The Origin and Legend of Wuhan Bean Skin

Bean skin is a local snack in rural Hubei. Every winter during the slack season, every family scalds bean skin, that is, early rice and mung beans are ground into pulp and scalded into thin skin. In addition to trying to stir-fry fresh bean skin with seasoning immediately, the main thing is to shred and dry it. It can be used to entertain guests during the Spring Festival or as a holiday gift. After this kind of bean skin was introduced to Wuhan, it was originally shredded soup beans sold by some cooked food vendors, and later it was filled with shallots and glutinous rice, which was the early "light bean skin". Sometimes customers bring their own eggs and ask them to be scalded on the bean skin, but the color is bright and orange is refreshing, which is the early "egg-light bean skin" in Wuhan. In Wuhan, the oldest bean skin is in Wangfukou, Wuchang (now the intersection of Jiefang Road and Ziyang Road in Wuchang), because it was handed down by Yang Jiazu, also known as' Yangdoupi', which was opened in the Qing Dynasty. Because the store is small, it was not until Yang Zhifu, the fourth generation of the Yang family, officially put up the signboard of' Yang Hongfa Bean Skin' at 1929. Yang's tofu skin is smooth, and Yang made it himself. It has the unique color of heavy oil, soft inside and fragrant outside, is economical and practical, and is quite popular among diners. Guo Chunshan, the founder of Wuhan Sanxian bean skin, and Gao Jinan, known as the king of bean skin, both worked in Yangdian. 1946, the old Tongcheng resumed business, and Gao Jinan was the original feature of "Sanxian bean skin". In the traditional production method, he made great innovations, adjusted the ingredients and made fine products. The bean skin made by Gao Jinan has clear pulp, thin skin, just right heat, and proper and even distribution of ingredients and seasonings. Delicious, refreshing, crisp outside and tender inside, soft meat, heavy but not greasy. After liberation, Gao Jinan constantly summarized and improved his own innovation, changed the ingredients of bean skin into pork, strips and shrimp, and summed up a set of fine production methods such as bean skin stuffing, bean skin slurry and bean skin frying. Sanxian bean skin is thin, colorful, tender, smooth and refreshing, and the stuffing is fresh and fragrant, oily but not greasy. Bean skin has also developed from Sanxian bean skin to shrimp bean skin and mushroom bean skin. Gao Jin 'an's production skills are mainly "three levels": grinding, fire work and blanking. Grinding: the pulp should be finely ground, wet and dry properly, ground with use and changed with water. Turn off the fire: a pot of bean skin has been changed several times in the middle, which fully shows the characteristics of bean skin, such as color, taste, fragrance, shape, crisp outside and tender inside. Blanking pass: the main and auxiliary materials are completely matched and the colors are complete. Seafood is added to keep the original flavor of the stuffing. In the mid-1950s, three fresh bean skins not only spread all over Wuhan, but also spread to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Changsha, Urumqi and other cities. At 3: 00 pm on April 3rd, 1958, accompanied by Wang, the president came to the old Tongcheng Huiji Sub-branch for the first time to taste the bean skin. The bean skin made by Zeng Yanling and the dish made by Fu Hanqing. When tasting bean skin, Chairman Mao said to the leading comrades of other provinces at the same table, "You don't have this there, it's Hubei flavor." In September of the same year 12, Chairman Mao went to the Old Tongcheng Branch for the second time. When I entered the store, I said, "Sorry to bother you again." This time, Gao Jinan, the bean skin king, made three fresh bean skins for Chairman Mao. 10, the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee was held in Han, and Gao Jinan and other masters attended the meeting to serve the delegates. Chairman Mao once taught: "Bean skin is the flavor of Hubei and should be preserved." 1958, Premier Zhou accompanied foreign guests to taste the bean skin made by Zeng Yanling, the second king of bean skin. During the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, Li Fuchun and Cai Chang also had dinner on the second floor of Old Tongcheng. Distinguished guests such as Kim Il Sung and Sihanouk, as well as international friends and tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, also praised and tasted the three fresh bean skins and gave them high praise. Comrade Xie Tian, a famous film director, once wrote inscriptions "People are so sweet and fragrant" and "Magnificent Mountains and Rivers" as souvenirs.