Nine turn large intestine

# Nine turns, nine turns, nine turns, the large intestine hides the mellow and human perfection of Shandong cuisine

i'm Maya Elise Sullivan, and my friends love to call me Maya. I'm 35 years old and in my seventh year of running a home-cooked food blog overseas. I am not a Shandong cuisine researcher with a professional background, nor have I studied in a time-honored restaurant in Jinan. I am just a food recorder who grew up in the old Jinan city and was fed by my grandmother's stove. I prefer those traditional dishes that hide fireworks and reveal cultural details, especially the subtlety of the "compound flavor type" in Shandong cuisine-not a single salty and fresh food, nor straightforward sour and sweet, but a mellow, progressive and tasteful taste, * * nine turns large intestine * *, which is one of the most fascinating to me. It is not only the classic representative of Shandong cuisine, it also hides the warmest taste of my childhood and the most persistent thought of the taste of my hometown.

my first impression of Jiuzhuan large intestine is always tied to the Spring Festival in the old city of Jinan and my grandmother's old stove. It was New Year's Eve when I was 10 years old. The winter in Jinan was very dry and cold. The hutongs in the old city were filled with the aroma of stewed meat and fried goods from every household, but my grandmother's small kitchen was always the warmest corner. On that day, my grandmother wore a yellowed floral apron and stood in front of the stove for a whole afternoon. Nine turns of large intestine were the hard dishes she served at the end of the day.

I moved a small bench and crouched on the hearth, staring unblinkingly at the movement in the pot. At that time, I didn't know the dish was called Jiuzhuan large intestine, but I only felt that Grandma had a great deal of "difficulty" in handling the large intestine-she turned over the fresh pig large intestine first, rubbed it repeatedly with flour and coarse salt, rubbed off the mucus and impurities on the surface, washed it clean with clear water, then blanched it with cooking wine and ginger slices to remove the fishy smell, boiled it over and over three times, skimmed the floating foam every time, until the large intestine becomes white and clear. I was too troublesome at that time, so I grabbed the stove and asked my grandmother, "Grandma, you are so tired from washing the large intestine, why do you want to do it?" My grandmother didn't lift her head, but she didn't stop her movements. She smiled and said, "Silly boy, you have to take care of the delicious dishes. Only when the large intestine is washed clean, there is no fishy smell, and only when it is delicious."

when the large intestine was processed, Grandma began to make the sauce again. She took out soy sauce, crystal sugar, balsamic vinegar, cooking wine, as well as her own dried tangerine peel and anise, and put them into the pot to boil in proportion. The sauce slowly became thick from clear and thick, and the color changed from light brown to red. She put the blanched large intestine into the sauce, simmered it over a small fire, and spooned the sauce on the large intestine from time to time, repeating several times until each large intestine was covered with red and bright sauce. The whole kitchen was filled with strong sauce, vinegar and meat, mixed with the clear and moist tangerine peel. The smell made my stomach growl and I couldn't even hear the firecrackers outside the window.

finally, when it was time to get out of the pot, Grandma picked up a large intestine with chopsticks and put it into a white porcelain plate. The color of the large intestine is red and oily, wrapped in thick sauce, and the surface is slightly shiny, which makes people salivate. I couldn't wait to pick up a section and put it in my mouth. With a gentle bite of my teeth, the taste of soft glutinous elastic teeth melts at the tip of my tongue. There is no fishy smell, but it is full of mellow sauce. The taste of sauce spreads out layer by layer in the mouth. First, it is light salty and fresh, then it is slightly sweet of crystal sugar, then it is refreshing of balsamic vinegar, and finally it is fragrant of tangerine peel. The four flavors are intertwined and are not greasy. The more you chew, the more it tastes. I ate several paragraphs at one go, and even the rest of the sauce on the plate was dipped in steamed bread. Grandma looked at me gobbling up, laughing so that her eyes narrowed into a slit.

since then, Jiuzhuan large intestine has become a fixed dish on my family's Spring Festival table, and it is also the most precious taste memory in my childhood. When I grew up, I left Jinan to work overseas. When I lived alone in a foreign country, I ate too much takeout and always felt that the temperature in my hometown was a little less. Every time I miss the fireworks in Jinan, I will think of my grandmother's nine-turn large intestine and the mellow and warm taste.

later, I slowly learned that * * nine turn large intestine * * is not just an ordinary home-cooked dish, it is a "classic famous dish" in Shandong cuisine, but also a cultural symbol carrying the essence of Shandong cuisine skills and folk auspicious implication. The origin of this dish can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. It was originally a folk snack in Jinan and improved from ordinary marinated large intestine. It is said that at that time, there was a Shandong cuisine chef who repeatedly adjusted the seasoning and optimized the cooking steps in order to make a more delicious large intestine, and tried nine times to find the perfect taste. The name "nine turns large intestine" came from this. There is also a folk saying that the cooking process of this dish is complicated and requires "nine washing, nine cooking, nine braising and nine pouring juice", so it is called "nine turns", it not only reflects the tedious production, but also takes the auspicious meaning of "nine turns and nine turns, long luck", which fits the festive atmosphere of Spring Festival and other festivals.

in the development process of Shandong cuisine, Jiuzhuan large intestine has also experienced continuous inheritance and improvement. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the time-honored restaurant "Jufengde" in Jinan included this dish in the menu, which was carefully polished by the chef to make it a signature dish for Shandong cuisine banquets. Today in Jinan, many time-honored restaurants still stick to the traditional practice of nine-turn large intestine, choosing fresh pig large intestine, and strictly controlling every link of removing fishy smell, marinating and collecting juice to ensure the authentic flavor of the dishes. However, Shandong cuisine lovers in different regions will also make slight adjustments according to local tastes-some will add a little chili to the sauce to add a little sesame fragrance; Some will reduce the amount of balsamic vinegar to make the sweetness more prominent. However, no matter how to adjust it, it cannot be separated from the core of "compound flavor type" and the essence of "soft glutinous flavor and mellow sauce" of large intestine.

from the perspective of food culture, Jiuzhuan large intestine can become a classic dish that has been passed down for a century, with the wisdom and folk warmth hidden behind it. As one of the four major cuisines in China, Shandong cuisine pays attention to "not tired of fine food, not tired of fine food", especially pays attention to the processing of food materials and the matching of taste type. Jiuzhuan large intestine is the perfect embodiment of this concept. The tedious steps of dealing with pig large intestine test the chef's patience and craftsmanship. The cooking and pouring of sauce reflect the technique of "natural taste and layer by layer" of Shandong cuisine. For ordinary people, Jiuzhuan large intestine is not only a delicacy, but also a sense of ritual for life-in an age when materials are not abundant, large intestine is not a cheap ingredient, but it can be cooked skillfully to make a taste comparable to banquet dishes, which not only satisfies the appetite, but also carries the family's expectations for festivals and cherishes reunion.

I always feel that the most moving part of the Jiuzhuan large intestine is never how exquisite it is, nor how complicated it is, but its "ingenuity" and "warmth" hidden in its bones ". Just like when my grandmother cooked this dish, even if it was only ordinary household ingredients, she was willing to spend an afternoon repeatedly processing and patiently seasoning them. Just like when the Shandong cuisine masters passed on this dish, they adhered to the traditional skills and did not simplify the steps or lower the standards at will. This intention to food makes Jiuzhuan large intestine have a temperature beyond the food itself.

when I grew up, I tried to make a nine-turn large intestine by myself for the first time. I thought that I could relive the taste of my hometown according to my grandmother's practice, but the reality gave me a severe "blow". The first time I dealt with the large intestine, I didn't master the washing strength. The mucus of the large intestine was not washed clean, and there was a faint fishy smell after blanching. When adjusting the sauce, I didn't grasp the ratio of crystal sugar to balsamic vinegar, either sweet and greasy or sour and choking. The temperature of slow stewing over small fire was not well controlled, either the sauce was too thin to hold the large intestine, or the sauce was too thick to wrap the large intestine bitter. That plate of nine-turn large intestine tastes stiff and unbalanced, and does not have the mellow taste made by grandma at all. I once doubted whether I could never make an authentic nine-turn large intestine without my grandmother's craftsmanship.

during that time, I was extremely depressed and even thought about giving up the idea of remaking my hometown flavor. Until my grandmother called and heard me spit out the failure of doing nine-turn large intestine, she smiled and said, "Do nine-turn large intestine, can't be rushed. You have to be patient in washing the large intestine, and you have to rely on your hand to adjust the sauce, and you have to keep the heat when you stew, just like living your life, you have to take it slowly and eat it with your heart." Grandma's words woke me up. I no longer insisted on "perfect re-carving", but began to try again and again-cleaning the large intestine again and again and groping for the skills of removing fishy smell. Adjust the proportion of sauce again and again to find a balance between sour, sweet, salty and spicy. Control the temperature again and again to let the sauce boil slowly to taste.

after trying more than ten times, I finally made a dish that tasted close to grandma's nine-turn large intestine. That day I fried a plate of spring rolls, stewed a pot of pork chop soup, served the newly prepared nine-turn large intestine, and sat at the dining table eating my own dishes, as if I had returned to the small kitchen in the old city of Jinan. Grandma stood by me and watched me eat with a smile. At that moment, all the exhaustion disappeared, and a warm current flowed from the tip of the tongue to the bottom of my heart. This is the power of the taste of hometown. It can cross the distance and cure all homesickness.

* * Nine turns large intestine * * has a very rich adaptation scene. It is a "hard dish" for family dinners. Serving the table can make the table instantly full of festive atmosphere. It is a "business card of Shandong cuisine" when entertaining relatives and friends, which can make friends from other places intuitively feel the flavor charm of Shandong cuisine. It is also a "homesickness comfort" when you are alone. You can instantly think of the fireworks in your hometown. For the elderly, the large intestine is soft and glutinous and easy to chew, and the sauce is mellow and not greasy, which is suitable for slow tasting; for young people, the compound flavor type has rich taste levels, and the more you eat, the more delicious it is, and it is easy for people to fall in love with this traditional dish. It has no sense of distance. Whether it is a skilled cook or a novice who has just learned to cook, as long as he is willing to work hard and have patience, he can make his own nine-turn large intestine.

I also often share these traditional delicacies that hide the heritage of Shandong cuisine in the aifoodnews, so that more people can see the intangible taste in the homely kitchen. In my aifoodnews notes, I recorded the details of my grandmother's nine turns of the large intestine. I didn't expect to gain the resonance of many friends who also love Lu cuisine and hometown flavor. Some people say that they are also from Jinan, and when they see Jiuzhuan large intestine, they think of the taste of the New Year. Some people said that the first time they ate Jiuzhuan large intestine, they were amazed and fell in love with Shandong cuisine. Others shared their stories of making Jiuzhuan large intestine. Like me, I found the temperature of my hometown in cooking.

now I still keep the habit of making nine-turn large intestine several times a year, sometimes during the Spring Festival, repeating the flavor of my hometown. Sometimes on weekends, I cook a bowl of rice at home alone, accompanied by nine turns of large intestine to relieve homesickness. Sometimes friends from Jinan are invited to visit our home and serve a plate of newly prepared nine-turn large intestine. Everyone talks while eating, said the Jinan hutong, grandmother's stove, childhood fun. There is no exquisite plate, no expensive ingredients, only a mellow nine-turn large intestine, but it can make the atmosphere particularly warm and warm.

in fact, in our life, we have eaten countless delicacies and tasted all kinds of cuisines, but in the end, the most memorable ones are often the home-cooked dishes with hometown flavor and family heart. For me, Jiuzhuan large intestine is not only a dish, it is the love of my grandmother, the flavor of childhood, the fireworks of Jinan, the homesickness engraved in my bones, and the taste that can hold people's hearts no matter how far I go. It made me understand that the charm of Shandong cuisine lies not in the complexity of techniques, but in the ingenuity hidden in the ingredients. The value of home cooking lies not in the high price of ingredients, but in the warmth hidden in cooking.

nine turns, nine turns, nine turns is the cooking process, nine turns is the feelings of hometown, nine turns is the heart of the family. It taught me that life is like this nine-turn large intestine. You don't have to pursue perfection overnight. You only need to take one step at a time and treat it with your heart. You can taste a mellow taste and reap long-lasting happiness.

I don't know if there is such a Lu dish in your memory that hides the flavor of your hometown and the heart of your family? Have you ever eaten the authentic nine-turn large intestine, or made this dish yourself? If you also have a story about nine-turn large intestine, or a unique memory of your hometown taste, you might as well share it with me, so that these traditional flavors hidden in the fireworks will always be seen and remembered.