As the saying goes: pancake oven with dipping ingredients, soul barbecue set of three pieces. This May, the latest famous saying in the food industry is: there is nothing that can’t be solved by a single meal of Zibo barbecue. If there is, then just two meals.
In Zibo, the train station is filled with college students, and the air is full of cumin flavor. When walking with three people, there must be a master of skewers. In the hands of the masters, roasted skewers are transformed into art – with one hand lightly twirling the skewer, the other lightly rubbing the soul dipping material, using a gentle technique to drop cumin drizzle, waiting for the oil flower to bloom on the charcoal fire. The crackling sound is the tacit understanding between the master and the skewer, without any extra words or eyes. Just spread out the dough in the palm of your hand, grab the roasted skewer, and then clip in a green, white, and crispy Shandong scallion. Lift your hand and roll it into your mouth. At this point, the final melody is elegant, and the lingering sound lingers around the beam.
As a popular tourist destination with a “barbecue tour” train, Zibo barbecue is completely popular this spring; Besides barbecue, this historic city also harbors many delicious foods worth exploring.
1. Delicious barbecue can span time
The oven is the “parallel universe” of human society. Here, it contains a variety of everything: from chicken, duck, fish and sheep, to vegetables and mushrooms, as long as you want, everything can be grilled. Similarly, just as man is “the primate of all things and the essence of the universe”, meat is the most stable and durable “absolute overlord” in the world of ovens.
Zibo people have the most say in the matter of barbecue. As early as 1,400 years ago in the Northern Wei Dynasty, barbecue was a must-have food for local residents in Zibo. Even the earliest barbecue recipes came from the records of Jia Sixie, the prefect of Gaoyang (now Gaoyang Village, Linzi District, Zibo): “Qi Min Yao Shu” contains ” The so-called “roasted pork” refers to roasted pork. Barbecue from thousands of years ago, the method is exquisite and the craftsmanship is complicated, which is not inferior to today-the piglet is “washed, scraped, and made to be extremely clean; the stomach is opened, the five internal organs are removed, and then washed”, and then “slow fire and remote roasting” are added. “, slow fire and roast until “the color is the same as amber, and it is like real gold”.
Today’s Internet and media, the four characters “Zibo BBQ” are overwhelming; but if you ask the locals in Zibo, where to eat barbecue? The answer may be completely different – “What kind of Zibo barbecue should you eat? If you come to Zibo to eat barbecue, it is better to eat Boshan barbecue!” Many people who have tasted it personally also admit that in fact, Zibo barbecue itself is nothing special, neither are green onions and noodles. What is special, its novelty lies more in the differentiation of “small skewers + small cakes + shallots”, the sense of ritual of “one table, one oven, one burrito”, and the strong visual impact brought by the matching of colors and rituals. Both kung fu and articles lie in the “added value” and “external style” of food; while Zibo’s famous dish, Boshan barbecue, can probably be regarded as an out-and-out fundamentalist, taking the route of internal strength, and his martial arts are all lies in the unique taste and style.
Fresh pork is cleaned, cut into 20cm long and 5cm wide strips, soaked in water with spices such as pepper and salt, and then dried to remove the fishy smell of animal meat, and then put the strips into a special oven, refined Choose smoke-free apple trees, persimmon trees, jujube trees, pepper trees, and Chinese toon trees for slow roasting. The aroma of the fruit trees spreads slowly. The drizzle entered the room, and finally blended into every texture of the pork, which complemented the burnt aroma of the fat. The hot barbecue just out of the oven, whether it is wrapped in sugar and fresh lotus leaves, or added in mung beans, vermicelli and eggs to make soup, has a special taste. Anyone who has tasted it is full of praise for the “crispy skin and tender meat” of Boshan barbecue. , the smell is delicate, and the food is not greasy”.
The most representative Boshan barbecue is “Yuanxingzhai”. The current popular Boshan barbecue method was first created by this time-honored restaurant specializing in barbecue. According to legend, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the owner of Yuanxingzh ai discovered by accident that the taste of elbows was more delicious after being fried with oil, so he boldly improved on the basis of “roasted pork”, changing the big roast to a small roast, thus establishing the Zibo barbecue today. “Shunxiangzhai”, “Zhenxingzhai” and “Shenghuazhai” have sprung up one after another. After the founding of New China, they were included in the business scope of Zibo City Food Company, and their fragrance is still present.
2. A small noodle cake, can’t hide the pasta love
The pastry in Zibo barbecue is the “specificity” that distinguishes it from other barbecues. The reason for this is closely related to the dietary habits of Shandong people who love pasta. In the dietary tradition handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years, the various possibilities of wheat have been fully explored in the hands of Shandong people. In different regions, Mantou, Steamed rolls and other forms have been derived; In Zibo, the pure appearance of pasta should be the various “cakes” with various postures.
From the perspective of production process, the pancakes in the barbecue follow the “Clear Water Brings Lotus” track, with few complex decorations, but these are still beginners; The word “natural” should be promoted to the highest level when it comes to Zhoucun Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle), a famous product of Zibo. Strictly speaking, as a well-known trademark, “Zhoucun Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle)” is a general term for this kind of unique Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle). Zhoucun people call it more “crispy Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle)” or “big crisp Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle)”.
Zhoucun Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle) originated from Tielu Hu Cake in the Han Dynasty. Its evaluation system can be divided into four dimensions of “thin”, “crisp”, “fragrant” and “crisp”. However, the local people just picked up a word of “crisp” as the title, which just reflects its spirit. Zhoucun Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle) is round in shape and yellow in color. It is crispy and fragrant. The front is covered with sesame seeds, and the back is full of pores. When you pick it up, there is a swish sound, just like poplar leaves shaking in the wind, so it is also called “Guala Ye”; If it falls to the ground by mistake, it becomes fragments, indicating its fragility. Breaking open a piece and putting it into your mouth, the roasted burnt aroma and the original wheat aroma quickly spread, combined with a salty or sweet taste, and transformed into a sweet aftertaste under the dissolution of salivary amylase. It can also bear the four words “a thousand twists and turns”. Therefore, in the past, some poets wrote poems praising it as “thin as autumn leaves, shaped like a full moon; falling pearls scattered and jade shattered, leaving an endless aftertaste in the mouth”.
Zhoucun Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle) brings the original flavor of wheat into full play, while Zibo vegetable sesame seed cake is famous for its rich flavor ingredients and layers. Pancake is a specialty in the Zibo area. Pu Songling, a fellow villager of Zibo, once passionately stated in an article titled “Pancake Fu”: “Dezi contains rice beans, which are ground like glue, with a split tendrils and a tripod shaped pan. With one spoon of a clay pot, it is roasted and poured down in torrents. It turns left in a hurry, like ants on the ground, turning yellow and white suddenly, and forming a beard. Spoon a spoonful of batter placed in a clay pot and pour it onto a hot iron pan. The scraper quickly rotates to the left, and the white batter follows the command, crawling like an ant on the pan. The scorching heat burned the batter, causing the water to evaporate rapidly and making a slight noise. It also made the batter on the plate color as if it had been dyed orange by the sunset, quickly turning from white to yellow and from wet to crispy. In a moment, a pancake was ready. Until today, the production method of Zibo vegetable pancakes remains unchanged. In the scattered “Shandong miscellaneous grain pancakes” shops in various places, people can still glimpse the style of Zibo vegetable pancakes described by Pu Songling from the skilled craftsmanship of the boss.
However, the key advantage in helping Zibo vegetable pancakes break through countless similar pancake products is not in the crust, but in the cake. The most common filling is to cut tofu, leeks, and noodles into small pieces, add shrimp skin to enhance the flavor, stir fry and mix well, then wrap the filling in a prepared pancake, fold it into a square shape, put it in a pot for secondary processing, fry and heat until it is dark yellow, and then the Zibo vegetable pancake is out of the furnace. The ingredients are not expensive, but rather delicious and affordable, with a focus on the word ‘fresh’. Although they may not sell well, they have a unique flavor.
3. Millennium Fireworks, Vigorous Urban Vitality
Barbecue, as one of the most primitive cooking methods, does not have much technical content. The quality of barbecue often depends on the freshness of the raw materials, the combination of dipping ingredients, and familiarity and mastery of the heat. Fire is the cornerstone of civilization and the soul of cuisine, and Zibo is a city that is inextricably bound to “fire”.
It is unknown when the “first fire” was ignited by the ancestors of Zibo, but it can now be clearly stated that Zibo was one of the earliest regions to proficiently introduce “fire” into many aspects of life and production. In ancient mythology, there is the famous Nvwa who “mends the sky by refining stones”, and the only “Furnace God Temple” built in memory of her feat in the country is located in Boshan, Zibo; Shun once “potted by the riverbank” to commemorate and worship his “kiln temple”, and also in Boshan. In the later historical era, Zibo has always been an important producer of Chinese ceramics. In this art of fire and earth, Zibo’s ancestors lived with fire day and night, got close to it, became familiar with it, understood it, and ultimately utilized it to create many practical and culinary arts derived from “fire”.
The fate with fire is more intuitively reflected in the name of “Zibo”. As a regional name, “Zibo” is a city that was finally formed in the early 1920s with the development of coal mines in Zichuan and Boshan. Coal is the pride and glory of Zibo, and it is also the heaviest industrial cornerstone of this city. This “Shandong Coal Capital” was already scattered with scattered coal mines during the Tang and Song dynasties. Valuable black stones emerged from the mountain valleys through trade and exchange, arriving at Qingzhou Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, Tianjin Prefecture, and even Shanghai Beach… The coal that generated light and heat has been burning a warm flame for this city and even further afield.
Until the 1990s, with its strong industrial strength, Zibo ranked high in the top three of Shandong’s urban economic rankings. However, by 2019, the total economic output of Zibo had been surpassed by former “younger brothers” such as Linyi and Jining, dropping to seventh place in Shandong. This unexpected barbecue turned red, which was a hard-earned opportunity for Zibo, which had been silent for a long time.
Sincerity is an eternal “must kill skill” and the ultimate weapon that moves people’s hearts in Zibo. Zibo barbecue may not be the undisputed number one in the country, but the attitude of Zibo people is indeed worthy of full marks: the Zibo government has launched a series of attacks, and the opening of the “barbecue tour” special train is only a beginner’s operation. To welcome visitors from all directions, one must strive for excellence. So, on one side, the Director of Culture and Tourism personally stepped forward and warmly welcomed the arrival of passengers on the high-speed rail, emphasizing a “taste advantage”. On the other side, the train was soft decorated with a barbecue theme, presenting gifts and city introduction manuals to tourists, emphasizing a “practical” approach; The 21 newly opened barbecue bus routes in the city cover popular barbecue shops in the main urban area, and there is a specially customized “barbecue map” that allows you to land and directly reach the barbecue stall. The high-speed rail is the dining table; For the “Special Forces Tourism Group” mainly composed of college students, it is also a “Rocket” combination of “youth post station half price occupancy”, “issuance of barbecue usable coupons”, “holding” barbecue festival “,” barbecue season “and other activities on the agenda”.
The people of Zibo also took over one after another, shouting the slogan of “Fighting for the Honor of Zibo”. Local residents spontaneously gave up their weekend dining space to tourists who came from afar. Barbecue shop owners were worried that tourists would wait in line for too long, which would affect their travel experience. They even had to use their loudspeakers to “drive away customers” and say, “Go eat elsewhere, Zibo’s barbecue is very delicious!” As for the behavior of slaughtering customers that is most easily criticized after the popularity of tourist cities in general, Thanks to the joint efforts of the Zibo government and Zibo people, it has also been curbed. Some online bloggers have gone to “crack down on counterfeits,” but in the end, they had to admit with a smile that they really “slapped” this time. Zibo is using every pore from head to toe to interpret the ultimate meaning of “hospitable Shandong” – as long as you want to eat barbecue, a serious Shandong person will not allow any details to affect your experience.
Throughout this popular food “traffic”, the screen of Zibo barbecue began with novelty, fell into affordability, and finally became honest: while the barbecue industry in various regions is developing towards a starting price of 100 per capita, attempting to give barbecue the title of “light luxury”, Zibo still retains the simple price of 60 to 70 to eat; In the trend of high traffic, internet celebrity stores focus on decoration, targeting concepts, and harvesting the “clock in” economy. As for the original appearance of food, it is hidden behind heavy packaging. However, in Zibo, meat is meat, cakes are cakes, barbecue is barbecue, and eating is eating.
In Linzi, the capital of Qi, there was a saying that “the prosperity of commerce and industry was facilitated by the benefits of fish and salt”. Therefore, “many people return to Qi”, and the merchants of the world “return to Qi like flowing water”. Linzi is known as “the capital of the world with its wealth in the sea”; A thousand years later, Zibo, with the same reputation and reality, operates a land and scenery. The sincerity and simplicity engraved in the bones of the locals, combined with the urban heritage that has been present for thousands of years, are the enduring fires that have created the delicious barbecue in Zibo.
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