九转大肠，一口入魂

肖寒

在中華传统文化中，九是一个吉利的数字，因此也被广泛应用于饮食文化领域，鲁菜中的“九转大肠”就是一个典型的例子。这款菜品肠段外层焦脆，内层细腻柔滑，入口即化又略带韧性的口感，瞬间便可征服味蕾。

据历代山东菜系济南地方菜传人口头传承，流传至今的说法是，这款菜品首创于清光绪初年，首先正式使用“九转大肠”这个名称的是济南九华楼饭庄。

济南城内的饭馆靠泉吃泉、靠湖吃湖。后宰门街东首路南原有一处两层楼绕成的四合院，即是九华楼饭庄，面积不大，但建筑考究，院中有眼泉池，系过去店里养鱼做菜所用，久旱不涸。九华楼饭庄当年与庆育药店、同元楼饭庄、远兴斋酱园并称后宰门街四大名店。

九华楼饭庄的店主姓杜，是当时济南的一名富商。他的生意涉及农、工、商多个领域。杜老板对“九”这个数字极为偏爱，在各地开办的店铺都要取带“九”字的店名，店铺数目也要凑成九。九华楼饭庄就是其中的一座。

清光绪初年，九华楼的生意格外红火，聚集了一批烹制山东菜的名厨高手，各式菜肴制作得色、香、味俱佳，尤其是用猪下货烹制的菜肴更是分外讲究。九华楼的厨师烹制的红烧大肠，用料制料标准严格，制作方法别具一格：把猪大肠洗净以后，采用“肠套肠”的办法，把整条大肠一层一层地套起来。套好之后下入清水锅中煮，并加入各种香料，将肠煮至肉质紧凑，捞出，晾凉，切成小段，入锅后加入各种调料进行红烧，一道红烧大肠就做成了。这就是“九转大肠”的雏形，后来酒楼又进行了改进，即先焯，后煮，再炸，又烧，出勺，入锅，反复多次，直至烧焖至熟，使大肠色泽红润，五味俱全，肥而不腻，香味扑鼻，被许多食客誉为“神品”。

那么“九转大肠”的名称是怎么来的呢？一次，杜老板在九华楼做东，宴请几位文人雅士。席间，上了红烧大肠这道菜，众人品尝后赞不绝口。席间有位名士为扣合酒楼名称，同时也取烹饪大肠厨艺之繁复、精细之意，提议将这道菜更名为“九转大肠”。同座都问何典？他说，道家善炼丹，有“九转仙丹”之名，吃此美肴，如服“九转”，可与仙丹媲美。举桌都为之叫绝。杜老板大喜，将这一菜名确定下来。随着烹饪技艺的不断改进，此菜越发有影响力，遐迩闻名，一时间成为山东乃至周边省份的老饕们垂涎的美味之一。

到了近代，厨师们又对“九转大肠”予以改进，不仅规范了肥肠的长度，而且繁复了食材加工过程，“连环套”的肠层须套八九层，大大超出以前的两三层，并在烹调过程中加入更多调料，如此做出来的“九转大肠”，外观色泽红润，汤汁浓郁，看一眼便能勾起人们的食欲。

食不厌精，脍不厌细。普通的食材，经过精雕细刻，往往能幻化成餐桌上的精品。而这些精品通过味蕾的传播，又会转为饮食文化中的高光时代。“九转大肠”的诞生、传承和发展，更加验证了中国饮食文化的这一道理。

200多年飞逝而过，九华楼早已无迹可寻，而“九转大肠”这款山东名菜经几代名厨面教言传沿袭下来，赢得了越来越多食客的青睐。

编辑/魏伟

According the traditional Chinese culture， nine （Jiu in Chinese） is a lucky number. Thus， the number is widely applied to food culture， and the Shandong dish“Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce”（Jiuzhuan Intestines） is a typical case. The intestinal segment of the dish is crispy with slight charring externally， and tastes smooth and delicate internally； besides， it melts in the mouth， with slight toughness， and thus could conquer your taste buds in an instant.

According to the oral inheritance of Jinans local cuisine（Shandong cuisine） inheritors， it is said that this dish was invented in the early years of the Guangxu Period of Qing， and Jinan Jiuhualou Restaurant first officially used the name “Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce”.

In the early years of the Guangxu Period of Qing， Jiuhualou thrived in business， and had a number of famous chefs of Shandong cuisine. In the restaurant， all sorts of dishes were made based on a perfect combination of color， fragrance and taste. It is noteworthy that Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce had particularly strict standards for the use and preparation of ingredients， and unique cooking methods. Thus， many diners praised it as a “Superb Dish”. One day， Mr. Du， the restaurant owner， entertained some guests. Among them， a scholar proposed renaming the dish “Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce” so as to cohere with the restaurant name and signify the complicated and exquisite cooking skills of large intestines. With the continuous improvement of cooking skills， the dish rose to fame， and became one of the mouth-watering delicacies for foodies in Shandong and surrounding provinces.

Two centuries have passed swiftly. There is no trace of Jiuhualou found. However， the famous Shandong dish “Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce” has won favor with a growing number of diners through the oral inheritance of several generations of famous chefs.