Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 31 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 31.2 Ham and Handsome
At first, Yu San was quite surprised to see Shen Shaoguang had taken his words seriously, but he soon broke out into laughter. Usually he always looked like a lifeless ghost, and sometimes spoke with a sarcasm tone, but his smiling demeanor made him look neat and kind.
Although Shen Shaoguang knew that she was being tricked, she wasn't angry but instead smiled at Yu San, "You should smile more, it’s very good looking!"
Yu San was probably a little embarrassed by his mistake in managing his own expressions, so he ignored Shen Shaoguang and went straight back to his room.
This was a little tsuntsun princess she chose herself, what else could she do? Only could spoil him!
Shen Shaoguang pursed her lips, imitating Yu San's drooping expression, and continued to look at the cured meats. She began to envision these meats turned into Square Honey Ham, Gold Silver Trotters, Winter Bamboo Shoot Ham...
This technique of salting and air-drying bacon had existed since ancient times. After all, Confucius charged ten sticks of dried bacon as tuition. Many people in the Tang Dynasty liked to eat cured fish and meat—it was said that the previous emperor enjoyed preserved deer, but the current monarch didn’t, so the palace seldom made it. Thus Shen Shaoguang couldn't steal any secret recipes.
Fortunately, Yu San’s previous owner was from the south, and thankfully he was a foodie; so although Yu San was not very good at curing pork legs, he was adept at curing wild game.
Shen Shaoguang's practical level was subpar, but her theoretical knowledge was at a high standard. She once was in charge of a special issue, specifically about the art of curing ham legs, and she even went to Jiangsu District to interview a master.
Curing ham leg was a delicate labor, and the basis was that the selection of the legs must be done well. The whole pig should weigh around forty kilograms, there shouldn’t be much of a deviation from that number, and the hind legs had to be no more than four kilograms.
Caution also had to be exercised when cutting off the pork legs; the shape must be straight and uniformed. There’s a truth in ‘not edible unless cut right’, that’s why there is also a ‘reshaping’ process later.
When curing the meat, there were specific salts used, as well as a specific way of massaging the ham.
After several layers of salting, it needed to sit and age for a couple months. Then it was cleaned, air-dried, followed by fermentation, and a stackload of other procedures. Not only were there too many processes, but every step was very particular. The undertaking would begin during the autumn of one year and finish during the winter of the following year. If properly done, these cured ham legs could last up to three years.
She had once read that the great author Mr. Tang Lusun mentioned that when aging the ham, he would add a canine’s leg to enhance freshness. Shen Shaoguang had mentioned this during the interview with the curing master– for such a metaphysical yet very commonplace thing to appear in a published manuscript, would be much more fascinating than simply introducing the individual steps of a recipe.
This procedure may have been lost in time as the young Jinhua ham master, who was wearing a surgeon-like sterile suit, firmly shook his head at Shen Shaoguang. Shen Shaoguang was very regretful to not be able to add ‘doglegs’ to her draft.
Truth was, Shen Shaoguang didn't have such a good impression of ham from the beginning. She was from the north, and there are no such salt curing goods in her hometown.
During her childhood, some family friends in the south gave her father a somewhat authentic Jinhua ham. The stewed ham was greasy, salty, and had a strange smell. Shen Shaoguang only sampled a mouthful before putting down her chopsticks. It was only later that she found out that it was perhaps her mother had not properly handled the meat surface or drained out the oil well enough.
To have a proper ham dish, could only be done after work. The various recipes, whether used as the main ingredient or just supplemented by ham, was a divine grace for Shen Shaoguang's taste buds.
Compared with fresh meat, cured meats would emit a rich and mellow taste from being fermented over time. It’s very similar to the difference between an older man and handsome young men. The countenance that had gone through the vicissitudes of life, the smile that had seen it though but knew it's better to be left unsaid, and even the wrinkles, have been polished by the windings of time. In comparison, the young guys are too hasty and straightforward, lacking that bit of ‘soul’.
In her previous life, there were quite a few ‘older men’ in the Chinese and foreign entertainment circles that Shen Shaoguang was quite optimistic about. In the midst of her reminisce, Shen Shaoguang looked at the crescent moon in the sky and laminated melancholy– those men must not know that they had an ardent fan from a different timeline.
After time traveling, Shen Shaoguang also met a few good-looking men. For example, the current reigning Emperor; he was quite good-looking and his high status was also a bonus. To say he was as talented as a dragon and as graceful as a phoenix was a bit superfluous, but was not beyond reasonable limits. There were also a few dignitaries whose appearance was also quite pleasing.
The Li Clan were originally scholar officials from Longxi, so they were people who were given priority when choosing spouses. After they took control of the country, there were even more beauties in their harem. With the beauty gene pool accumulated from generation to generation, it was difficult to give birth to an ugly offspring.
At the thought of scholar officials' appearances, Shen Shaoguang couldn't help but think of the ‘facial nerve paralysis’ Deputy Magistrate Lin from the same Lane. He presumably was also the product of generations of fine genes. His appearance was indeed a bit poetic and picturesque; his personality traits were also praiseworthy, pretty but not feminine, majestic but not aggressive. Not only did he bear the elegance of a cultural person, but also was awe-inspiring like a powerful official! Tsk tsk... all gone to waste because of his facial paralysis!
In fact, Deputy Magistrate Lin's friend was also quite handsome, he had an elegant demeanor, especially his charming eyes. However, whenever they meet, Shen Shaoguang couldn’t help but be reminded of the verse:
‘A pipe dream it had been for me, ten years in Yangzhou, a fool's paradise,
Infamously unfaithful was my claim to fame in districts of red lantern lights[1].’
Facing the strips of cured meat, Shen Shao mentally reorganized the handsome guys she knew and sighed. When the meat is finished, the first thing she’ll do is to steamed it with yellow rice wine and sugar in a wide-mouthed jar.
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Footnote:
[1] ‘A pipe dream it had been for me, ten years in Yangzhou, a fool's paradise; Infamously unfaithful was my claim to fame in districts of red lantern lights’ - This is from a poem titled Dispelling Sorrow (遣懷) by Du Mu (杜牧). Du Mu was born into an elite family during the late Tang Dynasty, and held various provincial posts in different locales over his career. However, he never achieved a high-ranking position in court, and this poem is where he implicitly showed his disappointment over his government career.
Sources:
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Foods:
Square Honey Ham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTuKusdN8pI
Gold Silver Trotters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8TdwTgp9N4
Winter Bamboo Shoot Ham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZbCk-xoPlQ
Jinhua ham - Jinhua ham is a type of specialty dry-cured ham named after the city of Jinhua, where it is produced, in Zhejiang province, China. The ham is used in Chinese cuisines to flavor stewed and braised foods as well as for making the stocks and broths of many Chinese soups. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feCcqBT0-5Y
