Eating Around the World: A Guide to Chinese Cuisine

Author: Zhao Jikang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: In Shanxi, vinegar and coarse grains are indispensable in the diet. Don't look at them as ordinary ingredients—when properly prepared, they can be a feast of delicacies. If you talk about food with a Shanxi person, vinegar will always be the first topic. Vinegar is just one of the five flavors, how can it be called a delicacy? Initially, it may sound absurd, but the truth is exactly that. Because when Shanxi people attend a banquet, even with a table full of delicacies, you'd never guess that the only thing they praise is the vinegar. After finishing the banquet, an old-timer might say, "Hmm! This banquet is great, the vinegar is excellent! Choosing vinegar is really flavorful!" This is the highest praise an old-timer can give to a banquet.
● Labor Pain Relieved by Vinegar's Aroma
In Shanxi, women often experience difficult labor, with the baby taking a long time to be born. The family might discuss, and someone might suggest, "Why not use vinegar to help?" It is said that placing a bowl of vinegar under the mother sometimes works—when the fetus smells the vinegar, it might cry out and open its mouth to be born. Of course, this is all a joke. Shanxi people are famous for loving vinegar, and Shanxi's aged vinegar is almost on par with Zhenjiang vinegar, but compared to white vinegar or rice vinegar from other provinces, it is indeed a superior product. If you visit a Shanxi family during the New Year, buying two bottles of vinegar as a gift is never a mistake. Elegant scholars and literati say, "Better to eat no meat than to live without bamboo," but Shanxi people could change those words to, "Better to eat no meat than to live without vinegar." As long as there is vinegar on the table, peeling two cloves of garlic, eating dry bread with millet porridge, is enough to be delicious. If the porridge is cooked with lotus leaf water, it's called lotus leaf millet porridge, even more fragrant and soothing, and it also helps clear the heat. Adding a bit of vinegar to the porridge makes it even more enjoyable to eat.
Shanxi is a mountainous region with many rocks. Taiyuan in the central part of Shanxi is literally a large plain, but it is only about hundreds of miles in diameter, unlike Henan and Hebei in the Central Plains, which stretch for thousands of miles, making it impossible to ride a horse without getting tired of looking at the mountains. In the towering mountains of the Taihang Range, basins are rare, so the people of Shanxi adapt to their environment by eating more coarse grains and less rice and wheat. Millet porridge is considered the best among coarse grains.
In Shanxi, the best variety of coarse grain is the "Golden Queen" corn cob. After generations of selection, fertilization, and cultivation, this world-renowned variety has been developed. The Golden Queen corn cob is exceptionally long, golden in color, large in size, with large kernels. Its taste is somewhat similar to glutinous rice—it's slightly sticky and both sweet and delicious. It is widely grown in the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi. Freshly harvested young corn is delicious when simply boiled.
● French Fries Originally from Shanxi
Among Shanxi's coarse grains, the potato is even more common. Shanxi people call potatoes "shan yu dan," meaning that eating them is like taking a health supplement. If grown properly with sufficient fertilizer and fertile soil, a potato can weigh half a pound or even a pound. Boiling a potato, peeling it, and dipping it in salt makes a satisfying meal. It's even better with sweet bean sauce. Americans also believe that potatoes are very beneficial for health, which is why they are essential in hamburgers and hot dogs, along with sausages and tomatoes. When eating toast, they also enjoy a side of French fries. Shanxi people also eat French fries, but they prefer slicing them and stir-frying with vinegar—it's a home-style dish. As for Shanxi's banquets, famous dishes like fried pork in oil and mixed five-sliced vegetables are also...