Zhang Hongxing.
The Qing Dynasty poet Yuan Mu said in "Suiyuan Food List": "The salty ones should be served first, and the light ones should be the last; The thick one should come first, and the thin one should be later; Those who do not have soup should be first, and those who have soup should be ...... laterIf the diner is full, the spleen is sleepy, and it is necessary to use spicy to invigorate it; If you drink too much, your stomach will be tired, and you must use sweet and sour to wake it up." Today's "Boshan Halal Banquet" still follows this rule.
I have had the pleasure of eating several halal banquets in Qingmei Ju, and I still can't forget the scene of exquisite regulations, strict order, rich and varied, unique, delicious and pleasing to the eye.
In fact, in ancient Qi, there were already a lot of etiquette regulations on food.
At that time, whether it was the feast of the princes and nobles, or the daily diet of ordinary people, there were some specific eating etiquette.
Qi people sit on the ground when they eat, and the feast is named because of the seat. The feast is made of coarse reeds and spread on the bottom layer, and the top is a mat made of fine materials. According to historical records, the seat of the Son of Heaven is fivefold, the seat of the princes is threefold, and the seat of the doctor is heavy, and it is against common etiquette to sit on the ground without a seat. "The Analects of the Township Party" says: "If the seat is not right, do not sit." If you give food, you will taste it first. ”
The daily meals of ordinary people also reflect some etiquette and edification. The relationship between father and son is the same as the relationship between teachers and students, such as "Zengzi's Job" says, when serving the teacher to eat, the teacher will sit and wait for the meal, and he must not slack off, and must do it according to certain etiquette. After the division commander ate and washed, "Mr. has an order, ** is food".
*There is also a certain system for eating. When eating, sit as close to the table as possible. Rice must be eaten by hand, and soup cannot be picked by hand. Keep your hands flat on your knees and not your elbows on the table. After eating, wipe your mouth with your hands before lifting your clothes and leaving. Wait until everything is used up before you can remove what you eat. After the retreat, the ** came back and stood by with their hands down.
In the process of eating, whether it is a feast or a daily meal, there are some taboos. "The Internal Rules of the Book of Rites" contains: "Do not eat young turtles. The wolf goes to the intestines, the dog goes to the kidney, the raccoon goes to the spine, the rabbit goes to the jiri, the fox goes to the head, the dolphin goes to the brain, the fish goes to B, and the turtle goes to the ugly. ”
When eating, don't take too much food from the communal utensils, don't take out the leftovers and put them back into the communal utensils, don't drink the soup in a big gulp, and chew slowly after eating; Don't make unpleasant noises, don't gnaw bones loudly, and don't spit out the fish you eat; Rice millet should be grasped, do not use chopsticks to pinch, do not use the mouth to eat. Don't throw the bones to the dog, and don't pick your teeth in public.
In other words, any unseemly and impolite behavior is undesirable.
There are some good things in these regulations, but we have not adhered to them. For example, when eating and drinking soup, people 2,000 years ago knew not to make unpleasant sounds, but some people made very loud movements, which were a little unbelievable and even uncivilized in the eyes of strangers.
The four or four seats in Boshan are as strict as the regulations of the halal banquet in Qingmeiju, and the popularity is higher and more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
From the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, Boshan was an important commercial town, because of the developed economy and the gathering of businessmen, which stimulated and promoted the development of local catering to a higher level of social service, and the profound cultural history made this industry show local flavor and folk characteristics. On the basis of the previous regulations of "three seats" and "swallow wing seats", the "four or four seats" with unique local characteristics of Boshan were quickly formed.
In the process of this integrated development, several famous chefs from Boshan who have been cooking in Beijing, Jinan and other places have returned to their hometowns, and they have introduced the dishes of famous restaurants from other places to the local area, and combined them with the original dishes of Boshan to create new ones.
In the early twenties of the last century, Jule Village Restaurant was opened for business, due to Wang Guangyong, Luan Yuzhuo and several other famous chefs who are familiar with Beijing and Tianjin cuisine, it soon made the regulation of "four or four seats" tend to be complete and pushed to the extreme, which has an unprecedented impact on the banquet customs of Boshan and the surrounding areas.
To this day, Boshan people still take Jule Village as the leader when they talk about their hometown.
The four or four seats pay attention to soup-making, which fully reflects the tradition of Shandong cuisine focusing on soup-making, and the materials and craftsmanship are very exquisite. Whether it is broth, clear soup, milk soup or vegetarian stock, the preparation method is strictly different according to the dish. Chef Boshan often says that "the tone of singing is the soup of cooking", so the quality of the dish, the soup is the first key.
The ancients said: "Ask about the prohibition when entering the country, ask about the customs when entering the country, and ask about the entrance to the country." Boshan's "Four Four Seats" pays attention to this principle and fully demonstrates the etiquette rules in the banquet.
A table for eight people, if there are seven people, it is called an open seat, and if nine people are seated, it is a corner seat. The seats and drinks are evenly divided between the guests and the hosts, reflecting the respect and humility of the elders and the young. Take the main entrance or the place where the platform is located, and the opposite side is up. The two people on the table are honored on the left.
There are historical customs of taboo and avoidance at the banquet. Vinegar is called "taboo", dim sum is not on twist (homonym "trouble"), fruit is not on pear (homonym "off"). If the whole chicken, duck and fish are served, the chicken head, duck tail and fish loin will not be offered to the host and guest. As for the shallow pouring of tea, the pouring of wine should be full, and some customs of persuading and punishing alcohol, there are many more.
In addition to shark fin and sea cucumber banquet dishes, other large banquet items can be changed according to the situation, but the name of the changed dishes should be as suitable as possible with the theme of the banquet. For example, the wedding banquet has "Eight Treasure Rice", which means "early birth of a noble son", and the birthday banquet is on the "Four Happiness Balls", which means "Fulu Birthday Jubilee". The family banquet has the dish of "family portrait", and as for the meal, it also pays attention to the auspiciousness of "going out to dumpling and returning noodles to the family".
Since ancient times, Boshan banquets have a fine tradition of pursuing good color, flavor, shape, and coordination. Understand that people can distinguish the difference between large pieces and rows from the shape and size of tableware. The common ones are ten-inch soup plates and flat plates, and the genera of soup drums, soup bowls, spoons and saucers and pots are matched into a series, showing the integration of banquet tableware with rules and exquisite visual effects.
Boshan's "Four Four Seats" is a banquet regulation that has reached a consensus after a hundred years of research, absorption and improvement by several generations of chefs in Boshan.
The order in which the dishes are served is also very particular. In the dining life of the Boshan people, the most elaborate serving procedure is the official and guest seats (as the saying goes) in the wedding banquet, in which each procedure before serving the large items is accompanied by corresponding drinks. For example, the four dried fruits are accompanied by tea, the four snacks are accompanied by almond tea, and the four fresh fruits are accompanied by red wine.
Only the four dried fruits and the four flat plates that were officially served after the new were withdrawn. The above 12 products are only for the host and guest to cushion the abdomen before drinking, in order to prevent the discomfort of drinking on the stomach.
After cleaning the table and pouring it with liquor, it will start to serve large items. The first dish (the first large item) is the first dish to mark the size of the table. If the first dish is shark fin, it is shark fin mat, and if it is sea cucumber, it is sea cucumber mat.
The first large item is followed by the first row of pieces (mostly hot dishes), and the whole dish is interspersed with the table in turn. In the "four or four seats", the large dish is half of the whole table, and the first dish is half of the large dish; The first line accounts for half of the cost of the whole table; Four flat plates and four meals together only account for 20% of the price of the whole meal.
The traditional habit of Boshan banquets is to rank the light taste of fish, desserts and seasonal vegetables at the end of the serving order, and "smashing fish soup" is very popular, not only one fish and two eats, but also has the effect of relieving hangover and refreshing the mind and adjusting the appetite, which is exactly the essence of Yuan Mei's poem.
Through the excavation of the traditional "Four Four Seats", combined with the characteristics of today's tastes, and the evaluation and summary of expert diners, the chefs of Boshan Hotel have sorted out a series of menus of "Four Four Seats" of different specifications. If you take the mid-range "sea cucumber seat" as an example, the dishes are as follows:
Four dried fruits: pine seeds, cashew nuts, peanuts, pistachios.
Four dim sum: sago dumplings, white skin crisp, cream pastry, bean paste roll.
Four fresh fruits: grapes, melon, jujube persimmon, watermelon.
Four flat plates: Songhua spelled chicken shredded jelly powder, curly tip spelled cherry meat, bergamot meat spelled with shredded radish, plate belly spelled with hoof tendons.
Four major pieces: three fresh sea cucumber soup (spicy cucumber), pot roasted elbow (four dishes), tofu box (tower shape), sweet and sour carp (stilt tail).
Four lines: stir-fried kidney flower, soft fried pork liver, chicken sauce shrimp, glazed cavity.
Four-button bowl: squid with squid, braised tile fish, egg buns, stewed vegetables.
The first four items of "44 seats" can be changed according to the season, the status of the guest and special circumstances. The four major pieces, four rows, and four buckle bowls should be interspersed in order to reflect the overall effect of the dishes and achieve the feeling of moving and comfortable eating.