter. The combination of these two ingredients is the dietary wisdom passed down from generation to generation by Huizhou people, and it is also the most simple taste ceremony in winter. In my childhood memory, in the deep winter season, I would always carry a bamboo basket up the mountain to dig winter bamboo shoots, especially those bamboo shoots that broke the soil soon and had tender white meat. The winter bamboo shoots were delicate and delicate. After digging back, I would immediately peel off the shells, remove the old roots and leave only the freshest bamboo shoots. My mother will take off the smoked pork under the eaves, wash it with warm water, and cut it into even thick slices, slow smoked with pine and cypress branches and orange peel, with ruddy color, rich salty fragrance and no fishy smell.

At that time, what I expected most was that when my mother made winter bamboo shoots of bacon, the hot pot did not put any extra oil, and the slices of bacon were slowly fried over a small fire to force out the fat of bacon. The fat was sizzling, and the whole room was filled with mellow meat fragrance. Then the chopped winter bamboo shoots were put into a high fire and stir-fried, so that the bamboo shoots were fully covered with grease, sucked with salty, add a little water, add a little water, and stewed slowly for 10 minutes, there is no need to put chicken essence or monosodium glutamate, only the taste of the ingredients themselves is used to improve the freshness. A handful of chopped green onion is sprinkled before coming out of the pot, and a pot of delicious bacon and winter bamboo shoots is ready. Just out of the pot of cured meat winter bamboo shoots, cured meat fat but not greasy, salty flavor, winter bamboo shoots crisp, fresh and sweet, clear and greasy, the two taste perfect fusion, soup is fresh to drop eyebrows, mixed with a bowl of white rice, can eat two large bowls, warm belly, all over with warmth, dispel all the cold in winter.

Cured meat and winter bamboo shoots are a very representative winter home-cooked dish in Huizhou, southern Anhui, Anhui, and it is also a typical embodiment of Huizhou's diet "taking the mountains and wild, the original flavor of nature". Relying on the unique mountain and forest resources in southern Anhui and inheriting the 100-year-old home-cooked practice, it is the soul dish of Huizhou people's winter dining table. Bamboo forests in southern Anhui are densely distributed and rich in high-quality winter bamboo shoots. Winter bamboo shoots are tender, sweet and dregs-free, and are known as "delicacies". Huizhou bacon is a necessary flavor for local people in autumn and winter. It is made of local free-range pigs, pickled and smoked with pine and cypress branches. It has unique flavor and mellow salty flavor. The combination of the two cooking is the wisdom of Huizhou ancestors in adapting to the season and using food materials. The salty fragrance of bacon neutralizes the clear and widest amount of winter bamboo shoots. The crispness of winter bamboo shoots dissolves the greasiness of bacon, complements each other and has excellent taste. It is not only a daily delicious dish, but also a necessary hard dish for Huizhou to celebrate the New Year and welcome guests and friends. It carries Huizhou people's daily winter and local feelings.

I sincerely recommend you to try the authentic Anhui cured meat winter bamboo shoots. First, it is the representative of Huizhou mountain wild flavor. It perfectly interprets the essence of Huizhou diet "fresh, salty and delicious, with outstanding original flavor". It is taken from natural ingredients and has no extra addition. It eats fresh mountain meat and Huizhou fireworks. Its regional characteristics are extremely distinctive. Second, the taste is perfect. Cured meat is fat but not greasy and salty, winter bamboo shoots are crisp, tender, fresh, sweet, fresh and residue-free, one meat and one vegetable, one salty and one fresh, rich in taste, fragrant but not greasy, fresh but not light, suitable for all ages; Third, the ingredients are natural and healthy, the winter bamboo shoots are low-fat and high-fiber, and the bacon is made of native pigs without too many additives. The method of slow stewing over small fire moistens and nourishes the stomach. Fourth, it is not only a hard dish for the winter home-cooked table, but also a finale for the New Year reunion and the gathering of relatives and friends. Simple cooking shows sincerity, with a pot on the table and a full atmosphere. Fifth, it is full of seasonal ritual. This dish is exclusively delicious in winter. Only winter bamboo shoots in deep winter can be matched with aged bacon to make the most authentic taste. It is the unique seasonal taste memory of Huizhou people.

Authentic Huizhou bacon winter bamboo shoots, hiding a lot of homely tips, is also an old practice handed down by my mother. First of all, the selection of materials is the key. Winter bamboo shoots should be selected from the deep mountains of southern Anhui, with moderate size, golden shell and tender white meat, avoiding the old and hard bamboo shoots. The bacon should be the local pork bacon smoked by Huizhou pine and cypress branches, with ruddy color and moderate saltiness, not too salty bacon. When cooking, you don't need to let go of more oil. Slow frying by the fat of bacon itself can not only force out fragrance, but also make winter bamboo shoots absorb oil and increase fragrance. There is no need to put heavy seasoning in the whole process, just a little salt to enhance the flavor of the ingredients themselves, so that the winter bamboo shoots can fully absorb the fragrance of bacon, stew until the bamboo shoots are soft and glutinous, with the best taste, remember to cook quickly, it is easy to cause winter bamboo shoots to become hard and bacon to become firewood.

When I grew up, I left Huizhou to work in other places. Every winter, what I miss most is the bacon winter bamboo shoots made by my mother. I have eaten the same dishes in many restaurants. Either the bacon is not authentic and does not have the mellow flavor of Huizhou bacon, or the winter bamboo shoots are old and hard, losing their crisp taste and never eating the taste of my hometown. Every time I return home, my mother always digs up winter bamboo shoots and prepares bacon in advance. As soon as I get home, I can eat a pot of steaming bacon winter bamboo shoots. The familiar fresh and salty fragrance hits my face. One bite down is full of childhood memories and the warmth of my home. All the tiredness in a foreign land is smoothed by this delicious mountain.

When I share Huizhou cuisine in howcooks, I always put this cured meat winter bamboo shoot in the first place in winter recommendation. It has no precious ingredients and no profound cooking skills, but it uses the simplest mountain and wild matching to make the most touching homely taste, hiding the green mountains and green waters of Huizhou, hiding the craftsmanship of farmers, and hiding the winter homesickness of countless Huizhou travelers. This dish is the taste of Huizhou winter, the delicious gift of Shan Ye, and the warmth of family reunion. It is simple but healing, simple but precious.

If you also prefer the delicious food of mountain wild and home-made fireworks, you must try the authentic Anhui cured meat winter bamboo shoots. If you have the chance to come to Huizhou in southern Anhui in winter, you may as well go into the farmhouse of the ancient village, taste a pot of delicious winter bamboo shoots with homemade cured meat, stroll around Huizhou ancient houses, and feel the winter fireworks and mountain fresh meat that belong to Huizhou alone. What is your favorite home-cooked food in winter? Have you ever tasted this delicious food with preserved meat and mountain freshness? Please leave a message in the comment area and share it. You can also come to the howcooks to find me and unlock more stories and practices of local home-cooked food in Huizhou.