Weihai Folk Custom —— Making Skills of Shrimp Sauce

Shrimp sauce is a distinctive seafood condiment in the coastal area of Jiaodong. Because it is pickled with midges, it is called midges shrimp sauce. Midges live in the coastal waters where fresh water and seawater are mixed, and their producing areas are mainly distributed in coastal waters such as Weihai, Rongcheng, Yantai and Qingdao, among which they are widely distributed in Rongcheng coastal towns such as Hushan, Chengshan and Lidao, and there are a corresponding number of midges.

The production technology of shrimp sauce was formed in the Warring States period, and was basically established in the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the production of shrimp sauce with midges entered a stage of development and prosperity. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, Rongcheng shrimp sauce was presented as a local specialty to the court by the Dengzhou magistrate and as a royal gift in the palace. Since then, it has been presented to local fishermen on a regular basis, and it has become a delicacy in the imperial cuisine. According to the Records of Rongcheng County, "there are midges and shrimps along the coast of Rongcheng County, which were made by Tang Xiyong of Tangjia Village at the seaside and spread to other places". It can be concluded that the shrimp paste made by Tang Xiyong in Tangjia Village was a tribute to the court in Dengzhou area and spread to other towns and villages because of the relocation of Tangjia. Later, after several generations of inheritance, the descendants of the Tang Dynasty industrialized the traditional shrimp paste. The existing production technology and eating method of "Jinshengquan" shrimp paste were preserved or handed down from the middle of Qing Dynasty.

The formula of "Jinshengquan" shrimp paste is simple, and the original flavor of shrimp paste is maintained. The manufacturing process is as follows:

The first step is to push the shrimp: that is, to catch the shrimp floating to the shore with a push net. Push the net, two wooden sticks three or four meters long, two-thirds of which cross. In the first third, mosquito net cloth was used as a net to make bags. The front edge of the net is placed at the top of the stick and connected with both ends of the left and right sticks. The intersection of the last third is where the net pusher pushes the net. When pushing shrimp, push the net and abdomen close to the intersection point behind the net and push forward hard.

Step 2: Wash the shrimps: put the net into the sea water for about 10 to 20 cm, and stir the shrimps in the net with a perforated net in a vortex way, so that they float and float to the other end of the net. After the shrimps in the net float, one hand holds the crossbar to let the net bag leave the water, and the other hand slaps the net coat with a small ladle to gather the shrimps together and scoop them up with a small ladle. You can't wash the shrimps with fresh water, and you can't touch the shrimps caught with fresh water.

Step 3: Pickling the shrimps: mix the cleaned fresh shrimps with 20%-22% crude sea salt and 0.2% white wine, put them in a jar or clay pot cleaned in advance, and drain the water. Stir with a wooden stick twice every morning and evening until the fermentation is over. Add salt once a week after entering the altar, generally adding 3-5% refined salt. The fermentation of shrimp can only be completed after one year in the tank.

Step 4: Boil the fermented shrimp paste in a heatable jacketed pot, and add 5% alcohol after boiling.

Step 5: Filling: immediately after stopping heating, take out the cooked shrimp paste and put it in a clean and drained packaging bottle. The filling quantity is subject to the requirements of the packaging label.

Step 6: sterilization: put the filled shrimp paste bottle into the sterilization pot, and control the temperature and pressure in the sterilization pot.

The seventh step is packaging: wipe the shrimp paste that has been sterilized and stored for two days, and then put it in a labeled box, and a box of delicious and pure shrimp paste is ready.

The capture mode and pickling process of shrimp sauce are completely different from the operation mode of modern aquatic product processing industry. It records and interprets the rich history and special diet of coastal ancestors, and provides an important basis for studying the diet culture, life culture, folk culture and development law of coastal residents.