天津的早點誘惑

天津的早點誘惑

如果說南方的早餐，內容之豐盛、制作之精良非粵式早點莫屬；那北方早餐的代表必然是天津早點了。不說狗不理包子、耳朵眼炸糕這些享譽海內外的吃食，就這簡簡單單的一頓早餐，天津人同樣格外地講究。無論是一套剛剛攤出來的煎餅果子，還是一碗熱乎乎的豆腐腦，都是天津人的心頭愛。

Fried Dough Twists.天津大麻花

Taste is essential for breakfast and especially important to the people of Tianjin. The people there seldom cook breakfast at home because they love to eat out. Although the streets are fi lled with breakfast shops, the "Tianjin locals" are very experienced and picky when it comes to the day's fi rst meal. They care not about the size or decoration of restaurant, only the smell of its food. They know exactly who serves the most authentic foods, which Chinese crepe with pastry uses good ingredients and smells the best, who fries the largest and most crispy donuts, and what sauces are used to make Gabacai (pancake stripe noodles).

So what breakfasts do the "Tianjin locals" eat? Goubuli Stuffed Bun, 18th Street Fried Dough Twists, Gabacai, Chinese crepe with donut, fried cake, fried Chinese burrito, Douhua Youtiao (Chinese donut)…… These foods are mostly “steamed” or “fried” and symbolise "thriving, reunion, growth, and prosperity." The people of Tianjin love to eat and chat, and for them, each day starts with their breakfast.

Gabacai

Gabacai, or pancake stripe noodles. Evolved from the Shandong crepe. Gabacai is made using mung bean crepe (called "gaba" by Tianjin people) cut into thin strips mixed with marinade sauce. Fermented bean curds, chilli paste, dried sausage, sesame sauce, and parsley may also be added according to individual taste. The result is a beautiful dish with pungent aroma and light refreshing taste. The "Gaba" is tender and chewy. This dish is perfect when eaten with sesame fl at bread.

Gabacai is best when eaten hot. As the main ingredient is mung bean, the dish is detoxifying, appetising, healthy, and has a taste you'll never get tired of.

Chinese Crepe with Cruller

In modern cities, breakfasts are required to be simple and quick. The people of Tianjin understand this. Authentic Chinese crepes can only be found in breakfast stands along the sidewalks or in the communities. The mung bean paste is spread into a thin but unbroken circular layer. The eggs ensure the nutritional value. The crisp fritter and wonton skin are fried into a golden crisp. Seasonings include fl our paste, diced green onions, and chilli sauce. The dish is soft outside and crisp inside, refreshing and delicious, and takes only two minutes to enjoy.

1. Gabacai (pancake stripe noodles).

嘎巴菜。

2. Sesame-seed baked cakes.

芝麻燒餅皮酥脆，瓤松軟，清香可口。

3. Mutton Offal Soup.羊雜湯也是天津人喜愛的早餐之一。

Fried Cake

Fried cake is one of the well known traditional snacks of the Hui people in Tianjin, and is regarded as one of the "three Tianjin must have foods" along with the Goubuli Stuffed Buns and the 18th Street Fried Dough Twists. The ingredients include raw dough made with local yellow rice and glutinous rice fi lled with bean paste made with cinnabar red bean. The cakes are placed in a warm oil pot, and turned and fried until their skins transform into a golden crisp. When you take a bite, you can clearly distinguish the golden, white, and black colours. The golden colour comes from the crispy skin, the white part is the chewy but non-sticky skin made with glutinous rice, and the black part is the sweet and refreshing red bean paste fi lling. The entire combination is quite unique.

Goubuli Stuffed Bun

The stuffed buns of Tianjin are the most economical and popular food. They are also very well reputed in the north, the entire nation, and around the world. The stuffed bun that can best represent Tianjin is no doubt the "Goubuli Stuffed Bun." The fl our and stuffi ng of Goubuli Stuffed Buns are made using the best ingredients under the strictest process. They have beautiful perfect shapes with no holes or leaks, take the shape of a chrysanthemum fl ower, and each bun has 15 to 16 folds. The freshly steamed buns are refreshing, not greasy, aromatic, and delicious. The fi llings are usually meat based and come in a few variations: sea food, marinated meat, vegetable and others. The key features of the Goubuli Stuffed Buns are their abundant juices and that they are always eaten steamy hot right after removal from the steamer tray. The art of eating the buns is to place a bun on a dish before its skin breaks, softly bite a hole into the skin, drink the delicious juice in the bun, and then eat the fi lling and the skin. The regular Tianjin diners are known as the “bun eating masters”!

早餐，味道至關重要，天津人最懂得這一點。老天津人很少自己在家做早餐，喜歡去外面吃早點。雖然大街小巷里充斥著大大小小的早點店，但“天津土著”吃早點很有心得和講究。他們不看店面的大小、裝潢，只在乎早點的味道，對于哪兒的東西正宗他們了如指掌，知道哪兒的煎餅果子用料好、味道香，哪的果子炸得又大又脆，嘎巴菜里面放的是什么鹵。

一頓豐盛的早點下肚能到中午都不餓。“天津土著”都吃嗎早點？狗不理包子、十八街麻花、嘎巴菜、煎餅果子、炸糕、大餅夾卷圈、豆腐腦油條……以蒸、炸為主，寓意著“蒸蒸日上、團團圓圓，紅紅火火、興興旺旺”。一邊吃，一邊聊，天津人一天的生活就從吃早點開始。

嘎巴菜

嘎巴菜，又稱鍋巴菜。由山東煎餅演變而來，綠豆煎餅（天津人稱為嘎巴）切成細條，拌入制好的鹵汁，根據個人口味加入腐乳汁、辣椒糊、香干片、芝麻醬和香菜末。不僅色形美觀，吃起來清香撲鼻、素淡爽口，嘎巴香嫩有咬勁。同芝麻燒餅一起食用味美適口。

嘎巴菜最好是熱吃，因為主料是綠豆，能解毒清熱，開胃健脾，有益健康，百吃不厭。

煎餅果子

現代城市里，早餐的首要需求就是要簡單快捷。味道正宗的煎餅果子在早點攤，馬路邊或者社區里才能見到。綠豆面展開一個美妙的圓形，薄勻不破，雞蛋保證營養，馃箅兒（薄脆），餛飩皮油炸而成，金黃酥脆。配以面醬、蔥末、辣椒醬作為佐料，外柔內脆，鮮香兼備，享受它只需要兩分鐘。

炸糕

炸糕，天津地區著名的回族傳統小吃之一，與狗不理包子、桂發祥麻花并稱“津門三絕”。面皮原材料是當地產的黃米和江米，用朱砂紅小豆制成豆餡。包好后溫油下鍋，勤翻勤轉，這樣炸出的炸糕，色澤金黃爆“刺兒”，咬一口，黃白黑三色分明。黃的是焦黃酥脆的外皮；白的是糯米的皮料，柔軟糯黏，有嚼頭又不粘牙；黑的就是細甜爽口的豆沙餡，別有風味。

狗不理包子

天津包子，是經濟實惠的大眾化食品，在北方，在全國，乃至世界許多國家都享有極高的聲譽。最能代表天津包子的，當屬狗不理包子。狗不理包子的面、餡選料精細，制作工藝嚴格。外形美觀，不走形，不掉底，不漏油，呈菊花形狀，每個包子都有 15—16 個褶。剛出籠的包子，鮮而不膩，清香適口。以鮮肉包為主，兼有三鮮包、海鮮包、醬肉包、素包子等。因為包子講究油大汁多，加之現出屜現吃，又熱又燙口。吃時趁包子還沒有破裂迅即放入碟中，輕輕咬破包子皮，把包中的湯汁吸飲下肚，然后再吃包子的餡和皮，老天津食客堪稱吃包子高手。

Chinese crepe with donut.全國人都愛吃的煎餅果子。