A Story in Huixian House--Fried Liver

Flavor of Beijing

Zhao Min

Beijing Daily Press

September 2020

39.80 (CNY)

This book records Beijing’s traditional food and tells some wonderful stories of Beijingers lingering over food， including not only old coarse rice， bitter well water， fake tea， and other old flavors which have been integrated through history and culture， but also Beijing’s unique old flavors such as jiao quan (fried rings of dough) and fermented mung bean juice， as well as unique flavors from all over the world. In a sense， Beijing’s traditional food culture is a platform for the fusion and exchange of different food cultures from all over the country， which embodies the inclusive position and broad mindset of Beijingers.

Zhao Min

A cyberspace writer and screenwriter， the author of Fascinated by the Spring， Youth Is Gone， Eat Around the World， None Is Like You， Amel’s Village， Twin Sisters， and other works. She has also participated in the screenwriting of many films and TV dramas.

Huixian House， which was opened in 1862， and Tianxing House， which was opened in 1933， were once both located in the Xianyukou Hutong outside Zhengyang Gate. They consolidated in 1956， and the consolidated one lay in the residence of the previous Tianxing House. It is called Tianxing House Fried Liver Restaurant now.

One of the classic traditional breakfasts in Beijing is fried liver plus steamed stuffed buns. Especially， in the autumn and winter， when the north wind is howling， a bowl of freshly fried liver， crimson and appetizing， consisting of smooth and tender liver， tasty pork intestines， and starchy sauce， coupled with two steaming steamed stuffed buns， can warm people up from the stomach to the heart， so one can start a busy day vigorously while immersed in the aftertaste of a good breakfast.

Speaking of Beijing’s snacks， there are two of them most misconceived in their reputation， including “Glutinous Rice Rolls with Sweet Bean Flour” and fried liver--the protagonist today. People unfamiliar with Beijing’s traditional snacks may automatically understand that it is a dish focused on the animal liver when it comes to fried liver. The main ingredient of the fried liver is the pork intestines， and the liver is only used as a supporting part. Besides， it is a stewed dish instead of a fried dish. Although it is somewhat surprising that the fried liver is the “stewed pork intestines，” there is no need to be too disappointed because Beijingers describe the fried liver as “pork intestines stewed in starchy sauce” and the “fragrance of fried liver spreading far beyond the market.” Presumably， the fried liver tastes good.

There are many different stories about the origin of fried liver， among which the most widely spread and recognized one is that it was invented by Huixian House， run by the Liu brothers. In 1862， the shoe shop owner， which faced north in the Xianyukou Hutong outside the Zhengyang Gate， was unable to make ends meet， so he vacated a shop room and rented it to a man named Liu Yongkui. Liu Yongkui used the room for a small restaurant， selling colorless liquor， rice wine， and side dishes. Due to the small room and narrow profits， in order to increase his income， Liu Yongkui went to nearby hotels to collect some leftovers and sold them after processing， and he named the processed dishes “Zheluo.” Such dishes were cheap and economical， and many low-income families in the neighborhood often bought them to “end a meatless diet.”

Once， an old man came to Liu Yongkui’s shop and ordered two bowls of “Zheluo.” After eating， he put the bowls down and said he had no money to pay the bills. Liu Yongkui was a kind-hearted man. Seeing that the old man was quite old in ragged clothes， he said generously， “It’s fine as long as you’re already full， it’s not a problem if you have no money.” Without saying a word， the old man just swaggered away. That night， Liu Yongkui discovered a strange thing. There was more and more “Zheluo” in the kitchen pot， which was almost inexhaustible. In this way， Liu Yongkui made his fortune with two bowls of “Zheluo.” Out of gratitude to the old man， Liu Yongkui named the shop “Huixian House，” implying that he had once met an old man who was an immortal coming down from heaven to make him rich. In the last years of the Tongzhi Period of the Qing Dynasty， Liu Yongkui and his wife died one after another， and Liu Xigui formally took over Huixian House.

Liu Xigui had no cooking skills， and after careful consideration， he sent the two oldest of his three sons to a restaurant as apprentices. In 1894， his two sons had finished their apprenticeship， and the youngest son had reached adulthood. The three brothers returned to Huixian House and helped Liu Xigui run the restaurant. Since then， Huixian House featured an extensive menu. In addition to daily dishes， it also included some homemade special sauce meat and baked buns. However， at this time， Huixian House was still an unremarkable restaurant.

In 1900， Liu Xigui passed away， and Huixian House was handed over to his three sons. As the saying goes， “Unity is strength.” These three brothers worked together to overcome difficulties. At that time， next door to Huixian House was a small shop selling white broth mutton soup， whose business was excellent. The three brothers of the Liu family were inspired to imitate the cooking method of the soup. They tried to wash and cut the haslet， boil it in white broth， and named the dish “white broth haslet soup.” However， the “white broth haslet soup” was cooked easily with simple flavors， so customers did not favor it. The pieces of heart and lung were often thrown all over the table and ground. The three brothers perplexed their brains about the matter.

The turning point came from a person called Yang Manqing. Yang Manqing was working in a newspaper office at the time. He was very interested in Beijing’s local customs and practices and was also very fond of Beijing’s traditional snacks. He often visited Huixian House and gradually became familiar with the three brothers of the Liu family.

Once， while chatting with the three brothers， Yang Manqing learned that they were going to improve the recipe of “white broth haslet soup，” and he came up with the idea of removing the heart and lungs that customers hated and renaming the dish “fried liver.” He also gave them a detailed cooking method. Specifically， the pork intestines were strongly smelly， so they must first soak the intestines in water containing sodium carbonate and salt， rub the intestines， and then wash them with water containing vinegar to remove the fishy smell. Next， they should put the processed intestines in the pot， which should be placed on a great fire， and when the water comes to a boil， the intestines should be cooked on a gentle fire. A wooden lid should be used to maintain the flavor of the intestines. After being cooked thoroughly， the intestines should be cut into “thimble-long” segments. Due to the high cost of the pig’s liver， a large amount would increase the cost so they could use the good liver tips instead. After being washed and cut into lance-shaped pieces， the liver tips would be used for decoration only. As for the seasoning， put some star anise in the hot oil in the pot; and after the star anise is deep fried， add the raw garlic into the pot; and once the garlic has turned yellow， immediately add a moderate amount of yellow sauce， and stir the condiments thoroughly for later use. In addition， boil a good mushroom soup. After such ingredients are ready， put the segments of the cooked intestines into the boiling water， then add the fried garlic sauce， chopped chives， minced ginger， and mushroom soup， and then put the sliced raw liver into the soup， immediately followed by the starchy sauce， as well as some mashed garlic finally. In this way， a bowl of the fried liver is ready. Moreover， fried liver should be eaten differently. In the tradition， neither a spoon nor chopsticks may be used， and the customer must hold the bottom of the bowl in one hand and turn it around while sucking the soup.

The creativity of “foodies” was endless， and most foodies knew how to enjoy food. Under the guidance of Yang Manqing， Huixian House’s fried liver was popular as soon as it appeared on the menu. Due to the excellent taste， low price， and the fact that it was served from morning to night， Beijingers had such a two-part allegorical saying: “The fried liver of Huixian House ---it’s never too late.”

As the three brothers of the Liu family improved their recipes and techniques， fried liver gradually became the specialty dish of Huixian House. Some customers even ate two or three bowls in one sitting. In addition， Yang Manqing published an article in the newspaper， introducing the fried liver of Huixian House， the nutritional value of the pork intestines and liver， and their benefits to the human body. In this way， Huixian House became increasingly popular. In a few years， the store grew from a one-story house to a two-story house with a large gold-lettered plaque.

In 1933， a shop called Tianxing House was opened diagonally across the street from Huixian House.

This shop also featured fried liver as its specialty dish. At this time， although Huixian House was no longer the humble snack bar it used to be， it still felt huge pressure. Therefore， the three brothers of the Liu family were more attentive when making fried liver and used their strength to keep their status as “the leader of the fried liver restaurants.”

After the death of the three brothers， Huixian House was handed over to the third-generation members of the Liu family-a total of five people， including Liu Zongfa， Liu Zongyuan， Liu Zongren， Liu Zongyu， and Liu Zongxiu. However， after the five cousins took over Huixian House，" business went downhill due to the lack of strict control. Later， the pork intestines were no longer cleaned properly， so the fried liver had a fishy smell.

The decline of Huixian House gave Tianxing House an opportunity to rise. They greatly improved the production level of fried liver and served their customers more enthusiastically and thoughtfully. They also established private seats and hired professional waiters. After the comparison， the contest was over. All the regular customers of Huixian House went to Tianxing House. By 1952， Huixian House was leased to Kang Kewen， Nian Fuxiang， and Si Yongquan. After these three people took it over， they restructured the restaurant and gradually recovered the fame of the previous Huixian House. A few years later， it could even compete with Tianxing House. In 1956， the public-private partnership policy led to the consolidation of Tianxing House and Huixian House， and the brand of Tianxing House was kept with the plaque as “Public-Private Partnership Huixian House amp; Tianxing House Restaurant.”

Since 1958， the name of Huixian House was no longer retained， and only the brand of “Tianxing House” is left on the plaque.