What's the story of Boshan? (Except the stories of Yan Wenjiang, Xiao Fu and Shi Chan)

According to legend, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a scholar named Su in Qiugu, Yuanshan (in Zibo), who invited friends to dinner at home during the Spring Festival. In order to save face, Su Xiucai bought chicken, duck and fish for dinner one day in advance, and said to his wife: Some of my classmates and friends will come to our house at noon tomorrow, so please cook some good dishes with your heart. My wife is a scholar. She seldom goes out and never eats a big meal. She can bear it for a while while cooking simple meals. When she was cooking chicken, duck and fish, she felt embarrassed and helpless. A man's words are imperial edicts, which can't be violated, so he has to nod and answer. At night, I was frowning and wandering around the kitchen, wondering how to tidy up these things my husband bought home. Before I knew it, it was midnight. At this time, the scholar's wife suddenly had an idea and thought, don't you let the guests eat chicken, duck and fish? Stew these things in a pot, and they will taste everything. Thought of here, the scholar's wife was at a loss. She quickly tied on an apron, slaughtered the chickens and ducks, washed the fish and cut them into pieces, peeled the onions and cut the ginger, and cut the chicken, duck and fish into large pieces one inch square, piled them on the chopping board respectively, and brushed the big casserole that was not commonly used at home on the chopping board. On second thought, it was not appropriate for guests to eat chicken, duck and fish, so I brought in some frozen tofu in the yard and two cabbages in the cellar. I looked down at the wooden basin under the chopping board and saw some kelp, so I took it out and cut it into large pieces, which made me take a long breath. The sound of the kitchen alarmed the scholar. Sleepily, he came to the kitchen and saw chicken, duck, fish, Chinese cabbage and kelp cut into large pieces and piled on the chopping board respectively, and immediately woke up. The scholar's tenderness was abandoned, so he took off his shoes and threw them at my wife, pointing to her face while shaking them and saying, You can't carve a rotten wood. I slammed the kitchen door and went back to the wing to get angry. The scholar's wife was poured into tears by this cold water, standing in front of the chopping board, more and more wronged, crying and pulling the things on the chopping board into the casserole. Thinking that there are too many things, it is easy to paste the pot, so I put a few pig bones at the bottom of the pot, then spread the chicken, duck, fish, kelp and cabbage tofu on the chopping board into the casserole layer by layer, and then buckle the remaining cabbage on it. Finally, the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, yellow wine and sugar are poured into the basin, stirred evenly with a spoon and then added into the pot. When the casserole was put on the stove, the fire began to burn. Soon, the pot was boiling, and there were too many things. The soup stewed in the pot has boiled dry. The scholar's wife threw the soup back into the pot, and when the soup in the pot was almost the same, she slowly put Tonga back into the pot. At this time, it was already bright, and the scholar's wife was cold and sleepy. She thought the contents of the pot should be cooked, so she put out the fire and fell asleep by the stove.

At noon the next day, the scholar's classmates and friends came to visit as promised. The scholar's wife blushed and served the food she cooked to the guests. I saw that the crispy pot was crystal clear and the color was like amber, and the guests cheered. I tried it first, and it felt unique, and all five flavors were good. Chicken, duck and fish are crisp and delicious, and there are various flavors of chicken, duck and fish in frozen tofu. I was surprised and asked the scholar what this dish was. Seeing this brainwave, the scholar shook his head and said, This is my ancestral home, called Sujiaguo. Many scholars think it is a bit awkward to call Su, so they changed the word "home" to "crisp" and named it "crispy pot".

Since then, crispy pots have gradually spread in Yuanshan through the mouth of literati, and every household is scrambling to learn how to make crispy pots. There was no refrigerator at that time, and Chinese cabbage and frozen tofu could only be found in winter. So every winter, every household in Yuanshan will make a crispy pot during the Spring Festival, and neighbors will give gifts to each other and have a taste. People who make crispy pots are often asked to give directions. In return, they get a lot of thanks and smiles. Crispy rice crust has gradually become a must-have dish for mountain people to entertain guests during the Spring Festival. Because the scholar's wife started cooking in the middle of the night and didn't finish it until dawn, later generations also inherited this tradition. Every year in the twelfth lunar month, the crispy pot is put on the stove in the middle of the night until the early morning. On this night, the children at home will breathe the smell of crispy rice, fall asleep sweetly, drool down the corners of their mouths, and greedily eat the crispy rice that they have been looking forward to for a year in their dreams.

The formation of tofu box

Boshan famous dish tofu box won the state banquet in the Great Hall of the People with its unique flavor, which aroused great interest of Chinese and foreign guests.

However, its formation is little known.

As early as the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a man named Zhang Jiu at the southern end of Boshan Street, who worked as a master in a big shop called Zhentai Silk and Satin Village in Beijing. This person is smart, capable and skilled, and is known as "the first chef in Boshan" in Kyoto.

Around the Guangxu period, Zhang, who was in his fifties, returned to his hometown to recuperate. In less than a year, he recovered. Some businessmen in Boshan. Knowing that he was a master cook, Zhang opened a restaurant with him on the mountain where the kiln industry was very developed at that time, and named it "Qingheju".

One day, when Zhang was in Beijing, the shopkeeper went to Zhoucun to deal with the goods and went to Boshan to see him. When the guests arrived in Qinghe, it was already evening, and all the dishes prepared by the restaurant were sold out, so there was no decent food to entertain the guests. Zhang had a brainwave and made a box-type "vegetarian dish" with Boshan high-quality tofu as the main raw material. The main ingredients are fried fly head tofu, dried rice, fungus and Amomum villosum powder. The whole appearance is box-shaped, blown golden yellow and feels like a golden box. During the dinner, the guests who were tired of eating delicacies were full of praise when they ate this delicious vegetarian dish.

When the guest asked about Zhang's famous dishes, he had to tell the truth. The guest saw the shape of the dish, tasted it, and blurted out, "It's really like a golden box. Let's call it a golden box." Among the guests present, one of them was very graceful and said, "According to the way of eating, it is more reasonable to call a golden box like opening a box to get treasure."

As a result, the dish "Golden Box" gradually appeared in the banquet of some kiln owners on the mountain. When this dish appeared, it was a "big box" and it was very inconvenient to eat. Zhang turned it into several "small boxes" and made a "big box". Because this dish is vegetarian, Shantou people call it tofu box according to local naming habits. People who like to "pay attention" also call it "unpacking" or "golden box"

In the darkness of society, the credit of Qingheju can never be recovered, and the store is on the verge of bankruptcy. At this time, Zhang, the shopkeeper in Beijing, invited him to Beijing many times. In this way, Zhang returned to Beijing and brought the craft of "tofu box" into Beijing. Since then, "Boshan Tofu Box" has appeared at banquets of some merchants in Beijing, and this dish is often seen at family banquets of some bureaucrats.

With the prosperity of Boshan's "three major industries" (coal, glass and ceramics), the trade with Beijing has gradually increased, and the exchange of food has also received attention. "Boshan Tofu Box" has returned to Boshan and become a "housekeeping dish" for restaurants and restaurants.

In the early years of the Republic of China, as the birthplace of Boshan Tofu Box, there was a "Tongxin Ju" restaurant, which was operated by and was called "Master Tian" because of its superb cooking skills. According to the practice of "tofu box", he changed its shape from "box" to "tower" and renamed Boshan tofu box "Shuiman Jinshan Temple", which made this dish full of new ideas. "Water-filled Jinshan Temple" * * * has four small boxes in a tower shape. When serving, sprinkle a proper amount of good white wine around the plate, light it and turn off the lights, which is quite like a golden pagoda looming in the fog.

Later, at Boshan's banquet, as long as the whole dish was box-shaped, it was called "Boshan Tofu Box", "Golden Box" or "Treasure Out of the Box". People who are "tower-shaped" call it "Water-filled Jinshan Temple", and it has been spread to this day.

I want to introduce their specific situation in detail when I have time. . .

Welcome everyone to visit my great hometown Boshan and taste delicious Boshan food.