Why do Shanghainese eat spicy food?

Text/Shao Jianhua Shanghainese have never eaten spicy food, which can also be confirmed from the previous Shanghai cuisine recipes. The most famous Babao Chili sauce is spicy, but limited. Chefs often use bean paste (now replaced by sweet noodle sauce and seafood sauce) and sugar to dilute the spicy taste. Some people put Chili sauce on the stage and dipped it in stinky tofu, which is not very spicy. As for the extreme use of hot sauce to make soup, it is a working lunch for pimps and pawns-eat it only when it is spicy. In addition, it is difficult to find typical spicy dishes. However, just like Shanghai food is popular in Beijing; Hunan cuisine is very popular in Shanghai; Crawfish is popular all over the country; Cantonese cuisine "rules" all of China; Sichuan cuisine travels all over the world ... there are so many things in the catering industry that people can't understand. But existence is reasonable. We can only understand it from the perspective of market, accept it from the perspective of competition and taste it from the perspective of enjoyment. Now Shanghainese can eat spicy food and love spicy food. Of course, the concept of Shanghainese should be broadened to those who live and spend in Shanghai. Shanghai is an immigrant city. The Opium War created the first generation of immigrants and built the Shanghai culture. Tolerance, integration and innovation have become the characteristics of Shanghai culture. After the reform and opening up, Shanghai ushered in the second generation of immigrants. Unlike the first generation of immigrants whose main goal is survival, the second generation of immigrants are more talents. They regard Shanghai as a stage to display their talents and have a successful career, that is, from small white-collar workers to gold collars and even big bosses. In this group, small white-collar workers are always the majority. In the process of starting a business, most of them go to restaurants for socializing, contacting business and even daily life. Most of these "prodigies" drifted down the Yangtze River, and the spicy taste of their hometown became a wonderful memory and a sustenance of homesickness. Before they became gold collars or big bosses, their spending power was not too strong, but their dependence on or pursuit of hometown flavor was even stronger. They are energetic and young. They seldom consider food and health, which are considered by the elderly and pampered people. Under their leadership, small white collars from Shanghai and other regions who don't like spicy food have also tried. Any kind of popularity is always based on the number of people. Under their pursuit, a large number of spicy food stores have appeared on the market. For business, some restaurants that don't sell spicy food also put spicy food in a prominent position on the menu. Mala Tang is characterized by low price and much oil, such as Maoxuewang, boiled fish fillets, crayfish and so on. These "unhealthy and junk" foods that are often criticized are not a problem for them. Breaking through this layer of scruples, those dishes will shine at the moment, because they taste really good. The flavor of pepper is fat-soluble, which is greatly reduced due to the lack of oil. Therefore, when fishing for fish fillets in oil and thirteen-fragrant crayfish for hands and mouth under oil slick and dirty seasoning, the satisfaction arises spontaneously. The price of spicy food is not high, and high-end food will not be spicy. Have you ever heard of spicy dried abalone and spicy roasted shark fin? But spicy is a very special flavor, and under its guidance, a brand-new flavor can be constructed for dishes. Its unique flavor, compound flavor formed by mixing with other seasonings, and the stimulation extracted by cooking methods can give dishes a brand-new and unconventional taste and constitute a new field of flavor. In most salty and delicious dishes, it stands out. From the perspective of cooking, spicy is not a taste, it is just a stimulus, giving taste buds a burning sensation. Little white-collar workers work hard and have no taste in their mouths. Stimulation can cheer their spirits and stimulate their appetite. At the same time, most of the current spicy dishes are exaggerated and exaggerated. In fact, they are not so spicy, which gives people a little sense of accomplishment after eating them. The small white collar that is not too spicy values this. As for the excitability of spicy food, it is addictive and prolongs the popularity of spicy food. From an aesthetic point of view, spicy is very similar to the bright red and green pigments in painting. Properly used, it can make the plain picture bright and cheerful, but improperly used, it is easy to become superficial. Visible, only just right, can reflect the artistry. But after all, spicy food is just a popular taste, and it may give way in a few years, until these "spicy people" gradually become Shanghai-oriented, or new substitutes appear. This is not to say that all spicy dishes will die out after being popular, but that it will still return to its original position and become a supplement and embellishment of local dishes. In the long run, it is almost impossible to replace local dishes with a wider audience.