萬物皆可拔絲

“大底南人嗜咸，北人嗜甘。魚蟹加糖蜜，蓋便于北俗也。”這句話出自《夢溪筆談》，初讀之下，或許會讓人心生疑惑：這是不是說反了？其實，這反映的是北宋時期人們的飲食習慣，那時的山東菜已逐漸嶄露頭角，成為“北食”的代表，與現今的口味偏好確有較大差異。

談及如今的魯菜，雖不以甜味為主打，但對糖的運用卻極為講究。最為顯著的當然是糖醋與拔絲，這兩種烹飪方式早已風靡全國，成為魯菜中的兩大招牌。糖醋鯉魚、糖醋里脊，這些耳熟能詳的佳肴自不必說。而拔絲類菜肴，諸如拔絲山藥、拔絲蘋果、拔絲地瓜等，更是魯菜中甜口菜品的佼佼者，獨具特色。

拔絲菜的起源雖無從考證，但至少在清初已頗為流行。“聊齋先生”蒲松齡曾言：“而今北地興揠果，無物不可用糖粘。”這里的“揠”即為拔的意思，加上“糖粘”二字，無疑說的便是拔絲的甜菜。據蒲松齡的生卒年份推算，明末清初時，山東地區已普遍將糖炒至出絲，用于烹飪各式菜肴。

在魯菜中，拔絲類菜肴獨樹一幟。它們不僅外表金黃誘人，如同金玉滿堂，為節日增添了幾分祥和與富貴；更因內里香甜可口，為宴席增添了一份別樣的樂趣。當一盤熱騰騰的拔絲菜上桌時，只需輕輕夾起一塊，糖絲便如銀線般綿延不絕，有時甚至能拉出丈余之長。為了避免糖絲過長且燙口，宴席上通常會備一碗涼白開。將夾起的食物在涼水中輕輕一蘸，糖絲迅速冷卻凝固，既方便入口，又能讓食材稍稍降溫。這時品嘗起來，外酥里嫩，甜而不膩，讓人回味無窮。

拔絲菜的制作看似簡單，實則精髓在于對火候的精準掌握。熬糖是拔絲菜成敗的關鍵所在。糖的介質可以是水，也可以是油。用油熬糖雖然節省時間，但用水則更容易控制火候。熬糖時，需將白糖熬化至變黃并泛起小氣泡，方可投入炸好的原料。顛翻數下，讓原料均勻裹上糖汁，便可出鍋裝盤。然而，熬糖的火候、原料的炸制時間以及糖汁的包裹均勻度等，都需要廚師們經過長時間的練習和摸索。只有經驗豐富的廚師，才能烹制出口感酥脆、糖絲綿長的拔絲佳肴。

拔絲菜的美味奧秘不僅在于其獨特的制作技藝，更在于其豐富的口感和營養價值。常見的拔絲菜原料多為富含淀粉和膳食纖維的土豆、地瓜、山藥等，有助于消化和吸收；也可以用水果入菜，如香蕉、蘋果、葡萄、櫻桃等，富含維生素和礦物質，有益健康。如今，廚師們的創意層出不窮，拔絲菜品更是五花八門，從拔絲鮮奶到拔絲粽子，從拔絲三寶到拔絲湯圓，甚至拔絲饅頭、拔絲冰激凌……真可謂萬物皆可拔絲入菜。尤為值得一提的是一道酥黃菜，看似簡單，實則是以拔絲技藝制作的雞蛋佳肴，其制作更為講究，令人嘆為觀止。

今天，自北向南，無論是親朋好友的溫馨相聚，還是宴席即將落幕之時，一盤熱氣騰騰、金黃誘人的拔絲菜總能成為聯結歡樂的紐帶。隨著歡聲笑語，眾人紛紛舉箸共嘗，你牽我扯間，銀絲飛舞，滿桌生輝。其間不乏心急之人，一口咬下，燙得直吸冷氣，卻也樂此不疲。然而，若動作稍緩，這拔絲美味便可能凝成一團，難以割舍，為這場盛宴再添一抹別樣的挑戰與樂趣。

編輯/郭曉娟

Candied dishes， e.g. candied yam， candied apple， and candied sweet potato， are among the best sweet dishes of Shandong cuisine， and have unique characteristics. The origin of candied dishes is unknown， but they were already prevalent in the early Qing Dynasty. Pu Songling， author of Liaozhai Zhiyi， said， “Now candied apple prevails in the north； no ingredients could not be sugar-glazed.” Undoubtedly， the two lines of verse describe candied dishes. According to the birth and death years of Pu Songling， in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties， various candied dishes were already prevalent in Shandong.

Candied dishes are distinctive among Shandong dishes. They not only appear golden， and attractive， symbolize abundant wealth， while adding a sense of harmony and affluence to festivals， but also bring a different kind of joy to feasts because of their sweet and delicious taste. After a steaming candied dish is put on the table， you can see endless sugar filaments （sometimes even more than 3 meters long） like silver threads as you pick up a piece with your chopsticks.

Common candied dishes are dominated by starch-rich and fib- er-rich potato， sweet potato， Chinese yam， and other ingredients， which are conducive to digestion and absorption. Some can be made of fruit， e.g. banana， apple， grape， and cherry， which are rich in vitamins and minerals， and beneficial for health. Nowadays， cooks have been proposing creative ideas one after another， and thus invented a wide variety of candied dishes， including candied fresh milk， candied rice dumplings， candied triad， candied sweet rice dumplings， candied steamed buns， and candied ice cream. Every ingredient can be made into a candied dish.