Qianlong and the four-nostril carp in Weishan Lake
According to legend, when Qianlong, the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, went to the south of the Yangtze River, he took a dragon boat to Weishan Lake and stood there. While admiring the scenery of the lake and mountains on the bow of the boat, I suddenly saw several golden carps playing with the boat in the lake, and two more leaped out of the water and landed on the boat, splashing in the waves. I also saw that each fish had four nostrils, dorsal fins, and tail fins. It was red, very beautiful, and very surprising. The ministers who accompanied him came to their senses in a hurry, and reported that this golden carp leaping over the dragon boat and having four nostrils was a sign of peace in the four seas and a bumper harvest, which was a sign of good fortune. Emperor Qianlong was very pleased with the fish and ordered the imperial chef to cook it. It was indeed delicious, so he ordered the fish to be sent to the capital as a tribute every year. Since then, the "four-nostril carp" in Weishan Lake has become famous far and wide.
Qianlong and Lao Turtle were leaning against the river
Lao Turtle was leaning against the river, and the boatman also called it Diguo. Originally, it was a method used by boatmen to cook rice and vegetables in the same pot to save trouble. That is, the soup and vegetables are stewed in the center of the pot, and the bread is placed around the pot, and the vegetables and rice are cooked at the same time. It is a unique local food in Zaozhuang. It is said that Emperor Qianlong passed by Weishan Lake when he went to the south of the Yangtze River. He had no time to prepare a meal, so an old fisherman offered this dish. After eating it, Emperor Qianlong thought it tasted very good and asked about the name of the dish. This dish was originally a home-cooked dish of the fishermen in the lake. There was no name, so the old fisherman had an idea and replied, "Old turtle leans on the riverside."
The accompanying officials hurriedly echoed: I heard that Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan and passed Weishan Lake. Even the thousand-year-old turtle in the lake came to the shore to worship. Emperor Qianlong was overjoyed when he heard this. From then on, this dish had the name "Lao Turtle Leaning on the River".
Qianlong and Confucius cuisine
Confucius cuisine is a relatively high-end official cuisine in China. In ancient times, Confucius cuisine had a higher status than any other cuisine. It is said that Confucius cuisine was preserved by the descendants of Confucius. As a representative work of ancient palace cuisine. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The development of this special Confucian cuisine has reached its peak; the food is never tired of fine food, the meat is never tired of fine food; this sentence is said by Confucius. It also became the motto for Confucius’ descendants to make Confucius cuisine.
Silver bars hanging on gold hooks
According to historical records, when Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty came to Qufu, the Confucius Mansion served 196 dishes A Manchu-Han banquet came to entertain him. The dishes include bird's nests, shark's fins, sea cucumbers, scallops and other precious things, and the names of the dishes are even more beautiful, such as One Hatching of Two Phoenixes, Royal Belt Shrimp, Bamboo Shadow Sea Cucumber, The Best of the Day, Fairy Duck, Green Dragon in the Snow, Snow Sweeping Plum Blossoms, Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Nao Luo Han waited, but Qianlong was tired of eating delicacies from the mountains and seas in Beijing, so he took the dishes one after another intact. Duke Yansheng, who was serving the meal at the side, was very anxious and sent a message to the chef to find a solution. So they fried the bean sprouts with a few peppercorns. Qianlong ate it and said it tasted good. After passing through the emperor's mouth, bean sprouts were immediately valued a hundred times in the Confucian family's recipes. Not only could they be served at grand banquets, but they also became a traditional dish of the Confucian family. So the bean sprouts were removed and stir-fried with diced tofu, which was named dingxiang tofu. The chef also came up with a mung bean sprout dish called "Golden Hooked Silver Bar", which is to cut off the stems and stems of the mung bean sprouts, stir-fry the dried shrimps first, and then put the selected mung bean sprouts on top. The dried shrimps will be red and green. The bean sprouts are silver. There is no such dish in the palace. Qianlong ate it with gusto, so it became a traditional dish in the Confucius family.
Tofu in the Confucius Mansion
In the past, there was a tenant named Han in the Confucius Mansion. His family had sent tofu to the Confucius Mansion for generations. One year, it was always cloudy. The tofu made by the Han family was not sold out. They were afraid that it would spoil, so they broke the tofu into small pieces and put them on the straw curtain to dry separately. Unexpectedly, the sky was cloudy and wet, and the smoke from the fire was so strong that the curtain was burned. The tofu on the curtain was burned and smoked, and some of it was burnt. The Han family had a small business and was reluctant to throw it away, so they boiled the tofu in salt and water. The taste was unusual, so I gave my father-in-law some smoked tofu to taste. He also thought it tasted good, so he asked the chef to add cinnamon, chili powder, etc. when cooking the tofu, which made it taste even better. From then on, the Han family specially sent smoked tofu to the Confucius family.
When Emperor Qianlong came to Qufu, the chef of the Confucius Mansion made a dish of smoked tofu. Qianlong thought it was delicious and highly praised the smoked tofu. Since then, smoked tofu has become a unique flavor of Qufu.