"Worldly Flavor"

Author: Hu Yuanjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This is a food essay, more than that, it guides fashion food trends through the process and feelings of eating, including the preparation of some dishes. But it is absolutely not a recipe book, so please don’t treat it as one. If you accidentally glimpse some of the cooking secrets in the book, please keep it a secret, because it’s not hard to find these secrets, but the psychological process after discovering them can be complex. It’s better to stay low-key. The text is humorous and interesting, with a punchline at the end of almost every piece, like a one-person show by Ma Sanli, keeping you smiling while enjoying the food. A good mood leads to a good stomach—this might be the author’s writing style. Being able to fill your belly is already a blessing, but filling it beautifully is luxurious. This luxury means letting food delight your body. Good food not only gives you a healthy body but also a good mood. Physical and mental well-being is something no external luxury can replace.
This is a food essay, more than that, it guides fashion food trends through the process and feelings of eating, including the preparation of some dishes. The Big Escape is a movie I never tire of watching. The first time I watched it, I was still in school. A classmate transferred from Xi’an and sat next to me. He loved mantou, especially xiāngròumó (meat-stuffed mantou), which led the few foodies in the class to unconsciously adopt his eating habits. So I gave him the nickname "Hospital Director Mantou." This is the only nickname I’ve ever given someone that they were happy to accept.
When it comes to xiāngròumó, many people think it’s just a play on words. Clearly, it’s mantou stuffed with meat. But that’s not the case. According to research, xiāngròumó has a history of over a thousand years, and its name dates back to ancient times. Back then, it was called "meat stuffed in mantou," which was shortened to "meat in mantou" in spoken language. There are many such linguistic quirks in Xi’an. The mantou used for xiāngròumó is called báijímó. After baking, the skin is loosely attached, so it’s colloquially called "two skins." It’s thin, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, and can be eaten alone. But if you stuff it with rich, tender, and fragrant preserved meat, well, your stomach will have a treat. Making báijímó requires a special oven, which isn’t practical at home, but you can buy it from a specialty mantou shop. Preserved meat, however, can be DIY at home. Wash the pork (use the rump end) with cool water, add an appropriate amount of cool water, salt, cooking wine, caramel, and over ten spices (such as star anise, cinnamon, cloves, etc., tied in a cloth bag). Boil the pork in cool water, skim off the foam, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 hours, keeping the pot slightly open. Then switch to a very low flame and simmer for another 3–4 hours until the meat is completely tender. At this point, you’ll have preserved meat described as "rich meat that doesn’t get greasy, lean meat full of oil," and "no need to chew—the meat falls apart on its own, with a lingering fragrance after eating." Want to try?
Eating xiāngròumó is also an art: The freshly baked two-skin mantou, stuffed with fragrant preserved meat, carries the aroma of the mantou mixed with the flavor of the meat simmered in old broth, plus coriander. If you like spicy, add some chili peppers. Each part is distinct yet complementary. At this moment, you’ll surely take a deep breath, staring at the fragrant xiāngròumó before biting into it. You’ll regret your small lung capacity and how reluctant you’ll be to exhale.
Pick up the mantou—don’t bite in the middle, a little off-center, take small bites, as if gently probing (it feels like kissing). The crispy mantou and a little preserved meat will first tempt you. For the second bite, still small, bite on the other side of the mantou, leaving a large gap between the two bites! You’ll be so craving by then, and the third bite will arrive just in time, bringing a sense of satisfaction from the inside out! But if you insist on taking a big bite—haha! You’ll squeeze some meat out of the mantou, making a mess of your hands. Of course, seasoned eaters will use their hands to turn the mantou while eating quickly, achieving the amazing feat of taking two small bites but feeling like one big one.
One day, at a class reunion, "Hospital Director Mantou" went with a pretty girl, which made the rest of us bachelors feel. I walked over with a cup of wine, "What’s wrong? Not the Hospital Director anymore?" He looked deeply at the girl, acting high and mighty, speaking in a bureaucratic tone, "I won’t be the Hospital Director anymore, but I’ll definitely keep the mantou, and I have to add a suffix!" "What?" "Double F." P100-101