news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

barbecue is the most special dish in the chinese diet.

there is almost no trace of barbecue in the major cuisines such as sichuan, shandong, cantonese, huaiyang, etc. that represent the aesthetics of the dining table.

whether it is boiled cabbage and mapo tofu in sichuan cuisine; scallion-fried sea cucumber and nine-turn large intestine in shandong cuisine; white-cut chicken and black bean sauce ribs in cantonese cuisine; lion head and boiled dried shredded pork in huaiyang cuisine.

what they have in common is that steaming and boiling are the most high-end and politically correct cooking methods, followed by stir-frying, and then frying and deep-frying.

barbecue, on the other hand, is considered a low-class cooking method that cannot be used to cook high-quality ingredients - it is at the bottom of the chinese cooking contempt chain.

in stark contrast to this idea, in almost all chinese cities and villages, barbecue is a favorite food that is loved by everyone and every family.

whether it's a late-night drink, camping outdoors, a gathering with friends or a family reunion, as long as there is a barbecue, the atmosphere and style will be there.

if you cannot hold a high position in the government, then you can live in a remote place; if you cannot enjoy fine food and luxury, then you can seek out luxurious food.

barbecue represents the most rough, urban, homely and warm side of chinese cuisine. it also embodies the chinese people's adaptability to local conditions, flexibility, chivalry and forest style.

01

grilled meat and barbecue

the history of barbecue is much earlier than other cooking methods.

stewing requires waterproof and fireproof containers, steaming requires water-proof devices in the container, frying requires edible oil extraction technology, but grilling requires nothing:a few branches and a fire can turn the smelly raw meat into oily and fragrant barbecue.

perhaps in the era without writing, barbecue has become a shortcut for people to say goodbye to eating raw meat and drinking blood.

but strictly speaking, the two chinese characters "烧" and "烤" have different meanings.

the interpretation of "burn" in "shuowen jiezi" is a more complex word "爇". from the shape of the word, it means to heat up under a pile of grass.

today, there is still an ancient delicacy called "fire-roasted meat" in the western yunnan region, which is sometimes called "dashao" by locals.

the preparation is very simple. bury the whole pork in the firewood pile, light it, and wait for the flame to burn out slowly. then wash off the burnt parts of the pig skin, and cut the remaining half-cooked pork into thin slices and eat it cold.

foreigners who cannot eat raw food can only eat the cooked outer layer, while locals prefer to eat it both raw and cooked.

undoubtedly, this is a living fossil of the ancient "burning" cuisine that has been preserved to this day, and it is also an example of the early influence of chinese language and chinese characters on the border of yunnan.

roast pork, roast goose, braised pork, homemade braised fish, and scallion-braised sea cucumber are all dishes with the word "roast" in them that are widely found in chinese cuisine. although the cooking methods vary, such as boiling, roasting, stir-frying, and frying, they all, without exception, incorporate the process of "braising": this small detail reflects the essence of "roasting."

the history of "roasting" is much shorter. there is a plaque hidden in the well-known beijing old brand "roasting wan", which was inscribed by qi baishi in 1946. "there is no word 'roasted' in any book. i made it up myself as requested by others."

"self-demonstration" is by no means qi baishi's arrogance. in fact, the word "烤" did not exist in almost all chinese dictionaries before liberation.

its earliest origin may come from ancient chinese characters such as 熇 and 洘, it may be a foreign ethnic language from the north or northwest, or it may be the gradual evolution of folk slang.

today, in northeast china, inner mongolia, xinjiang and other regions where the altaic ethnic groups were once active, barbecue is still the simplest traditional cooking, the most distinctive ethnic food and the most solemn etiquette of hospitality.

northeastern barbecue is grilled on a traditional clay stove using chrysanthemum charcoal, as only chrysanthemum charcoal can achieve just the right degree of heat.

cut the pork belly into large thin slices, grill until the edges are slightly charred, dip it in soybean paste, raw garlic, and green peppers, wrap it in lettuce leaves or perilla leaves, and eat it one bite at a time. it has a rich flavor and a balanced spicy aroma.

charcoal stove barbecue, which is very similar to that in the three northeastern provinces, is also popular in zibo, shandong, qingdao and xuzhou in northern jiangsu.

this may be a trace of the northern nomadic peoples moving southward, or it may be the reverse influence of immigrants from guandong. barbecue reflects the interconnection of regions and the migration of humans.

one pound of raw mutton is usually about 7 taels after cooking, and less than half a pound after roasting. and using open flames can easily cause fires in dry places.therefore, in the inner mongolia grasslands, which are rich in mutton, lack fuel, have little rain and are extremely cold, herders prefer to boil mutton most of the time, and only barbecue when there are guests or grand festivals.

mongolian barbecue is usually not cooked directly over fire. instead, red-hot stones are filled into the hollowed-out and cleaned sheep's stomach, allowing the heat to slowly roast the meat from the inside out.

grilling in this way is less likely to cause grassland fires and can keep the heat longer. the outer layer of the mutton loses less fat, moist and crispy; the lean meat and ribs in the inner layer are crispy and delicious. compared with ordinary grilling from the outside to the inside, its flavor is very special.

the barbecue in northern xinjiang is represented by yili, which uses large pieces of altai han sheep with rich fat.

simply marinate with a mixture of eggs, onions and salt and grill in an open oven. eggs are used to add color and flavor, giving the lamb a crispy, brown coating; salt is used to add flavor and can also change the properties of protein, making the lean meat chewier; onions are used to remove the smell of mutton. the three marinades have distinct functions and a clear structure.

in southern xinjiang, kashgar is the most respected barbecue place. the lang sheep here live in semi-desert saline-alkali land and feed on alkaline plants.

due to the large temperature difference and poor vegetation in the area, the mutton has almost no smell. it is cut into large pieces and grilled directly without marinating. after adding the powder made of fennel powder, chili powder, turmeric powder and other powders produced in the kashgar area, it is naturally crispy and rich in flavor.

red willow barbecue is the most representative type of barbecue in southern xinjiang: the multi-branched strange willows grown in the oasis on the edge of the tarim basin are called "red willows" by the locals because of their light red bark. the sap that seeps out when heated has a fresh fragrance and can add flavor to barbecued beef and mutton.

because red willow branches are thicker, meat needs to be cut into larger pieces before it can be skewered, so in various parts of xinjiang, "red willow barbecue" is often synonymous with large pieces of barbecue.

in short, "roasting" has its origins in the countryside. the farther away a place is, the more widespread this kind of food, which is cooked by smoke and fire, is.

combined with the elegant and ancient chinese character "烧", it completes the precise, appropriate and subtle expression of chinese characters on the dining table; it presents the two-sided nature of barbecue as a cooking method in china; it also implies the role of barbecue as a witness to the changes in china's territory and ethnic integration.

02

barbecue in east asia

before the word "barbecue" was coined, the chinese called it"roast", "bombard", "burning"。

the poem "there is a rabbit head, roast it and burn it; the gentleman has wine, offer it with words" appeared in the sixth century bc, which means that roasted rabbit meat is more delicious when paired with wine; the idiom "脍熱口口" appeared in the third century bc, which describes that a good article is like barbecue, which you can't stop eating.

▲jinzhou barbecue. photo by xiaohongshu @开小灶的85号機車手

according to historical records, the zhou emperor's diet included "liver fat", a dish made by grilling animal liver wrapped in lard; and liu bang, the first emperor of the han dynasty, "often ate roasted deer liver with wine."

for example, the scene presented by the word "烧" - "meat" on "fire": these ancient cultural relics prove that barbecue had a high status in the diet of the nobles and literati of the central plains regime when it was first born.

a detail that is often overlooked is that while people in the yellow river basin were pursuing barbecued animal meat and livestock meat, another kind of barbecue was also growing wildly in the yangtze river basin in the south.

"chu ci da zhao" wrote: "roast crows and ducks, roast quails and set them on the table. fry eels and sparrows, and cook them until they are crispy and only one is left."

the crow is a big crow; the mallard is a wild duck; the quail is a quail; the carp is a crucian carp; the tit is a mountain tit... all of these are roasted using a variety of baking utensils and different levels of heat, and they leave a lingering fragrance and a very refreshing taste.

obviously, the barbecue in southern china described by qu yuan at that time already showed the characteristics of rich ingredients and eclecticism, especially waterfowl and aquatic products. this dietary feature is in line with the geographical characteristics of the chu state, which is densely populated with rivers and lakes. it also presents an unparalleled barbecue palace built under the rich products of southern china.

today in lingnan region, people prefer to barbecue seafood.

people in western guangdong revere roasted oysters. palm-sized zhanjiang oysters are washed, shelled and roasted. leizhou peninsula is hot all year round, with large evaporation and high salinity. the oysters have a strong salty, fresh and sweet taste. after being roasted outside and boiled inside on a charcoal stove, the juice is concentrated and no seasoning is needed. the taste is naturally rich.

before serving, pry open the oyster shells and add silver and gold garlic and chili peppers. the so-called silver garlic is fresh minced garlic, which is used to remove the fishy smell; the golden garlic is fried garlic crisps, which is used to enhance the flavor. they complement the salty, astringent, fresh and fishy oyster meat, and a bottle of beer is a great pleasure of living on the coast of the south china sea.

in eastern guangdong, another kind of barbecue is the pinnacle of chaozhou cuisine.

unlike grilled oysters, which are made with the original flavor, cooking charcoal-grilled conches requires a portion of chaoshan sauce and a bottle of strong liquor. the chaoshan sauce is complicated to make, using more than a dozen ingredients such as ham, fat meat, chicken broth, sichuan pepper, and premium soy sauce to make a thick soup.

on the contrary, the charcoal-roasting process itself is not complicated: the huge conch is put into the stove whole, and is repeatedly poured, boiled, and rinsed with white wine and roasting sauce to wash away the earthy mucus on the surface of the snail meat, leaving it with a rich aroma of sauce and wine.

a few hours later, the snail meat is roasted and sliced ​​into thin slices. it has a snow-white appearance and tastes like ham, white wine, pork and chicken soup, all loaded on the firm and slightly sweet snail meat. this is the highest realm of chinese cooking.

the snail tail, which chaoshan people call "snail liver", is the most delicious part of charcoal-grilled snails.

it is plump, smooth, and full of smoky flavor, similar to french foie gras.

in guangxi and guizhou, surrounded by the ten thousand mountains, people have gone even further on the road of barbecue diversification - if you haven't been to guizhou, you don't know how many barbecue seasonings there are; if you haven't been to guangxi, you don't know how many barbecue ingredients there are.

the whole roasted field mouse, gutted and chopped, sizzles on the grill, its meat tender and tender, with just the right amount of fat and lean meat.

the slender and curved pig whip, with salt, cumin and chili pepper to mask the fishy smell of the ingredients, can easily win the prize with its crispy and tough taste;

▲photo/a string of life

roasted pig's eye should be eaten whole, with juice bursting everywhere between teeth and cheeks. experienced diners will decide the right time to put teeth in based on the temperature of the pig's eye's surface: if it is too early, it may burn the mouth, while if it is too late, you will not be able to experience the pleasure of the aroma.

▲photo/a string of life

in addition, there are various kinds of barbecued snakes and insects.

in guizhou and guangxi, roasted woodworms, roasted bee pupae, roasted scorpions, and even roasted cockroaches are not uncommon. if the fire is just right, they will all show a similar aroma and crispness. this is by no means a superficial taste of all things, but the charring and denaturation of high protein after being roasted.

▲photo/a string of life

they conform to the characteristics and habits of human nutrition absorption and also meet the needs of cleaning and sterilization. in ancient times, in areas with inconvenient transportation and poor land, they may have been the most important source of protein for local people. today, they have become the most distinctive page in the genealogy of chinese barbecue.

▲jinzhou night market. photo/ screenshot from tiktok

the roasted fish described by qu yuan isit is well preserved in the hilly basins and hengduan mountains of sichuan and yunnan, which are more fertile but geographically more isolated and remote.

the sichuan-chongqing grilled fish has been popular all over the country for a short time. it is said that it originated from wanzhou, and some say it originated from wuxi. but in fact, the whole eastern sichuan region has always had the tradition of grilling fresh fish and then stewing it with seasonings. it reflects the fishery resources nurtured by the abundant water system in the three gorges area of ​​the yangtze river, and also reflects the tradition of sichuan cuisine that emphasizes seasoning and is good at matching.

pixian douban and green peppercorns are the soul of sichuan and chongqing grilled fishthe amino acid salts that express the umami flavor in bean curd are water-soluble, while the numbing protagonist of green pepper, sanshool, is fat-soluble. the meat of grass carp and catfish after grilling is loose and porous, and various flavor substances penetrate deep into the fish meat along with water and oil.

the two highest evaluations for delicious dishes in the sichuan and chongqing regions, "flavorful" and "good with rice", were created in this way.

yunnan’s grilled fish, on the other hand, has taken a completely different path. many rivers flow through areas where the dai people live. this ethnic group, who have been good at farming and fishing for thousands of years, has developed a rich barbecue method.

pickled vegetable paste is the most important element of dai barbecue in baoshan, dehong and other areas in western yunnan.

this seasoning is made by fermenting radish and glutinous rice, taking the sour water and slowly boiling it until it becomes sticky. the whole process is very complicated and requires experienced old bo tao (dai language: grandfather) to operate it. the heat, water content, skimming foam, duration and carefulness will all be the determining factors that affect the unique flavor of the pickled vegetable paste. the best tasting pickled vegetable paste has a clear color and a fragrant sour aroma.

after adding appropriate amounts of water, salt, sugar, vanilla, watercress and chili pepper, the pickled vegetable paste becomes a magical dipping sauce for grilled fish with lemongrass, which is used to remove fishy smell, relieve greasiness and add a sour and fragrant flavor.

in southern yunnan, the dai people in pu'er and banna are popular with the "baoshao" dish.

the so-called "bao" is to wrap the ingredients and spices with banana leaves or hollyhock leaves, and use the fire pit as the heat source to cook the food.

similar to the tin foil barbecue from the west, banana leaves can make the food heat more evenly and lock in water and oil, making the food soft and juicy. more importantly, the fragrance provided by the plant leaves can effectively add a unique flavor to the food.

for the dai people in southern yunnan, everything can be baked., but the most noteworthy ones are the baoshao meat patties with minced pork, banana flowers, chopped green onions, coriander, mashed garlic and eggs; and the baoshao fish stuffed with mint, chopped green onions, minced ginger and chili peppers.

from a national perspective, after the qin dynasty conquered the six kingdoms, the strong farming tradition of the central plains became the dominant civilization that dominated this land.however, china's southern civilization, represented by xiangchu, wuyue, minyue and baiyue, did not disappear in this process.on the contrary, they grew wildly in the hills of south china, the hengduan mountains, the sichuan basin, and the shores of the south china sea, eventually giving birth to richer appearances and more diverse expressions.

barbecue is the concentrated embodiment of the diversity of chinese culture.

03

grilled jade roast duck

over the millennia, chinese barbecue tools and techniques have been improving.

in 1969, a furnace with a complex structure and peculiar appearance was unearthed at yanxing gate in xi'an. because of the inscriptions on the furnace body, such as "shanglin rong palace, received in the third year of chuyuan", the archaeological community named it "shanglin square furnace".

the square stove is divided into two layers. the top is the stove body and the bottom has several long hollow holes. charcoal is placed on it to promote air convection, increase the fire, and allow some of the burning embers to smoke the surface of the food, forming a unique flavor.

compared with the crude baking utensils of the pre-qin period, the "shanglin square stove" proves that advanced barbecue equipment had been born in china at least in the first century ad.

today, beijingers’ favorite local delicacy is barbecue.

the so-called "zhizi" is not a verb, it refers to a barbecue tool, which is a round plate made of iron bars nailed together, with large pieces of split pine or fruit wood burning underneath.

the beef and mutton are cut into thin slices and grilled on the grill, with fat dripping and smoke rising. after it is grilled, dip it in some chili oil and put it in the hot sesame seed cake and take a big bite. the aroma of the cake, grilled meat and sesame will slowly blend in your mouth, with the cake having the taste of meat and the meat having the aroma of sesame, with distinct layers.

whether the grill is made of iron bars and has no gaps in the middle is one of the standards used by old beijingers to determine whether a barbecue restaurant is authentic.

if it is a solid piece of iron, then nine times out of ten it is a reformed restaurant that is trying to deceive the public.

although people in beijing say that zhizi barbecue restaurants originated from halal restaurants, if you compare the appearance of zhizi and shanglin square stove, you will find that their principles are the same - the chinese had mastered this barbecue technique long before religion in the modern sense appeared.

by the sixth century ad, when the legendary work "qimin yaoshu" was written, there was already a separate chapter called "roasting methods", which included 21 different types of grilling with different ingredients, fuels and methods.

among them, the most noteworthy is the "roasted duck belly", which is a complicated method. it uses a fat duck, removes the bones, adds wine, fish sauce, ginger, onion, orange peel, and soy sauce to marinate for a meal time, and then puts it in the oven to roast.

although this was just an inconspicuous type of barbecue among the many barbecues at that time, but looking at the longer timeline, it gave rise to china's national dish today: roast duck.

coincidentally, the word "roasted duck" also appeared in the "food records" written by yu cong of the southern dynasty during the same period. this may be a whole roasted duck, which has already taken shape as the prototype of modern roast duck.

after the tang and song dynasties, the barbecue culture was further improved and enriched. in the northern song dynasty work "dongjing menghualu", there is a record of a large number of barbecued foods in the bianliang night market, such as roasted kidneys, roasted breasts, roasted tripe with wine, roasted deer, roasted chicken, roasted pork skin, etc., and the barbecue methods are also divided into four major types: smoking, fire roasting, charcoal stewing and stone cooking.

during the northern and southern dynasties, roasted duck had evolved into a food called "燠鸭". in wu language, "燠" is used to describe the hot and humid climate in the south of the yangtze river in summer. literally speaking, "燠" in food most likely refers to stewing and roasting in a closed environment - obviously, this is what today's stewed oven roasted duck looks like.

but everything came to an abrupt end after jing kang.

in shan jia qing gong, a work known as the culmination of southern song dynasty scholar-officials’ recipes, there is no mention of any kind of barbecue. instead, there are a large number of soups and stews that are steamed, boiled, or stewed. this is an extremely abnormal phenomenon.

interestingly, in another southern song book, "sanchao beimeng huibian", the song people described the diet of the jurchens of the jin dynasty: "pig, sheep, chicken, deer, rabbit, wolf, muntjac, roe deer, fox, cattle, donkey, dog, horse, goose, wild goose, fish, duck, toad and other meats are placed in wooden bowls, either roasted or raw, and often pickled with mustard and garlic. each person takes a knife and cuts the meat into pieces on a board. after the meal, they pass around cups of light wine for cold drinks."

i couldn't help but frown after reading it: the jurchens eat very crudely. barbecue has become one of the symbols of barbarians' vulgarity.

for the southern song regime, which had lost its northern territory and whose legitimacy was questioned, emphasizing the distinction between chinese and barbarians, vilifying the customs of other ethnic groups, and further gentrifying the lives of scholars and officials became a rigid need for social stability.

the trend of chinese dining tables increasingly using steaming, lightness and original flavors as aesthetic standards began during that historical period.

the han people, who were originally warlike and good at fighting, became increasingly gentle and humble after this: the changes in diet are closely related to the changes in national character.

but ordinary people, who have been accustomed to eating barbecue for thousands of years, don’t seem to buy into it: various types of barbecue in the market have not disappeared - especially roast duck.

today's peking duck is said to have been brought to beijing from nanjing by emperor yongle. but where did nanjing roast duck come from?

from the perspective of dietary evolution, it comes from the various waterfowl barbecues described by qu yuan, the roasted ducks in the northern and southern dynasties, and the braised ducks in the streets of bianliang in the song dynasty.

the endless world of chinese barbecue.

complementing the roast duck is the roast goose, which is popular in the lingnan region.

starting from the middle of the ming dynasty, with the decline of quanzhou port and the opening of the portuguese port, guangzhou became china's first port of call for trade and a frontier for the introduction of western civilization. cantonese roast goose should have been finalized at this time.

the roast goose sauce made from soybean paste, seafood sauce and oyster sauce is spread evenly on the goose belly to marinate it; the outer skin is brushed with syrup made from maltose, white vinegar, red vinegar, white wine and lemon slices to color it; the skin is scalded to shape it, air-dried in a cool place, and baked in a clay pot.

throughout the entire process of making roast goose, one can see a lot of ingenuity developed spontaneously by the chinese, as well as a lot of skills from the west.

today, the cantonese custom of "no goose, no banquet" is not only an affirmation of the status of roast goose in the industry, but also an expression of the open and inclusive historical character of the lingnan region.

roast goose and roast duck together constitute the highest level of understanding of barbecue in northern and southern china, and also express the seemingly weak but deafening power of the chinese common people.

| heilongjiang qiqihar grilled squid |

| liaoning jinzhou·roasted pork belly |

| shandong zibo · grilled meat rolls |

| jiangsu xuzhou · roasted lamb loin |

| xinjiang yili·rack meat |

| xinjiang hotan red willow barbecue |

| chongqing wanzhou · grilled fish with sauce |

| sichuan chengdu·roasted brain flower |

| guizhou guiyang·fat intestine hot pot |

| zhejiang wenzhou · grilled clams |

| fujian quanzhou grilled prawns |

| guangdong shantou·charcoal-grilled conch |

| guangdong zhanjiang grilled oysters |

| guangxi baise·exploding pig eyes |

| yunnan zhaotong·small meat skewers |

| yunnan baoshan lemongrass grilled fish |

on july 10, 1971, kissinger, special envoy of the us government, came to beijing and held secret talks with premier zhou enlai.

this was the first time that the us government sent an important official to china after the founding of the people's republic of china. the two sides did not know each other well, and the conversation was very cautious and nervous. by noon, the talks still had not reached a consensus. at this time, zhou enlai changed the subject:"why don't we eat first? the roast duck is getting cold."

at that lunch, zhou enlai personally introduced to kissinger how to eat roast duck: a piece of duck skin, dipped in the sauce, sandwiched with scallions, and wrapped in a lotus leaf pancake: when you take a bite, the flavors of oil, sweet, salty and spicy are intertwined, and finally end with the rich and graceful barbecue aroma of duck meat and duck skin.

kissinger later wrote in his memoirs:: "give me a piece of peking duck and i will sign any document."

for the ancient east, after the "liver fat" of the zhou emperor and the "roasted deer liver" of emperor gaozu of the han dynasty, barbecue re-appeared in the most prominent position at the national level after a lapse of 2,000 years.

it demonstrates the chinese people's persistence and love for barbecue, and perhaps it also implies that a new han and tang dynasty prosperity will be created by this nation that has regained its bravery and enterprising spirit.