Beijing Roast Duck

Roast duck is a unique and famous dish in Beijing, famous both at home and abroad. Roast duck has a long history. As early as 1500 years ago, "roast duck" existed in China's Southern and Northern Dynasties. During the Tianli period of the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1330), Hu Sihui, the imperial cook's "Yinshan Zhengyao", included the treasure "roast duck" on the table, which is today's roast duck. At that time, the method of roasting duck was barbecued pork. After removing the internal organs of the duck, mix the lamb tripe, coriander, green onion and salt evenly, place it in the belly of the duck, and roast it on the charcoal fire with a fork. Today's Peking duck is made from stuffed duck raised in the suburbs of Beijing. Before roasting, wash the duck leg hair and remove the internal organs. Then press air between the skin and the meat to separate the skin and meat, then coat the duck body with maltose syrup and let it dry. In this way, the whole duck is dark red, as if it has been coated with a layer of red paint, so some foreigners humorously call Beijing roast duck "paint duck". The roasting method is to pour boiling water into the duck chamber before sending the duck into the oven, and then release the boiling water after the duck is cooked. Hardwoods such as dates, peaches, and pears are used as fuel in the oven. These fuels have less smoke and are fragrant, and the firepower is gentle but not strong. Each duck is roasted for about 40 minutes, and is tender on the outside and plump on the inside. There is something special about eating roast duck: first put a piece of pancake on your hand, put a few slices of roast duck on it, dip it in sweet noodle sauce, add a few green onions, then roll up the pancake and eat it, it is oily but not greasy, crispy and refreshing. Before officially eating roast duck, smart chefs also make various cold dishes from the duck's waist, heart, liver, palms, wings, and eggs, or cook salt-and-pepper fried duck heart, fried duck tongue, fried duck kidney and other cooked dishes. Even duck bones can be used to make soup and taste delicious. A senior chef can process more than 80 kinds of hot and cold dishes from the duck body to form a unique "whole duck banquet".

Cloisonne

Cloisonne is a famous traditional handicraft in Beijing, also known as "copper tire filigree enamel". Because it was very popular during the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty, people used to call it "Jingtai blue". The process of cloisonné is relatively complex. It goes through tire making, filigree, welding, bluing, bluing, polishing, gold plating and other processes. Cloisonné is made of copper, and filigree and dot blue are important production processes, as well as an artistic creation process. Cloisonné has a beautiful shape, exquisite patterns and gorgeous colors. It is plated with gold and shines with brilliant luster, making it a unique traditional handicraft in Beijing.

Beijing carved lacquer TOP

Beijing carved lacquer was founded in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,400 years. It has been favored and enjoyed by emperors and concubines of all dynasties and belongs to the court art. After 1949, lacquer carvings moved from the palace to society and became a national handicraft for cultural exchanges with people from all over the world. Carved lacquers are uniquely made, mostly using brass as inner tubes, as well as bodied (cloth-based), wooden-based, etc. The tire shape is coated with natural lacquer. The general carved lacquer requires at least 70 layers, while the high-grade hollow lacquer requires more than 500 layers of lacquer, with a paint thickness of about 300 mm. Then fine carving is carried out on the paint layer. Traditional carved paint is mainly red with black and yellow, while modern carved paint is mainly red and black, and has developed green, blue, brown, white, orange and other colors. The traditional carving methods are only relief and shallow carving. Today's artists have created round carving, semi-hollow carving and full hollow carving. After the lacquer is carved, there are dozens of processes such as grinding, lining, and baking, all of which are manual operations. It takes at least 3 months to complete a piece of carved lacquer, and it can take up to 1 to 2 years.

Da Mopan Persimmon

Persimmons are abundant in the suburbs of Beijing and there are many varieties. But the most famous one is the Big Mopan Persimmon. This kind of persimmon is large, generally weighing about 250 grams, and the big one weighs 500 grams. Da Mopan persimmon is delicious and nutritious. It also has the effects of lowering blood pressure, stopping bleeding, and moisturizing the intestines.

"Liubiju" Pickles

There is an alley outside the front door of "Liubiju" Pickles called Liangdian Street, and there is a shop on the street with a long history and well-known reputation. This is already Liubiju Sauce Garden has a history of more than 450 years. According to historical records, Liubiju was built in the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1530 AD). Originally, this place was a hotel. In order to ensure that the wine tastes mellow and sweet, the workshop has formulated six operating rules: the millet and rice must be in good condition, the polish must be clean, the ceramics must be good, the heat must be perfect, and the water spring must be fragrant. "Liubiju" got its name from this.

According to legend, the gold-lettered plaque hanging in front of the shop was written by Yan Song, a scholar of Wuyingdian who was very favored during the Jiajing period. Although Yan Hao is a treacherous person, his calligraphy is quite good. In addition, he was a powerful prime minister at that time, which really added a lot to "Liu Biju" at that time. Later, this wine shop was converted into a pickle garden and its reputation became even greater. The strict spirit and tradition of the "Six Musts" have been passed down from generation to generation. For example: pickles are made here, and the selection of vegetables pays attention to the place of origin, specifications, and season. The old melons need "seven inches of white" to mature; the cucumbers need 2 taels of "thorny top flowers" (old scale); the mustard heads need the average number of "two gates"; the selection of sugar and garlic materials needs to be harvested three days before the summer solstice. Plant, each head has four to five or six petals. The sauce is made here. Every year after the Spring Festival, the soybeans are steamed and fermented to make "yellow seeds", which are then dried and crushed into vats. The vats cannot be started until the "summer heat". After liberation, with the increase in vegetables, output and pickle-making technology in Beijing, the variety and output of Liubiju pickles also increased greatly. At present, Liubiju pickles, which are bright red, fragrant and crispy, and have good color and taste, can be purchased in major vegetable markets across the city. Many traditional brand-name pickles are also canned and sold abroad.

Beijing Crispy Candy

Beijing Crispy Candy is one of the three most famous candies in China (Shanghai Milk Candy, Guangzhou Fruit Candy and Beijing Crispy Candy), among which the Red Shrimp Crispy Candy is the best. Excellent product. Crispy candy has a long history in our country, and Beijing’s crispy candy has always enjoyed a high reputation. Before liberation, some shops and workshops in Beijing used copper molds engraved with the shape of children to process crispy candies. Therefore, Beijingers often called it "children's pastry." After liberation, dozens of private workshops merged into Beijing No. 1 Food Factory, and "Children's Crispy" became the factory's famous product. In 1963, they successfully developed "Red Shrimp Crispy Candy" again, which soon became an export product and sold well in the international market. Over the past few decades, production has continued to increase, but it still cannot meet the needs of merchants. Red shrimp crispy candy has won the silver medal issued by the State Council. Foreign businessmen praised: "Red shrimp cakes are not only incomparable to the golden cakes, the trump card of the United States, but also to the crispy candies from other countries." The characteristics of red shrimp cakes can be summarized as "crispy, crispy, fragrant and sweet". Character. The production concentrates the essence of traditional craftsmanship and uses exquisite materials. They all use high-quality durian sugar, high-concentration glucose syrup and "Erba sesame paste", and are made by pulling, pulling and wrapping them after many times. This kind of candy has a thin and crispy skin and clear layers of sugar filling. It tastes sweet and delicious, does not stick to your teeth and leaves no residue after eating.

Poria and Poria Cake

Poria Cake, a specialty of Beijing, was originally a palace food in the late Qing Dynasty. According to legend, one time Empress Dowager Cixi fell ill and did not want to eat, which damaged the imperial dining room. The chefs racked their brains and selected several traditional Chinese medicines that can strengthen the spleen and stimulate the appetite. They found that Poria cocos, which is produced in Yunnan and Guizhou, is sweet in taste and calm in nature. Therefore, pine nuts, peach kernels, sweet-scented osmanthus, and honey were used as the main raw materials, and an appropriate amount of Poria cocos powder was added, and then the best starch was used to bake the outer skin, and the sandwich pancake was made with precision. Cixi was very satisfied after eating. Later, this kind of Poria Sandwich Cake was introduced to the people and became a popular Beijing-style snack. However, before liberation, they were only operated by some small vendors in Dong'an Market, and the number was very small. After liberation, the government unified management and restored and developed many flavor foods. Daoxiangchun, a famous flavor shop with a history of more than 60 years, specializes in Beijing's Poria Cake as one of its key self-produced and self-sold varieties. The biscuits produced in this store are carefully selected and made with exquisite workmanship. The outer shell is baked with high-grade starch, as thin as paper and as white as snow. The filling is made of a variety of nuts, supplemented by osmanthus, honey, white sugar and pure Yunnan-Guizhou Poria powder. It is sweet and fragrant, melts in the mouth, and is refreshing and delicious. . And it is cheap and can be used as a health food for regular consumption. At present, there are many places in Beijing that produce Poria cocos cakes, with Daoxiangchun products being the best.