Sanfengqiao Sauce Pork Ribs, commonly known as Wuxi meat bones, has a history of nearly 140 years since its inception and is one of the three famous specialties of Wuxi. Sanfengqiao Sauce Spare Ribs was produced during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (around 1875 AD). In order to make full use of the remaining back and breast ribs, Wuxi Nanmen Mo Shengxing Restaurant added seasonings, cooked them thoroughly and simmered them until crispy, so it named it Sauce Spare Ribs. Sold as an appetizer. After the opening of Shenyu Meat Shop (the predecessor of Sanfengqiao Meat Shop) in 1927, the cooking technology of meat bones was improved, and the taste was significantly improved. With the economic development of Wuxi, the number of foreign tourists is increasing day by day, and the meat bones are favored by everyone. For a time, Sanfengqiao Sauce Spare Ribs became famous.
As one of the three major specialties in Wuxi, Sanfengqiao Sauce Pork Ribs has profound cultural connotations and has endured for more than a hundred years. Sanfengqiao sauced pork ribs are made from pork ribs or grass ribs, with star anise, cinnamon and other natural spices. Using a unique firing method, the cooked ribs are sauce-red in color, oily but not greasy, and the bones are crispy and the meat is tender. , rich aroma, mellow taste, moderate sweet and salty. As early as the 1930s, the dramatist Zhou Yibai devoured the meat bones from Sanfeng Bridge and wrote a poem: "The meat bones beside Sanfeng Bridge are so delicious that you can eat them quickly; they taste like chicken ribs, so don't let them go in the bottle." Green Ant Floating." It is understood that Wuxi meat bones are also sold in Taipei City, but due to the different materials and water quality, and the method has not been authenticated, the taste is far inferior to that of Sanfengqiao Sauce Spare Ribs. From that time to the present, there have been five generations of descendants of Sanfengqiao Jianggu.
There is such a legend about Sanfengqiao Sauce Spare Ribs
There is a big stone bridge in Wuxi City. On the river beach under the bridge pier, many years ago, I don’t know who lost a broken stone mortar there. . Over time, the broken stone mortar was filled with garbage and covered with moss. One day, a man from Jiangxi sailed a boat to the south of the Yangtze River in search of treasure. The boat was under the bridge. The Jiangxi man accidentally discovered the broken stone mortar. He looked at it horizontally, vertically, left and right, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "We are destined to meet each other thousands of miles away, and the treasure rolled in front of us." He quickly got on it. shore.
There is a tofu shop by the bridge, and an old couple is doing a small business to make ends meet. The man from Jiangxi came to the door, stepped into the shop, and asked the old man: "Old uncle, who does that broken stone mortar under the bridge pier belong to?" The old man saw that he was asking about that rag, so he felt strange and replied disapprovingly. "This is what my great-grandfather left there." Without saying a word, the Jiangxi man hurriedly took out two pieces of silver and put them on the table. He nodded repeatedly to the old man: "Okay, okay! I'll buy it for five hundred taels of silver." Your broken stone mortar, please pay a deposit of ten taels today, and I will bring enough money to pick up the goods in ten days." The old man was shocked when he heard that a broken stone mortar that no one wanted was worth so much, it was really a fortune that fell from the sky. Pay! He agreed immediately. The Jiangxi people walked away happily.
The old couple were indescribably happy. Thinking that they had given so much money, they should clean up the broken stone mortar. The old couple went down to the river beach and threw the garbage in the stone mortar into the river. They used a broom to clean the stone mortar inside and out. Then they invited a few young people to help them. The stone mortar was carried home.
After more than ten days, the Jiangxi man hurried to the tofu shop, and the old couple welcomed him into the shop with smiles. The Jiangxi people asked anxiously: "Where is the stone mortar?" The old man said: "Guest, don't worry, the stone mortar is in the room, I have washed it." When the Jiangxi people heard this, they secretly complained in their hearts. When they entered the room, they sighed repeatedly. Said: “You guys...hey! I don’t want to buy this broken stone mortar. Please return the ten taels deposit to me. "The old couple were puzzled and asked why.
It turned out that the broken stone mortar was not a treasure. The real treasure was the pile of garbage in the stone mortar. As the saying goes, "It takes a thousand years for the sky to open its eyes." There is an answer. , God really opened his eyes. The sky was shining, colorful clouds were floating, three fairy phoenixes descended to the mortal world, flew to the south of the Yangtze River and turned into three little birds. They actually spent the night in this broken stone mortar and fell into it. Some feather scraps. You know, these fairy feathers are priceless. Put them in the water, the water is clear and clean, and they are extremely delicious when put in the vegetables. Now, the garbage in the stone mortar is thrown away. The treasure was thrown away completely, and the remaining tattered piece of junk was worthless.
The old couple regretted hearing the whole story, so they had to pay back the deposit of ten taels. The old man thought about it for others, and turned around and said to the old lady: "Forget it, you go buy two kilograms of meat bones to burn, and let me drink two cups to relieve my troubles." "
The old lady bought back the meat bones and saw that the iron pot was rusty. She said she took a broom to clean the pot and started cooking the meat bones.
With just one stick of incense, a burst of meaty aroma filled the room. It was so fragrant and surprisingly fragrant! Even the noses of passersby at the door are attracted, and they poke their heads into the house to see endlessly. After a while, the meat bones were served in a blue and white bowl. The old man picked up a piece and touched it in his mouth. He said, "Tsk, tsk, I have never eaten such delicious meat bones in my life!" He hurriedly asked: "Old lady, what condiments did you use to cook it?" The old lady was also surprised, and after taking a bite, it sure tasted unusual. She thought about it carefully and understood: before cooking the meat, she had used the broom that had been used to clean the broken stone mortar to clean the pot! I think it’s the precious energy that I brought into the pot.
The old lady and Lao Laoyi worked together to save the remaining juice from the meat bones in the pot and add it to the soup the next time they cook the meat. From now on, every time I cook and save every time, the meat and bones cooked every time are surprisingly fragrant and delicious. Later, the couple simply closed the tofu shop and opened a sauce pork ribs butcher shop, which was said to be the predecessor of the modern Mojia Restaurant, which was already famous in the Qing Dynasty. As for the big stone bridge, it was also renamed Sanfeng Bridge. When people mention Sanfeng Bridge, people say they will think of eating meat and bones.
Besides, the garbage in the stone mortar, together with the fairy phoenix feather fragments, were thrown into the river, flowed out of Xishui Pass, and flowed into Taihu Lake. No wonder the water of Taihu Lake is always exceptionally clear and clear year after year.