績溪徽菜佳話

徽菜源遠流長，是名揚海內外的中國八大菜系之一，它樸素實惠，地方特色濃郁，有很高的文化品位。

2005年9月，中國烹飪協會經過專家組考察論證，將徽州文化的主要發祥地績溪定為“中國徽菜之鄉”，因而使得這個處于吳頭楚尾、自古“邑小士多”的人杰寶地和黃山腳下山清水秀的禮儀之邦，更增添了誘人魅力。

徽菜發源“賽瓊碗”

徽菜是一種來自民間最古老的菜肴，那些腌的、臭的、苦的以及那些讓外地人瞠目結舌的野菜、山珍，通過徽文化的熏陶和績溪人的用心包裝和泡制，便成了美食家桌上的回味無窮的“佳肴”。據《績溪縣志》記載，每年績溪登源河一帶汪氏大姓，為祭祀始祖都要舉行“花朝會”，汪姓民眾從農歷正月十八至二月二十五日，輪流在宗祠、村廟舉行鬧花燈、敲鑼鼓、放鞭炮、抬會豬、擺供獻、燒香祭拜等活動，其中，最吸引人的當是來自一家一戶祭神“供獻”。由于年年舉辦這樣的盛會，供品愈擺愈多，規模越辦越大，擺供獻的程序逐漸有了個文雅好聽的名詞“賽瓊碗”。在“賽瓊碗”活動中，大家在案桌上除了擺放粗如斷柱的大紅神燭、壯如牯牛的會豬和清茶、美酒、果點外，更多的是用名貴瓷盤、瓷碗盛裝各種山珍野味和由農家土產精制的象征“五谷豐登”、“吉祥如意”、“鴻福無邊”、“福壽綿長”的各色美味。

為使自己制作的供品菜肴比別人的更加美觀、奪目，虔誠的村民充分利用冬筍的嫩黃、豆腐的玉白、香菇的熟褐、蕨菜的青紫、辣椒的艷紅和品的金黃，烹制出許多先前沒有做過的多彩菜肴來。天長日久，做這些佳肴的績溪人逐漸形成了對菜肴的“重色”觀念。史料稱，規模最大的祭祀活動，案桌上最多排放多達288盤(碗)供獻。這些表達百姓對神靈頂禮膜拜而精心制作的一盤盤珍饈供品，宛如一件件藝術杰作。可以想象，這樣的“賽瓊碗”，既是酬神活動，也必然成為民間美味佳肴博覽會。這是一種壯觀而又具有民間韻味的文化現象!歷經數百年滄桑，績溪人不斷向山水索取精華，不斷別出心裁提高這種鄉間土菜的品位，并慢慢地形成了相對穩定的風格，這就是徽菜之源!

徽館做出大市場

績溪人的廟祭活動，使土菜邁出了從一家一戶走向公共場合的第一步，并迅速成為“徽菜”菜譜定型的基礎和前奏。年復一年，一些善于制作這些祭祀菜肴的能手便成了身懷絕技的烹飪大師，成了他們外出經商賺錢的資本。

明末清初，績溪人制作這些菜肴的菜館和面館開業于本埠徽州府(歙縣和屯溪一帶)，后來不斷輾轉遷徙，一支經宣城、郎溪、廣德至浙江孝豐、安吉一帶；一支由新安江進入杭州、嘉興、湖州各重鎮。當時，徽廚操營的菜館和面館，鋪面不大，店號也不多，后來在長江中下游一帶乃至西南形成規模、氣候，成為徽籍旅外經濟一大產業，那還是在清代中葉之后。

績溪旅外徽館業在清代咸豐初到1949年間的近一個世紀中最為興旺。清代咸豐、同治間，旅外徽廚隨著徽州的筆、墨、紙、硯、茶等各業商人進入杭、嘉、湖、蘇、滬、寧一帶的城鎮碼頭，清末擴展到武漢三鎮，抗戰間開拓至川、湘、桂、黔、云，1949年后一部分又轉遷至豫、晉、甘、遼等省市鎮。他們在上海開設了鴻運樓、大中華、大富貴、大中國、大新樓、大嘉福等120余家菜館；武漢有60家；南京有21家；衡陽、柳州至昆明一線13個市、縣有徽菜館41家。1959年毛主席視察武漢時，興致勃勃品嘗過績溪廚師燒的“武昌魚”，寫下了著名的《水調歌頭·游泳》詩篇。據史料載，清乾隆五十五年(1790)徽班晉京，績溪烹飪業也隨之北上，開始進入京都，這種“徽館”后來猶如唱響的山歌，成為徽州人旅外菜館業的統稱，徽菜也終于由此推向全國。

乾隆賜名“一品鍋”

徽菜中具有代表性的佳作有腌鮮鱖魚、楊梅圓子、清燉馬蹄鱉，清燉石雞、虎皮毛豆腐、咸肉燉筍、紅燒鱔絲、紅燒劃水等500多個品種。但最具傳奇色彩要算績溪嶺北的“一品鍋”了。相傳“一品鍋”與七下江南的乾隆皇帝有關：一次乾隆出巡江南，由九華山來績溪上莊尋找曾祖母(相傳乾隆是漢人后裔，上莊余川有天字墳及傳說)。那天行至一山塢，天色漸暗，想找個地方歇腳，見附近有一農舍便貿然叩門。農婦見兩位陌生人摸黑登門心生奇怪，問明緣由后便好生侍候。當時中秋剛過，家中有些剩余的菜肴，農婦便將蘿卜、干角豆、紅燒肉、油豆腐包等先葷后素地配搭，一層層鋪在兩耳鍋里煮熟端上桌來。乾隆皇帝吃得津津有味，問是什么菜?農婦隨口答“一鍋熟”。食畢，乾隆抹抹嘴說：“一鍋熟名稱不雅，此乃徽州名肴‘一品鍋’也。”從此“一品鍋”名揚大半個中國。

據說胡適博士對家鄉的“一品鍋”尤為鐘愛。夫人江冬秀也最擅長做正宗的嶺北“一品鍋”，胡適任北大校長時，常在家中設“一品鍋”宴請友人。梁實秋先生曾在一篇文章中回憶道：“一只大鐵鍋，口徑差不多有二尺，熱騰騰地端上來里面還滾沸，一層雞、一層鴨、一層肉、一層油豆腐，點綴著一些蛋皮餃，緊底下是蘿卜、青菜，味道好極。”胡適到了美國，仍不忘故鄉，常常用“一品鍋”招待客人，并特地介紹這是中國菜、徽州菜、績溪菜，用以表達他的思鄉愛國之情。

“除了皇帝就是我”

績溪小吃中，“苞蘿”也讓人喜愛。“苞蘿”是當時徽州人上山勞作隨身當作干糧的食物，它是績溪“撻”的一種。績溪撻的制作始于明初，據說清乾隆皇帝微服南巡揚州，與徽客汪某在客棧中相遇，他在品嘗績溪撻回朝后，與內閣大臣曹文埴談起徽州地方風味小吃時，稱贊此為食中佳品。績溪曾傳唱著一首苞蘿的民謠：

“手捧苞蘿，腳踏木炭火；

無憂又無慮，除了皇帝就是我。”

這首民謠傳神地道出了山里人偏愛吃苞蘿的習俗，道出了績溪人與世無爭的一種生活境界。績溪小吃很多，但最為普通的莫過于香脆可口的撻(苞蘿)了。績溪山多地少，過去山里人家大多都以苞蘿(玉米)為主糧，苞鑼也自然成了人們的主食。由于“苞蘿”吃了耐饑，故受從事重體力勞動的山農歡迎，現在績溪人也有以面粉為主料做的“撻”。績溪“苞蘿”里面素餡，摻配豬肉油丁，兩面再沾上少許炒熱的黑芝麻，最后用文火烤熟成為佳肴。現在香椿餡、蘿卜絲餡、豆黃餡、腌漬菜餡的績溪撻更有名氣，若輔以餛飩、豆腐腦、豆漿、粥，那是一頓營養豐富的早餐。

徽菜是一盤文化

績溪人的傳統美食徽菜，原料都多取自“干貨”、“腌貨”、“奇貨”，如毛豆腐、干漬菜，臭鱖魚、臭豆腐、腌豬肉、石雞、石耳、石斑魚、山珍以及苦薺菜等，這與績溪人過去艱苦的生活環境息息相關。古人云，靠山吃山，靠水吃水，長年生活在山區的績溪人習慣用竹制的菜筒盛菜，或用山中箬皮包裹飯菜，所以徽菜也多用“鐵鍋”、“砂鍋”、“瓷碗”、“竹筒”等土而質樸的器具烹飪。

每一道徽菜背后都有一段鮮活的歷史，一個美麗故事。過去，徽州商人外出做生意回家，總想帶幾條鱖魚回家給妻兒老小嘗鮮，因離家較遠，雖抹上點鹽但到家時魚已經不夠新鮮甚至有點發臭，但燒起來卻別有風味，于是“臭鱖魚”這一名菜就慢慢傳開了。徽菜用火腿調味是傳統技藝，制作火腿在徽州十分普及，故有“金華火腿在東陽，東陽火腿出徽州”之諺。最初在金華做火腿的大多是績溪師傅。由于徽菜以擅長燒、燉、熏、蒸聞名，“旺火快炒、烈火快炸、勻火蒸煮、文火慢燉”方法，“使一物各獻一性”，又喜用冰糖提鮮、火腿佐味、料酒去腥，久而久之便形成了原汁原味、酥嫩香鮮、濃淡相宜的徽菜獨特風味。

徽菜凝聚著績溪人對生活的感悟，飽含著績溪人對生活的一份信念，也是一種地道的鄉土生活心情。徽菜之所以在中華菜系中占有一席之地，是在于她那獨特的區域個性，在于那種濃烈的徽文化氣息。

（攝影：唐祖懷方靜）

Origin of Anhui Cuisine

Fang Jing

One of China’s eight major styles of cooking， Anhui Cuisine dates back to a long time ago. It is known for its simplicity and cultural heritage.

In September 2005， a team of experts from China Cuisines Association determined on the basis of research results and studies that Jixi of Anhui Province is the home of China’s Anhui Cuisine. This overdue honor adds a charming dimension to Jixi， a place of celebrities and scenery.

The cuisine originated from ordinary families in ancient times. Poverty-stricken families knew how to cook ordinary things available to them， including herbs and delicacies they found in wilderness and mountains.

According to Jixi County Annals， Wang was a surname shared by a lot of people along the Dengyuan River in Jixi County. The Wang families gathered every year in commemoration of their ancestors and in celebration of the New Year in the first month on the Lunar Calendar. Festivities included flower lanterns， percussion band performances， firecrackers， street parades with communal gifts such as pigs， offerings to gods， ceremonies at the ancestor memorial temple， etc.

On such an occasion， each family was to offer a dish to gods. Each wanted to prepare something unusual and better than the rest. The competition went on year in year out. The annual celebration grew in scale and influence. Gradually， this part of the annual gathering acquired a poetic name: competition in fine jade bowls.

When these dishes were displayed publicly， neighbors， relatives， and friends learned from each other. Such a process was repeated over hundreds of years. A distinct style formed and a long menu surfaced.

In the evening years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the dawning years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， some people from Jixi began to set up restaurants and noodle shops in Huizhou (today’s Shexian County and Tunxi). As the flavor became popular with diners in other places， Jixi chefs migrated as restaurants moved farther and farther from home. One wave of the distinct Anhui cuisine moved to the rural areas of northern Zhejiang. The other wave migrated down the Qiantang River and reached Hangzhou， Jiaxing， Huzhou， all big cities in Zhejiang Province. Restaurants featuring Anhui cooking were usually small in size and number. But they eventually expanded throughout the Yangtze River Delta and even to the southwestern China. Profits from the restaurants became an important source of cash that flew back to Anhui province.

The Anhui cuisine prospered for about one hundred years from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. During this time， business people from Anhui pushed their local products such as brush pens， ink， paper， inkstand， and tea to key cities in Zhejiang， Jiangsu， and Shanghai. The legendary business people from Anhui as well as their business and their wealth constitute an unusual phenomenon in the history of China. Their fellow cooks followed their footprints and introduced special dishes to the outside world.

Toward the last years of the Qing Dynasty， Anhui cuisine spread to Wuhan， a key city in central China. During the Resistance War against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945)， their restaurants were mostly in southwestern provinces. After 1949， some moved to northern and western parts of China. According to some statistics， in its golden years， there were 120 big Anhui cuisine restaurants in Shanghai， 60 in Wuhan， 21 in Nanjing. In 1959， Chairman Mao visited Wuhan and swam in the Yangtze River. It was during his stay in Wuhan that he tasted a fish dish cooked by a chef from Jixi and wrote a famous poem. According to history， in 1790， a Hui opera troupe was first invited from Anhui to Beijing to stage plays for the royal court， thus opening a new chapter for the local opera which gradually evolved into Peking Opera. Chefs from Anhui followed the troupe to Beijing. This was how the cuisine finally won its national reputation.

Today， the cuisine has an amazing repertoire of more than 500 dishes， all indicating its rural origin. There are stories and legends to explain how a dish came into being， or how or why it is cooked in a particular way. The cuisine represents Jixi people’s understanding of their life， their belief in life and their passion. Its national fame comes from its distinct local cultural dimension.

(Translated by David)