武眉凌 李卓曦
在去煙台前,北京故宫正好举办“千古风流人物——故宫博物院院藏苏轼主题书画特展”,而展厅的最后一个单元名为“人间有味是清欢”,出自苏轼的一阕《浣溪沙》词。当时展柜中陈列的第一份文物,是明拓《晚香堂苏帖》中的“苏轼书献蚝帖册”。
那是苏轼被贬海南儋州后,于宋哲宗元符二年(公元 1099年)间写给幼子苏过的一封信。在信中,苏轼提及海南盛产生蚝,可煮可炙,食之甚美。他还开玩笑说,不可将这件事告诉外人,以免那些北方君子为了一尝美味,求谪海南,来跟自己争抢生蚝。
在看这字帖时,我除了佩服东坡先生豁达乐观的精神,还下定决心:到烟台后一定要按照苏东坡的烹饪之法,好好吃上几顿生蚝。可等我来至烟台,登上了苏轼曾经登临的蓬莱丹崖山,我才知道,这里的皱纹盘鲍也一度是苏东坡的最爱。
从古至今,鲍鱼都是海鲜中的珍品,被称作“海味之冠”。而烟台蓬莱所盛产的皱纹盘鲍,肉质细嫩,爽脆柔滑,被誉为“中国鲍鱼之王”。宋神宗元丰八年(公元1085年),苏轼出知登州时正是渔民们收获皱纹盘鲍的时令,而这位以爱吃而为人津津乐道的大文豪,自然要为烟台的这一美味赋诗作文。
古人称鲍鱼为鳆鱼,在苏轼的《鳆鱼行》诗中,极言皱纹盘鲍之美味,道是“一枚何啻千金直”。若是谁家能用此招待宾客,便可“坐令雕俎生辉光”。而为了留住皱纹盘鲍的鲜美,苏轼也想到了“糟浥油藏”的法子,恨不能收藏一坛带回京城。就连剩下的鲍鱼壳,苏轼都舍不得扔掉,因为那是一味珍贵的药材,可以轻身明目,正好让他保养双眼,能够多读上几本诗书。
想来,古今中外的文人墨客,大约也只有苏东坡能有这样的洒脱情怀。他不但深爱美食,更能从美味中寻得人生趣味,又将这趣味留于诗文,传于后世,成为千古风雅之谈。
说起烟台美食的佳话趣文,实在很多。最接地气的,大概就是那一句“龙口粉丝招远出”了。
龙口粉丝的大名,可说是举国皆知。用龙口粉丝做出来的美食,也是数不胜数。蒜蓉粉丝蒸扇贝鲜美滑嫩,蚂蚁上树香润可口,菠菜粉丝清爽甘甜,哪怕就是粉丝上浇点辣椒油,也能让人停不下筷子。但令人想不到的是,这声名在外的龙口粉丝,实则产自招远。
明末清初时期,招远人创出了用绿豆制作粉丝的新技艺。每年春秋两季,招远粉丝作坊里的工人们便忙碌了起来。他们要先挑选颗粒圆润的上好绿豆,加温水浸泡二十多个小时,清洗磨浆后提取出淀粉制成粉团。随后将半干的粉团研成粉末,兑水调成芡子。再用铁锅盛满清水,锅上方吊着一只打满小孔的漏瓢,待水微微沸腾后,将芡子倒进漏瓢,均匀而有节奏地轻轻拍打,粉丝便徐徐流入沸腾的水中。煮熟的粉丝冷却后再度拉长,经自然晾透便可定型了。
从一颗颗绿豆到一缕缕粉丝,前后需要经过九十多道工序。而招远这座“中国金都”之城,因为拥有甘甜清冽的泉水、温润清洁的空气以及和煦充足的阳光,为粉丝的制作提供了极佳的自然环境。制成后的龙口粉丝纯净光亮、整齐柔韧,烹调时入水即软,且久煮不碎,使得招远又有了“银丝之乡”的美誉。
但是,物产再好,想要让世人皆知就必须走出去,而与招远毗邻的龙口恰好拥有贸易繁盛的港口。就这样,招远的粉丝便从龙口港走向了全国各地,而龙口粉丝的大名也由此传扬开来,以致世人都以为粉丝的原产地是烟台龙口。
然而,令我好奇的是,招远人似乎对此并不介意。除非旁人刻意问起,他们才会讲一讲“龙口粉丝招远出”的来历。纵然制作粉丝的技术如今已成了国家级非物质文化遗产,招远人也从未想过要给龙口粉丝“正名”。他们这种淡泊自然的品格,似乎倒和粉丝十分相似:看似清淡,却可融合百味;简单素朴,能让美味升华。而这,恰恰又应了苏轼的那一句美食名言——人间有味是清欢。
Before I went to Yantai, the Palace Museum in Beijing was holding “Great Men in History: Special Exhibition of Su Shi’s Works of Calligraphy and Painting Collected by the Palace Museum”. The last unit of the exhibition was “Enjoy Little Pleasures in Life”, a line from Su Shi’s “Melody of Huanxisha”. The first cultural relic on display in the exhibition cabinet was the copybook of “Su Shi’s Letter on Eating Oyster” from Su Shi’s Calligraphic Works Collected in Wanxiangtang rubbed in the Ming Dynasty.
The copybook was a letter written by Su Shi to his youngest son Su Guo in the second year of the reign of Emperor Yuan Fu (1099 AD) in the Song Dynasty after he was demoted to Danzhou, Hainan. In his letter, Su Shi mentioned that Hainan was rich in oysters, which were delicious after either being cooked or roasted. He also warned jokingly that it should not be told to outsiders in case that those northern officials would ask to be demoted to Hainan and compete with him for tasting the delicious oysters.
While reading this copybook, I admired the open-mindedness and optimistic spirit of Su Shi on the one hand and also made up my mind to eat oysters cooked in the way he had done as soon as I arrived in Yantai. But when I came to Yantai and climbed to the top of Danya Mountain in Penglai Su Shi had once climbed, I began to know that abalone was also once Su Dongpo’s favorite.