"Firewood mutton" Photo by Shu Guoping.
In winter, mutton is a good choice, which not only has the effect of warming up the body, invigorating qi and replenishing deficiency, promoting blood circulation and improving immunity, but also has its own different flavors regardless of stewed soup, braised or white cut. In Nanxun, Huzhou, Zhejiang, there is a well-known dish with Hu sheep as the main ingredient, namely "firewood mutton", which is popular with locals and tourists alike.
Hu sheep are mainly produced in Jiaxing and Taihu Lake areas of Zhejiang, and the breed is derived from the northern Mongolian sheep that existed in the Qin Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the northern residents brought Mongolian sheep to the south and settled in the Taihu Lake basin in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. History has left a lot of records and praises of Hu sheep, such as Wang Yuanliang in the Song Dynasty in the "Huzhou Song Ninety-eight and Its Seventy-four" description: "The fifth Zhu feast is the palace, and the wheel leads the wine to smoke the long rainbow. The gold plate is piled up with lake mutton, and the royal finger is three thousand rings in the blue sky. ”
Hu sheep has the characteristics of high fecundity and fast development, except for the primiparous ewe, generally each litter is more than 2 lambs, and some can give birth to 6 to 8 in one litter. The economic value of Hu sheep is also very high, the lamb skin is light and soft, the coat color is white, rich in luster and natural wave patterns, and can be used to make high-quality fur clothing; Hu mutton has a light taste, thick fat and fat, and is rich in protein. Hu sheep breeding is a characteristic and advantageous animal husbandry industry in Zhejiang Province, and Huzhou is more famous for breeding Hu sheep. With its long cultural history and unique sensory quality, Huzhou Hu sheep has been listed as a national "Geographical Indication of Agricultural Products" product.
Although the sheep eaten are the same, the way mutton is cooked varies from place to place in Huzhou. The three adjacent towns, such as Lianshi Town, Xinshi Town, and Shuanglin Town, are each good at braised mutton, sauce mutton, and boiled mutton. Among them, Lianshi Town has always been engaged in raising sheep, since the Song Dynasty, there is a saying that "every household raises lake sheep, and each household should raise three or five", and it has established the status of "the first town of braised mutton" with a "firewood mutton".
Lianshi mutton is well-known far and wide, and it is said that it also has a certain relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that Zhu Yuanzhang led his troops to avoid the enemy, passing by Quanbu Village in Nanxun Lian City, Huzhou, hungry and cold, and the people in the village killed sheep and cooked them. The villagers use the stone mortar as a pot, take the dried mulberry trunk as a salary, and then use the charcoal fire after the flame is extinguished to slowly stew the mutton. After Zhu Yuanzhang and his generals ate it, they praised its delicious taste. In 1368, after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor in Nanjing, he never forgot the delicacy of the mutton in Quanbu Village at that time, so he issued an edict to list the "firewood mutton" in Quanbu Village as a good product. Since then, Lianshi mutton has become famous in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. This story has also been included in the town chronicles of Lianshi Town. Nowadays, there is a Buddhist temple called Bao'en Temple in Quanbu Village, the words "Zhu Yuanzhang Refuge" are written under the eaves on the right side of the temple, and there are stone statues of Ming Taizu and stone mortars in the open space in front of the temple.
The legend is long ago and difficult to verify, but the characteristics of Lianshi mutton "red and bright meat, crispy and elastic, fresh and fragrant, and unforgettable" have been passed down to this day, and they are well known. In Lian City, the signboard of "firewood mutton" is all over the streets and alleys, and it is also a beautiful business card for the food industry in Nanxun area to publicize to the outside world.
In the middle of winter, the author made a special trip to Lianshi Town to visit the prosperous scene of "firewood mutton". According to a master who is good at making "firewood mutton", the local traditional "firewood mutton" method is to wash the meat and cut it into large pieces, make a fire to boil water, blanch the mutton first, and then add water and mutton to the pot again after taking it out, with rice wine, rock sugar, soy sauce, red dates, green onion and ginger, bay leaves and other condiments. It is best to use Lianshi rice wine for flavored rice wine, and the mutton burned out has less fishy smell and a more pure taste. Jujube is to absorb the mutton's own qi, so when eating Lianshi mutton, jujube is generally not eaten. At the same time, the firewood stove mutton, the firewood burned must be mulberry roots. After a long time of cooking in the earthen oven, the mutton in the iron pot is evenly heated in all directions, and the soup also better penetrates into the mutton, and the roasted mutton is unusually delicious. Many stores in the town that specialize in "firewood mutton" make this kind of braised mutton, of course, in terms of raw materials, heat, seasoning, etc., each has its own characteristics and doorways.
In the place where the "firewood mutton" shops are more concentrated, you can smell the strong aroma of mutton 200 meters away, which is "smelling the aroma of meat from afar, known to Lianshi". Take a closer look, the courtyard is full of mulberry firewood, the earth stove with sparks flashing, and the boiling big iron pot ......The scene is in full swing and the diners are full of anticipation. In order to meet the needs of customers from other places and facilitate diners to taste, the operator also made canned "firewood mutton", which is sold in restaurants and markets in the urban area, and the eye-catching "Lianshi firewood mutton" is printed on the packaging carton to show authenticity. I have tasted Lianshi mutton many times in the city, but when I came to the place of origin and smelled the wisps of mutton, I couldn't help but salivate. Put a piece of mutton in the mouth, the fresh fragrance is incomparable, the feeling of melting in the mouth is wonderful, and you still feel fragrant after eating.
If you have the opportunity to go to Huzhou, please come to Nanxunlian Town and taste the authentic and freshly baked mulberry firewood "firewood mutton".
January 30, 2024 China Culture Daily
A special report was published in the 8th edition.
Nanxun cuisine has lake sheep
Editor-in-charge: Chen Chen.