Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia is one of the oldest and most historic cities in the United States, and was the capital of the United States before Washington was founded. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Liu Mang's motorvoy parked at Philadelphia's Colorali Avenue, an empty square covering more than 20 acres and the place where the food festival was held.

Thanks to the popularity gathered in the previous cities, the officials of the city government of Philadelphia took the initiative to hand over the square to Liu Mang for a period of time, except for sending people to maintain order, and did not charge any fees.

Next to the square, there is a small building more than three stories high, which was originally a hotel, but because the business is not good, it has been closed for a long time, and Liu Mang and his family just rented it as a temporary place to stay.

The convoy arrived at about 1 p.m., and as soon as it stopped, quite a few Chinese and Americans who had received the news arrived.

"Hello!" Liu Mang jumped out of the car and greeted everyone.

"Hello!" The people who came were not only very enthusiastic, but also took the initiative to help Liu Mang and them carry things and build a small shed for shading.

When everything was done, it was already more than four o'clock in the afternoon, and Li Ruonan suggested that everyone would not have to cook by themselves in the evening, and everyone would go to a restaurant outside to eat together. Just as he was about to leave, a young man came to the door.

"Excuse me, who is Master Liu Mang?" The young man was wearing a white suit, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face, and he looked polite.

"Hello, I am. Liu Mang stretched out his hand.

"I'm Dai Wentao, and welcome to Philadelphia. ”

"Dai Wentao, Mr. Dai Yuhua......"

"Oh, Dai Yuhua is my grandfather. Dai Wentao replied.

"Mr. Dai Wentao, thank you very much and Mr. Dai Yuhua. ”

Dai Yuhua is the owner of the hotel, and although the city government has provided the square for Liu Mang to use, Liu Mang and his family have no place to live.

The nearest hotel to the square is also more than 40 minutes away, which is very inconvenient.

Just when everyone was worried, and even proposed to live in a truck, a boss named Dai Yuhua took the initiative to find Liu Mang, cleaned up the closed hotel, and rented it to Liu Mang at a very low price, which solved their urgent need.

"Yes, they are all Chinese, and when they go out, they should help each other." Dai Wentao said politely.

"Mr. Dai, what about your grandfather, I should say thank you to his old man in person. After greeting for a while, Liu Mang said.

"Actually, I came here today to ask for your help with one thing. Originally, he was supposed to wait for the food festival to end before speaking, but things have changed, and the only way to trouble Master Liu Mang is to trouble. Dai Wentao said apologetically.

"Oh, what's the matter, you say. ”

"Yes, my grandfather has actually been bedridden for a long time, and his condition has become more and more serious recently, and he has never returned to his hometown since he came to the United States to work hard 40 years ago. Yesterday his condition was getting worse and worse, and he couldn't walk on the ground, and the doctor said it would be good to survive the month, and he had already asked us to prepare for the funeral in advance. Dai Wentao said in a heavy tone.

"Life and death are fate, and Mr. Dai doesn't have to be too sad. Liu Mang said with relief.

"My grandfather knew that his end was approaching, so he kept clamoring to go back to China and die in his hometown. Even rushing to the airport in a wheelchair by ourselves, we almost couldn't stop it. ”

"Chinese pay attention to the return of fallen leaves to their roots, and this request of the elderly is also understandable. I don't know, what can we do?"

"Yes, so I came to Master Liu Mang this time to see if I could make some authentic food from my hometown and soothe my grandfather's homesickness?"

"Where is your grandfather's ancestral home?"

"Oh, my grandfather's ancestral home is from Xi'an, Shaanxi. ”

"Xi'an? This is easy to do, there are a lot of authentic food in Xi'an, and it just so happens that we brought Shaanxi specialty condiments from China to ensure that the things made are original. ”

"That's good! That's good!" Dai Wentao nodded again and again: "I don't know if the meat sandwich bun is from Shaanxi?"

"Of course it is, why do the old people just want to eat this?"

"Yes, my grandfather often told us about Shaanxi's delicacies during this time, and this meat bun is the one that he talked about the most. I've bought it in the U.S., and I've tried to do it myself, but I can't satisfy my grandfather. ”

"No problem, I don't know if you have the tools and ingredients to make it, or I'll make it here, and you can bring it back?"

"That's for the best. ”

"Lao Kong, your strength is here, get ready to work. Liu Mang shouted.

The food festival was originally a meat bun, and Kong Ruiming was specifically responsible for this at the food festival.

"How many?" Kong Ruiming asked.

"Let's make a stove, and everyone will have a supper in the evening. Liu Mang replied.

The meat sandwich bun is a combination of white Ji bun and bacon meat, so you should wake up and mix the noodles before making it.

"Okay. Kong Ruiming walked to the board, took out some flour, added cold water and edible alkali, and began to reconcile.

Kong Ruiming was in charge of making Bai Ji Bao, while Liu Mang was in charge of making bacon meat.

If Bai Ji Bao is the flesh of the 'Meat Sandwich Bun', then the bacon meat sandwiched in it is the soul of the 'Meat Sandwich Bun'.

Cured meat is meat that is boiled with cured sauce. But it is different from dried bacon in that dry bacon is cured with smoke, whereas it is marinated with brine.

But it is also different from ordinary braised pork, which is meat made by the marinated method, that is, brine made with brine, five spices or soy sauce, and the meat is cooked in brine.

The bacon meat does not add ginger and shallots, cooking wine, and does not need to add sugar to adjust the color, just use a few Chinese herbs and spices to cook with the meat.

Luckily, the crisper was placed on a truck and shipped from Chicago together, so there was no need to buy food on the fly.

Liu Mang took out a few pieces of pork belly with skin and more than five layers, boiled water to remove the blood, and then threw them into the brine bucket prepared early in the morning.

Originally, the bacon meat was to be marinated in old fashion, and Liu Mang also got some old brine from China, but what he didn't expect was that there was a problem when he passed through the customs and was detained at the US customs.

As a last resort, Liu Mang and Kong Ruiming had to make temporary productions in the United States. But fortunately, although the brine produced is not as good as the old brine used in China, the flavor is not too much, and it is difficult for ordinary people to eat it.

The Chinese herbs and spices used in bacon are: Jatamansi, Kaempfera, Long Pepper, Ginger, Sand Kernel, White Cardamom, Angelica Angelica, Cinnamon, Clove, Fennel, Cumin, and Grass Fruit.

In addition to providing a special fragrance, it also has the effects of strengthening the stomach and eliminating food, moistening the lungs and regulating qi, dissipating cold and dispelling wind, analgesic and stagnation, and appetizing through the body.

Liu Mang's bacon is marinated in a brine bucket, while Kong Ruiming's Bai Ji Bao is also being made intensively.

"Lao Kong, do you want to help?" asked Liu Mang. "Hey, I've done it countless times, what do you want to help with? Kong Ruiming shook his head and smashed the dough in his hand on the board.

The proofed dough is kneaded into long strips, then divided into small doughs, and then rolled into bowl-bottomed discs with a special spinning cone-shaped rolling pin.

"The cured meat used for the meat bun is marinated for a bit of a long time, I'm afraid you will have to wait for a while. Liu Mang said.

"It's okay, I can wait. Dai Wentao replied.

"Come, everyone drink tea. Li Ruonan served tea, and Liu Mang drank tea while chatting with Dai Wentao.

After chatting, Liu Mang learned that Dai Wentao's grandfather Dai Yuhua went to the treasure island first, and then arrived in the United States last.

After arriving in the United States, he first sold coolies for construction companies, but after several struggles, he bought the current building and opened a hotel. Finally, I met Dai Wentao's grandmother, a Chinese woman who married a wife and had children, and has multiplied to this day.

From more than five o'clock to more than nine o'clock in the evening, the bacon meat marinated in a large vat with a slight fire is good.

And the white Ji bun made by Kong Ruiming was also out of the pot early, Liu Mang first chopped the bacon into minced pieces, and then stuffed it into the cut Bai Ji bun.

"Mr. Dai, do you want to try one first?" Liu Mang asked as he picked up a finished meat bun.

"Okay. Dai Wentao nodded, took the meat bun handed by Liu Mang, and prepared to put it to his mouth to bite.

"Uh...... Wait a minute. Kong Ruiming stopped him.

"What's wrong?" Dai Wentao was stunned for a moment and stopped.

"There is a way to eat this meat bun, because it is full of gravy, so you have to bite it flat from both sides, so as not to get the oil in your hand. ”

"That's it!" Dai Wentao understood, and according to the method taught by Kong Ruiming, he took a big bite of it to his mouth.

"Hmm......" Dai Wentao chewed the 'meat sandwich bun' in his mouth, with a satisfied face: "No wonder my grandfather has never forgotten this meat sandwich bun, it turns out to be really so delicious!"

The cured meat is ruddy in color, soft and mellow, the fat meat is not greasy, the lean meat is full of oil, and it is eaten with hot buns, which is really delicious.

"Mr. Liu Mang, do you want to go and see my grandfather too? He will definitely be very happy to see people from his hometown. Dai Wentao, who had eaten two meat buns in a row, asked with the meat buns put in the insulated food box.

"It should. I'll go with you to meet the old man, and thank him. Liu Mang nodded, and called Li Ruonan to follow Dai Wentao out.

After driving for about an hour, Liu Mang and Li Ruonan followed Dai Wentao to a villa in Queens, Philadelphia.

"Grandpa, who do you see coming?" Dai Wentao shouted as he walked into a bedroom on the second floor of the villa.

There was a large bed in the bedroom, and an old man in pajamas was half-sitting on the bed, reading a book with reading glasses.

"Are you Master Xiao Liu?" Hearing the shout, the old man put down his book, helped his glasses, and said.

"Old man, have you seen it?" Liu Mang walked over quickly, held the old man's hand and asked.

"I've read you in the newspapers. Although I learned from Dai Wentao's mouth that the old man's time was short, the old man's spirit was still very good, at least his voice was still very loud, and he didn't look sick at all.

"Mr. Dai, thank you very much for renting us the house, it has helped us a lot. ”

At the beginning, Dai Yuhua did not take a penny, and only collected a small amount of rent at Liu Mang's repeated insistence.

I heard that you came to the United States to apply for the Chinese food heritage, this is to give the Chinese a long face! I am also Chinese, and I will definitely help." ”

"Grandpa, when Master Liu Mang came, he also specially made 'meat sandwich bun', you can try it. ”

"Meat sandwich buns?" Dai Yuhua's somewhat cloudy eyes suddenly lit up: "Is it the meat sandwich buns of the Fan family at Laojiekou?"

"Uh...... No. However, the brine recipe for my meat bun is from their house, and the taste should be similar. ”

"Quick, give me a taste!" Dai Yuhua sat up eagerly.

Li Ruonan hurriedly took a pillow and put it on Dai Yuhua's back, while Dai Wentao called the lid of the food box.

"Hmm...... That's the aroma. Dai Yuhua took the meat bun handed by Dai Wentao, put it to his nose and took a deep breath: "This is much stronger than those foreign devils' hamburgers!"

After speaking, Dai Yuhua put the meat bun in his mouth and took a small bite and chewed it.

After chewing a few times, Dai Yuhua swallowed with some difficulty, put down the meat bun in his hand, and gently stroked it with his hand, reluctant to speak for a long time.

"What's wrong, old man, is this meat bun not to your taste?" After waiting for a while, he couldn't help but ask when he saw Liu Mang.

"It's really the same as my taste, it's just like back then!" The old man put the meat bun back into the food box in front of him, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, his voice was a little choked.

"Master Liu, do you know? When I left China, I didn't want to eat meat buns, I didn't even look at them, and I didn't want to hear the name. ”

"Ah, why is that?" Liu Mang and Li Ruonan, including Dai Wentao, were surprised.

"When I was only 11 years old, everyone was on the run because of the Anti-Japanese War, so my father asked me to defect to my aunt in the rear. My mother and sister had already died in an air raid by the Japanese devils, and my father and I were the only ones left in the house. ”

At this time, Dai Yuhua had completely fallen into his own memories.

"That year, my father sent me outside Dongguan and asked me to sit alone in a carriage with a group of refugees. I remember very well that it was afternoon, there was a cold wind in the sky, it was raining wool, and my father twisted my ear when he left, telling me to follow the crowd until my aunt came to pick me up. But I was scared and refused to let go of my father's hand. So my father took out a paper bag that was still hot from his arms, and inside was a meat bun. ”

Speaking of this, Dai Yuhua, who was already dying, was full of remorse: "At that time, the child was greedy and only cared about eating meat and steamed buns, and when I finished eating meat and steamed buns, my father would have disappeared a long time ago! It turned out that he lied to me and didn't come with me at all!"

Tears couldn't stop flowing down Dai Yuhua's wrinkled face: "I also hated my father, why did I leave me alone, until later, I looked through the list of soldiers who died in World War II in the library of the United States and saw my father's name." ”

Now Dai Yuhua seems to have returned to that afternoon, becoming the child who held his father's hand tightly and refused to let go, crying and crying.

"It turns out that my father never thought about living!"