You don't necessarily know the fragrance of knife and board, but you know the stinky mandarin fish. When you went to Mount Huangshan, Hu Zongxian | bacon | mandarin fish
Jixi, located at the southern foot of Mount Huangshan and on the Huizhou Hangzhou Ancient Road, is the birthplace of Hu Zongxian and the authentic birthplace of Anhui Cuisine cuisine. There have been many famous Hu family members here, as well as their legends with Anhui Cuisine cuisine: Hu Xueyan and "stinky mandarin fish", Hu Shi and "Yi Pin Guo", Hu Zongxian and "Dao Ban Xiang". However, compared to the well-known first two, "Knife Plate Fragrance" appears slightly low-key, as it is actually a pickled meat dish. Don't underestimate pickled meat, its pickling process is straightforward, breaking and rebuilding. Pickled meat can be roughly classified into several types: salted meat, cured meat, air dried meat, and soy sauce meat. Knife plate aroma is the simplest type of salted meat - using only salt, apply it thick on the pork belly, patiently massage, and let the salt penetrate to play its role. The combination of crystal clear salt particles and meat fat quietly twists and turns: not only can it prevent corrosion, but salt also separates the tightly packed protein filaments of muscle cells into a single protein filament, giving the fat a semi transparent and moist feeling - this is a change in appearance; Under salt, dehydrated muscle fiber tissue contracts and concentrates more, resulting in tight, fine, and textured meat - this is a change in texture; Pickling can also convert tasteless proteins into delicious peptides and amino acids, and the aroma molecules bring multiple layers of flavor to the bacon, leaving an endless aftertaste - this is the mystery of taste change. The raw material for Dao Ban Xiang marinated meat comes from black pigs or Lantian flower pigs produced in Huizhou, which are raised in the wild in the mountains. The meat is solid and fine, with less fishy smell. This high-quality pork belly is evenly salted and marinated for forty days before the important step - drying. Before and after the Spring Festival, Huizhou is mostly sunny. Under the soothing breeze in the mountains and the warm sunshine, the pork belly gradually begins to evaporate and dry, revealing an oily and waxy texture. It turns golden and hangs fat when air dried. So I cut a piece and cooked it. Put cold water in an iron pot, bring the water to a boil, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer over high heat. Apart from throwing a handful of green and white faced scallions, do not use any other seasoning. The unique woody fragrance of Knife Plate comes from two mysteries: one is the arched wooden lid placed on the boiling water of stewing, which allows the steam to circulate repeatedly, locking in the lively and fresh aroma of cured meat, and also incorporating the calm and steady scent of wood. Secondly, after cooking and slicing, place the meat slices neatly on the camphor tree board and use the original board as a container to serve together on the table. The logs emit a cool and fragrant scent, seeping into the flesh and fat with every detail; The little oil seeping from the pork belly is absorbed by the subtle wood grain cracks on the wooden board. "Knife plate leaves fragrance", first there is a knife plate, then there is a different taste of salted meat compared to other places. A plate of pickled meat is a small dish for Huizhou people to entertain guests, and it is indispensable for the staple food rice. In the years when refrigerators were not yet widely available, the pickled meat that steamed and tasted more and more fragrant laid the foundation for every Huizhou person's childhood dining table. The craving insect has entered my stomach, leaving a mark on my taste memory. Even after walking out of the mountains and valleys of Huizhou, the distance of countless rivers and mountains cannot dissolve the thirst on my tongue, also known as homesickness. According to legend, when Hu Zongxian, who was then the Minister of War, returned home, he passed by Wenzheng Mountain in Shexian County and visited his mentor who lived here. At that time, the bamboo shoots of Wenzheng Mountain were fresh and tender, as recorded in the "Shexia
