Where do the "Eight Big Pieces" of Ankang belong?

Ankang's "Eight Big Pieces" are the most authentic representatives of Ankang's dietary customs. According to legend, at the end of Ming and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, there were great immigrants all over the country, southern residents moved to Sichuan, and southern immigrants lived in Ankang, forming a mixed pattern of North and South people. In the forty-eighth year of Qianlong (1783), in order to strengthen local rule, the Qing government promoted Jinzhou to Xing 'an Prefecture, and established Ankang County in Fucheng, which means "peace and health". Subsequently, the population of Ankang increased greatly, and all walks of life flourished. The court sent the governor to inspect it. In order to thank Huang En, all the famous people want to invite the governor's adult to have a family dinner. The magistrate ordered the Plutocratic family people in the city to serve a plate of exquisite dishes, hot and cold, and every eight households served as a group, which not only tasted the north and south delicacies, but also gave each family face. For three consecutive days, the governor was overjoyed. Later, because of rumors and eight hot and cold dishes, the dishes for eight people were called "eight big ones"

"Eight Big Pieces" is the combination name of a dish on the table of Ankang Banquet, just like when a grand banquet is held in the imperial palace of Qing Dynasty, there should be a "Manchu-Chinese banquet". In Ankang, the "Eight Big Pieces" are used to entertain very distinguished guests, or when there is a big happy event at home, the host carefully prepares the "Eight Big Pieces" to share with relatives and friends and reward the villagers, except for the New Year. Every household in Ankang receives guests with "eight big items". The dishes are exquisite and the eating method is very particular. While showing respect to visitors, it can also reflect the host's hospitality and joy.

In Ankang, it is extremely important to eat "eight big things". Although during the Spring Festival, every household should prepare "Eight Big Pieces" and other relatives and friends to celebrate the Spring Festival, and the workmanship and material selection are not familiar to ordinary housewives, according to the song of "Eight Big Pieces", "Four meat and four vegetables, vinegar is in the middle; Can also make excellent, fragrant and delicious "eight big pieces."

The "eight big pieces" dishes are divided into two categories: cold dishes and hot dishes. Cold dishes are also appetizers. Julia's spinach must be placed in the middle of the table, with stewed pig's ears and sauced beef on the left and right, stew on the left, stewed konjac on the right, lotus root in the middle of the bottom, and white river eggs and hot and sour chicken gizzards on the other side. Be sure to follow the arrangement that the top is green and the bottom is white, the four corners are meat and the four sides are vegetarian dishes. Green leaves represent the blue sky, lotus roots represent the earth, and the idea of respecting heaven and earth is perfectly reflected in the diet. Cold dishes are mainly sour, spicy and salty, which just provide the best appetizer for those who are good at wine, and also open the appetite for tasting food for the elderly and young friends who are not good at wine. It must be a delicate vinegar soup with cold dishes. The "eight-piece set" of cold dishes has a beautiful appearance under careful knife work, but no seasoning is added. Before eating, put them in the seasoning tray in the middle of the table to get vinegar soup to absorb the sour and spicy taste in the soup. The production of this vinegar soup is very particular. In Ankang, ten cold dishes are the same as nine. The forever difference is the preparation of vinegar soup. Boiled with vinegar, the taste of soup is bound to be bitter. If you pour vinegar with boiling oil, the sour taste will be dull. If the fragrant soup boiled with eight spices is mixed with boiled water, then the fragrant vinegar hand-made by Ankang is injected, and a little soy sauce made by soybeans is added, and the soup is boiled and then mixed with sesame oil and spicy oil. The wine soon entered the throat of the hero and heroine, and the appetizer played a role in guiding the spirits in the cup.

There are also good dishes with poor alcohol consumption, cold dishes are being eaten, and hot dishes are slowly served in the order of "one soup is dry, first steamed and then fried, first salty and then sweet". Hot dishes are mainly braised, steamed and fried, with different tastes such as sour, sweet, light and alcohol. According to Mr. Zhang Feng, a celebrity of Ankang culture, during the New Year's Eve, Ankang people have a established rule to eat "eight big pieces", that is, the first hot dish must be steamed chicken skin powder, the chicken should be peeled and the vermicelli should be wide; The second course is sweet and sour carp. Taken together, it means that "chickens can celebrate good luck in the coming year better than fish". The rest of the dishes are arranged on time, and the order is one steamed dish with soup, one fried dish and eight dishes as the standard. Steamed vegetables provide plenty of time for housewives in the kitchen to cook the next dish. The last course is either steamed pork with bean curd brain or steamed rice, either of which is a choice, and there is a banquet. When it's time to eat, there are also hosts who like to play. After the rice wine is served, they will sprinkle sugar on the spot, pour a little home-brewed wine and light it with fire. After the blue flame, rice wine is more fragrant, which is also a symbol of the prosperity of the New Year. Let's move chopsticks and eat rice wine together, and the main course will be served. When eating, four vegetarian dishes are served, one is water mung bean sprouts, the other is sour and hot pickled cabbage, the other is dried bean curd with pig blood, and the other is auricularia mixed with peach kernels. After a hearty meal, I sang the flowers and drums of Ankang and knocked on the gongs and drums, forgetting the "eight big pieces" of Ankang. I was happy until late at night, and the festival in 2008 lasted until the next day. I went back to the banquet and faced the "eight big pieces" again, forgetting the happy flowers and drums.

Ankang is located at the intersection of the north and the south, and the dietary customs show a distinct mountainous and blending nature. In terms of food composition, there are both the color of rice culture and the imprint of wheat chestnut culture. Sichuan Road is dominated by wheat and rice, and the two mountains are dominated by wheat and corn. There are many varieties of food crops, and both north and south fruits are planted. You can taste dried fruits and fresh fruits every month. There are various specialties such as black fungus, mushrooms, Tricholoma matsutake and tremella. There are many kinds of meat, poultry, fish and eggs, which have become the blending zone of rice culture and wheat chestnut culture, with both the wisdom born from eating rice in the south and the simplicity cooked in the north. And Ankang people are good at storing food. Dried peppers, dried beans and dried radishes can be seen everywhere in cities and rural areas. Bacon and tofu are hanging on the stove. In pots and pans, there are dried douchi and bean curd, and in big jars, there are various vegetarian dishes. These different foods are either dried, soaked in salt or smoked. It can be used as the main raw material of "eight big pieces". All the year round, VIPs come, just walk into a room, and you can serve seven dishes and eight bowls for a while without leaving home. All the vegetables in the four seasons are collected at once, and a table is full, which makes people dizzying.

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