After tasting a bite of the little stupid chicken, I suddenly understood the ability of Northeast cu

Mondo Gastronomy Updated on 2024-01-29

As soon as the weather is cold, the home of Northeast cuisine will arrive.

Pot bun you, chicken stewed me mushroom, ground three fresh er ......As long as you recite these "mantras" with regional characteristics, a plate of heavy, full-weight classics will use their hot and fragrant heat to soothe every taste buds and stomach that is sad because of the cold weather.

Chicken stewed with mushrooms is a well-known Northeast dish. (Picture Insect Creativity).

The only northern cuisine among the eight major cuisines in China, in addition to leaving the legend of "nine turns of the large intestine", has also planted genes in the ice and snow of the three eastern provinces, and has achieved a unique local cuisine with both exoticism, industrial style and mountain atmosphere.

Before the people of the whole country left the stereotype of the monotonous and scarce joint code "dumpling za" that the northern cuisine only leaves every Spring Festival Gala, the Northeast cuisine has rushed out of the black soil and spread out in all provinces across the country, with "soufflé-like" snow-coated bean paste, extremely hard-core pigs covered with large rice buns, and frozen pears and frozen persimmons with Internet celebrity temperament ......Conquer a new crowd.

Life advice: When you eat Northeast food, you must try Xueyi bean paste!(Picture: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu @ Beautiful Peach Peach Bing).

It is said that the Northeast people are enthusiastic, and the Northeast people's enthusiasm for food cannot be extinguished even by the wind from Siberia.

Northeast cuisine, which has long been a supernumerary member of China's eight major cuisines, has obviously shown signs of becoming positive.

The mixed-race genes of Northeast cuisine.

The term Tohoku cuisine or Kanto cuisine appeared quite recently. Northeast cuisine as a whole is named after the 70s of the 20th century in the Chinese catering industry

This also makes Northeast cuisine less of a lot of historical baggage, and when other cuisines have fallen into fundamentalist infighting, Northeast people have a place on the dinner table for various food cultures.

During the period of breaking through the eastern part of the country, immigrants from all over the country came to the Northeast with the taste of their hometown that could not be abandoned, and after passing the Shanhaiguan, they took root, Sichuan Malatang became Fushun Malatang Mix, and the cross-bridge rice noodles made of Northeast rice were tougher and more elastic, and the pancake buns of Mudanjiang could be baked with cold noodles ......

The hometown cuisine brought by immigrants from all over the country has achieved the mixed-race gene of Northeast cuisine. (Picture: Stills from "Breaking through the Guandong" Douban).

After all, for the Northeast people who are used to going straight Xi, no matter how authentic the dish is, it is not delicious, and it is also a calf.

In addition to the magic transformation of local Chinese cuisine, the open taste buds of Northeast people also welcome exotic flavors.

From the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, Europeans, ** people, Koreans, and Japanese poured into Northeast Asia, making Northeast China the most culturally active region in the entire Northeast Asian continent. Foreigners arrive in Tohoku with beer, bread, and sausages. According to 1937 data, there were more than 260 Western restaurants in Harbin alone.

Among the many foreign food Xi, the ** in the north and the Korean Peninsula in the east have the most far-reaching impact on northeast cuisine due to geographical factors.

Cheese rice cake of the Korean ethnic group in Northeast China. (Picture Insect Creativity).

Nowadays, although black, Ji and Liao cuisine have debuted in the name of Northeast cuisine, the tastes of the three provinces still have their own merits.

Among them, Heilongjiang, the northernmost part, also retains the strongest Russian style. For example, Harbin red sausage, also known as "Lidaosi", which is now one of the city's business cards, was originally a common delicacy in Eastern Europe, but after it was introduced to the Northeast, on the basis of diluting the original smoky taste, an extra garlic fragrance was added.

Harbin red sausage comes in different flavors. (Picture Insect Creativity).

In addition, Harbin's canned food is also a typical "Chinese-Russian" food, which is more like a combination of Russian beetroot soup and Chinese stew.

According to personal preference, pigs, beef, sheep, shrimp, and even vegan dishes can be made into canned dishes. For example, the method of canned shrimp is to process fresh prawns, wrap them in egg liquid and flour and fry them to set the shape, then put them in a small jar, boil them in a mixed tomato soup base, and finally add celery and carrots to taste.

Even the pickles eaten by Heilongjiang people will have a taste of pickled cucumbers that are common in Russia, and when they encounter the big fish and meat of Northeast cuisine, they have become a good match for relieving greasy food.

A Harbin restaurant with a "Russian flavor" that is a bit heavy. (Picture: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu@meme Why)

Jilin, which borders the Korean Peninsula in the east, is inhabited by Koreans, which provides natural conditions for Northeast cuisine to absorb elements of Korean cuisine.

Especially in Yanbian Prefecture, which is located on the border area, you can definitely eat more authentic Korean food than Seoul. Korean cuisine likes to be mixed raw, pickled, and baked. The kimchi culture that Koreans are proud of, and in the mouths of Northeast people, it is a spicy cabbage that cannot be separated from the long winter.

Spicy cabbage is a traditional delicacy of the Korean ethnic group in China. (Picture Insect Creativity).

The Northeast people, who like to use pots for dishes, have upgraded the iconic Korean cold salad to the Northeast salad, with a variety of vegetables, soy products and refined carbs, which can be served with sesame sauce, vinegar and sugar to make sweet and sour.

Northeasterners use their strength to prove that salads are unpalatable and are definitely a white man's problem.

The legacy of the old industrial base, hard dishes.

The term "hard dish" originates from the Northeast dialect and can be understood as the main dish in Western food, usually referring to those dishes that feel like they are going to induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Just like Cantonese people must order a plate of green vegetables when they go to a restaurant, Northeast people must have two hard dishes when they invite guests to eat.

If you can only summarize Northeast cuisine in one word, you can't find a more appropriate word than "hard". It can be said that any home-cooked dish in Northeast cuisine can be regarded as a hard dish when it is put in other places.

The big bones of Northeast sauce are the intuitive embodiment of the "hardness" of Northeast cuisine. (Picture Insect Creativity).

To order food in the Northeast, you must first learn to understand the boss's voice. If the boss has a similar rating on the menu you present, it means that the table has to be pushed out of the wall. If you can't eat, it means "you can't eat, you just go around". If it's too much, then the next three days of food will be available.

Even if the portion is large, there is more key meat. Due to the cold winter that lasted for nearly half a year, there were not many fruit and vegetable choices in the Northeast. Of course, "eating meat when you don't have vegetables" is just a self-mockery of Northeast people. As China's old industrial base, Northeast China is far ahead of the curve in more than just industrialization. The change in its dietary structure is also due to the urbanization process in Northeast China, and the people of Northeast China have realized the freedom to eat meat in advance in the era when the people of the whole country still have to pay for meat eating.

Even today, when the food cold chain and logistics level can ensure fresh fruits and vegetables, the characteristics of more meat and less vegetables are still retained in Northeast cuisine.

Iron pot stew. Meat is the soul of Northeast cuisine. (Picture Insect Creativity).

In 2016, the per capita meat consumption of the three northeastern provinces reached 895 kg, which is 325 kg. According to the 2021 survey, the daily intake of livestock and poultry meat in Northeast China reached 6012 grams, more 2896% of people consume more than the limit.

In addition to the amount and ingredients, the cooking techniques of Northeast cuisine are also quite "hard".

In addition to the messy stew that does not pay much attention to the handling of ingredients, Northeast cuisine also prefers deep frying. In the Northeast, even the three fresh vegetables in the representative vegetarian field are the most authentic when they are fried, and the dessert of shredded apples after meals is even more heavyweight.

Although Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine is famous for its use of sugar, when it comes to the love of sweetness, Northeast cuisine is not far behind. Whether it is barbecue, spicy tang and other snacks, or serious Northeast cuisine, under the salty, sour, and spicy, there is always a trace of sweetness.

No one doesn't love Northeast barbecue. (Picture Insect Creativity).

Today, if you want to go to the Northeast to experience hard dishes, the most suitable place is not a restaurant, but a boxed lunch spot on the street. Lunch buffets are the most common fast food in Northeast China, and they are basically priced according to the number of meat dishes, and vegetarian dishes and rice are often included. For a dozen or so, you can choose from dozens of full metal vegetable pots. Pot-wrapped meat, slippery meat, ground three fresh, persimmon eggs, and roasted eggplant are all the protagonists in the lunch box.

The popularity of boxed lunches in the Northeast was born from the former Northeast canteen, and now there are many box restaurants whose owners are the masters in the canteen of the unit. Of course, the lunch box is not exquisite, but just the advantages of freshly fried, cheap, large amount, rice, hot, and fast are enough to hit people who are tired of pre-made dishes.

Tohoku box lunches are delicious and cheap. (Picture: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu @ Xiaocao and Brother Hui).

The most important thing is that in the Northeast hard dishes, diners can always eat the long-lost fireworks. It is a kind of softness about home, and it is this softness that allows the people of Northeast China to get through those long seasons.

The rice bowls of the people in the northeast of the city are full of "stupid things".

Referring to today's low-sugar and low-fat dietary concepts, Northeast cuisine is simply dancing on the minefield of healthy eating. Since they can't control their mouths, the Northeast people who have found another way have worked the ingredients. "Stupid dishes" are the Maginot Line in the Northeast.

As an adjective, "stupid" can only be praised in two situations: one is flirting between couples, and the other is the Northeast vegetable market.

The meaning of "stupid" in Northeast China is similar to the organic food commonly found in European and American supermarkets, but it is used in a wider range of scenarios.

Netizens across the country always pay attention to the dining table of Northeast people, and send stupid things to the hot search.

Stupid chickens, stupid geese, and stupid pigs indicate that livestock are naturally free-range and fed grain, rather than standardized feed. Stupid potatoes, stupid eggplant, stupid corn, indicate that no chemical fertilizer was applied during the planting process, and farmhouse fertilizer was used. Ben soybean paste, Ben bean buns, and Ben bean oil tell you that the production process uses traditional craftsmanship and no chemical additives.

The Northeast has a bumper harvest, with simple ingredients and rich nutrition. (Picture Insect Creativity).

If an easy-to-understand explanation must be given in the current context, then "stupid" is the opposite of technology and hard work, the local complex of Northeast people, and the contemporary remnant of the Northeast food tradition of "things and me".

The spatial characteristics of the vast land and sparsely populated space have allowed the Northeast to form an economic model of simply "relying on the sky for food". The thin population density combined with the vast and abundant land makes the diet of the people of Northeast China highly dependent on the gifts of nature.

Unlike intensive cultivation in densely populated areas such as the Central Plains and the south, the Northeast region, where many ethnic groups live, has formed a production mode based on animal husbandry, hunting, and fishing, supplemented by gathering and planting.

In Northeast China, hunting and fishing are the main production methods. (Picture unsplash).

At a time when farmers in the south were still "sweating and dripping into the soil" for the grain that could produce a few more stones of grain per acre of land, the people of Northeast China were hunting in the mountains and forests and picking wild fruits to eat.

Until the middle of the 20th century, in most parts of the Northeast, "beating the roe deer and scooping the fish, and the pheasant flying into the rice pot" was not an exaggerated rhetoric, but a real daily life of people.

Whether it's a wet market or a restaurant, as long as you use "stupid vegetables", it will be a little higher than ordinary ingredients*, and it is still quite popular. "Stupid dishes" are not specifically sold to stupid people IQ tax, just as the saying "the highest quality ingredients only need the simplest cooking", the Northeast cuisine is the highest standard to test the quality of ingredients.

Peel the potatoes and eggplant, stir-fry with green peppers, and add other condiments to make a delicious disan fresh. (Picture Insect Creativity).

Stupid eggs are smooth and tender, stupid pork is firm, and stupid bean sprouts are crispy, although there is no obvious gap between "stupid vegetables" and ordinary foods in terms of nutritional value, but in terms of taste, they can be distinguished with chopsticks.

When the image of a sad laggard appears more and more frequently in the Northeast, for people to sigh or mock, the Northeast people's attachment to stupid dishes is more meaningful.

The first people in Northeast China to complete industrialization and urbanization were the first to realize the value of "stupidity".

Editor: Dao Meow.

Proofreader: Lai Xiaoni.

Typography: Random steps.

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