粵人食“鮮”

粵人食“鮮”

如今我們談論的粵菜，其實是一個非常含糊的稱法，從廣義上來說，它是廣府菜、潮汕菜、客家菜的集結，是一個地域性的概括。而最早的粵菜，其實專指廣府菜，而廣府菜又以順德菜為代表。

先秦時期，棲居于珠三角一帶的南越人以采集螺、蚌、蜆、牡蠣等水產品為生，善魚業。據《周禮》載，他們“煮蟹當糧”，而且有“生食之”的習慣。秦始皇南定百越之后，中原與嶺南的文化、經濟交往漸多。到了漢代，南越武王趙佗歸漢，中原的烹調技術也隨著中原文化的傳入而進來。而至南宋戰亂時期，南逃的皇室把中土的飲食習俗一路帶到廣東，使廣府菜系至今尚保留了許多古代正統的食法。嶺南人特有的“不問鳥獸蟲蛇，無不食之”的地方風格與習慣正食的北味烹調技術相結合，就轉變為南方特有的菜肴。至此，廣府菜作為一個菜系初具雛形，“南烹”之名見于典籍。

和潮汕菜及客家菜相比，廣府菜更注重質和味，口味比較清淡，最講究一個“鮮”字。

食材必須新鮮，當時得令，尊重食材的季節性，是廣府菜最為人稱道的特點，和孔子強調的“不時不食”養生法如出一轍。也因此，廣府菜十分注重不同季節的不同飲食法：春則清之，夏則涼之，秋則潤之，冬則溫之。比方說這炎炎夏日，荔荷燉大鴨就是廣府菜的必嘗，蓓蕾狀態的荷花、剛紅熟的荔枝與肥美的早禾鴨同燉，食材合時令但組合又超乎想象，然口感端的是鮮甜清香，亦可消暑散熱。

廣府菜的鮮，還體現在烹制的方法上，火候不能生也不能過熟，很少用紅燒或濃烈的高味料去炮制食物，多用清蒸、白切、白灼等手法，為的就是保持食物的原汁原味。一道順德魚生，就是很好的佐證：經大廚放血后快刀片出的魚肉潔白透明，放在冰塊上降溫后更爽滑清甜，佐以油、鹽、糖和姜絲、蔥絲、椒絲、豉油、花生碎、芝麻、香芋絲、炸粉絲等十幾種調料，生魚片入口滑嫩，滿口甜鮮，足以令人忘卻今昔何昔。

Steamed Mandarin Fish

Fish is the ingredient every household in the Pearl River Delta buys. As the saying goes, “Ruling a big country is like cooking small fi shes,” there is a world of philosophy in steaming fi sh. When it comes to steamed fi sh, mandarin fi sh is often the fi rst choice because the meat is tender and there are few fi sh bones. Before the fi sh can be steamed, it must be gutted and the water is wiped off with a clean cloth; cutting the ridge open will make the fi sh heated more evenly. While steaming, the pot lid should be covered with a towel to keep the most steam inside and make the fi sh fi rmer in taste.

清蒸桂花魚

魚，是珠三角一帶家家都會買的食材，都道“治大國若烹小鮮”，清蒸魚里同樣乾坤道道。

Poached Chicken

“No chicken, no banquet,” poached chicken is

also the ultimate practice of Cantonese cuisine

in pursuing best-quality ingredients. The meat

must be from non-egg-laying hens of 180 days. Wenchang chicken of Hainan is ranked the best, followed by Qingyuan chicken and Zhanjiang

chicken. There are many ways of cooking poached chicken. The most authentic way should be three repetitions of poaching chicken and soaking in ice water. Such preparatory steps serve the purpose of making the chicken taste tender and chewy.

Eaten with green onion and ginger sauce of a

secret recipe, the mouthful of delicacy is a remedy to homesickness.

白切雞

最正宗的白切雞應該是浸熟+泡冰水，來回三次，為了讓雞肉的口感變得既嫩滑又彈牙，就著秘制蔥姜汁，滿口鮮香。

Roast Suckling Pig

As early as the Southern and Northern dynasties (420– 589 AD), the agriculturist Jia Sixie already recorded roast suckling pig as an important fruit of cooking skills in his agricultural classic Qi Min Yao Shu (Essential Skill to Benefi t the People), “colour like amber and real gold, melt in the mouth, grand like the snow, moist and juicy, ever extraordinary.” No matter how the trend changes, roast suckling pig is always a must-have in Guangzhou banquets. The banquet can only start after the golden pig is served and the rest of the feast follows.

烤乳豬

無論菜式如何新舊變遷，烤乳豬是廣府筵席上少不了的應節之物，金豬上后，才是筵席開篇，方有大菜陸續上桌。

Old Fire Soup

It is a set routine in Cantonese banquets to serve a bowl of old fi re soup before the feast. The slowly-cooked soup is prepared with right temperature and lengthy time, covering both the herbal medical effects and the sweetness in taste. Even the ordinary household has its own secret recipe of a bowl of soup: the combination of all soup ingredients and the details of cooking methods together are enough to complete a booklet of secret family soup recipes, passing down from mothers to daughters, from one generation to another.

老火靚湯

慢火煲煮的中華老火靚湯，火候足，時間長，既取藥補之效，又取入口之甘甜。