Chapter 554: Golden Thread Oil Tower

Golden thread oil tower is a valuable traditional snack in Xi'an, Shaanxi. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. biquge。 info It has a fine layer, loose and not greasy, and its shape is "lifted like a gold thread, put down like a pine tower", so it gets its name.

Legend has it that it began in the Tang Dynasty, the original name was "oil collapse", and there was an improvement in the Qing Dynasty, using high-quality flour, lard and other raw materials, increasing the level of oil cake, changing the cake shape to tower shape, changing the branding to steaming, and the name was also changed from "oil collapse" to "gold thread oil tower", becoming a superior beauty. When the oil tower is steamed and eaten, it is slightly folded and loosened with your hands, and placed on a plate, accompanied by green onion knots, sweet noodle sauce, etc., which has a unique flavor.

Its preparation method is recorded in detail in the Qing Dynasty's "Vegetarian Strategy". It is rumored that it was created by a cook lady in the family of Duan Wenchang, who was the prime minister in the Tang Dynasty, and later introduced to the people, and was popular because of its unique flavor, and has spread since then.

In December 1997, in the first national "Chinese Famous Snack" recognition activity, the "Golden Line Oil Tower" of Xi'an Restaurant was recognized as "Chinese Famous Snack". Its flavor characteristics are: the appearance is like a strand of gold wire coiled, the entrance is loose and soft, oily but not greasy, and rich in nutrition. When eating, if it is accompanied by acidic kimchi, sweet noodle sauce, green onion white section, and almond sweet syrup, it is more refreshing and flavorful. Nowadays, the "Golden Line Oil Tower" has been used as a high-end banquet snack and is well-known all over the world.

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The Golden Line Oil Tower has a long history, as early as the Tang Dynasty more than 1,400 years ago. At that time, it was called "oil collapse". According to legend, an old maid in the family of Prime Minister Duan Wenchang in the Tang Dynasty was good at making this product. According to the record of "Qing Yilu", during the time of Tang Muzong, Prime Minister Duan Wenchang had an old maid called "Shan Zu" in his family, who was good at making this kind of oil tower and had exquisite skills. For more than 40 years, she has taught the skill to more than 100 maidservants. It is said that only 9 maids have been truly inherited. According to Xi'an folklore, there is only one person who can really inherit the skills of the old maid of Duan Chengxiang's family in making "oil collapse", which shows that this production skill is not easy to master.

Later, this food was introduced to the market. During the Tang Tianzhu period, there was this kind of "oil collapse" in Chang'an City. "The Ruling and Opposition Servants" said that there was an official named Zhang Heng at that time, who was ranked up to the fourth rank. Wu Zetian decided to add one rank and promote him to a third-rank official. One day after returning from the dynasty, passing by the market, I suddenly felt the aroma of the nose, and when I got off the horse and looked, it turned out to be a hot "oil collapse" just out of the cage. Zhang Heng was salivating, so he quietly bought one to eat on horseback, and was impeached by the imperial history, so he lost his black yarn hat. It can be seen that the attraction of this kind of "oil collapse" has reached the level of "smelling the fragrance and getting off the horse".

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At the end of the Qing Dynasty, in Sanyuan County, which is relatively culturally and economically developed near Xi'an, Peng Zhankui and Yang Dinghai, the owners of the two oil cake shops "Yuefenghe" and "Yongfeng Pavilion" in the county, continued to innovate on the basis of inheriting the "oil collapse" skills of the Tang Dynasty. They strictly selected white, fine, cottony, and soft flour and live pig oil and net oil fed with grain, so that the layers of oil cakes increased, and the cake shape was changed to a tower shape, and the brand was changed to steaming, and the name was also changed from "oil collapse" to "gold thread oil tower".

When the oil tower is steamed and eaten, it is slightly folded and loosened with your hands, and placed on a plate, accompanied by green onion knots, sweet noodle sauce, etc., which has a unique flavor. Therefore, it attracts guests from all over the world and becomes a high-quality delicacy for dignitaries and wealthy businessmen to entertain guests. In the 30s of the 19th century, Master Ma Zhenxian of Fu Ji Restaurant in the first market of Xi'an South Courtyard Gate got his true inheritance and made the "Golden Thread Oil Tower", which was well-known in Sanqin.

From then until the early 50s, although the address of the restaurant was moved to the entrance of Yingxiangguan Lane on West Street and renamed "Tongfu Building", the Golden Line Oil Tower has always been a "famous place to watch the house", and there is an endless stream of diners who come to visit it, and the reception banquet continues every day. Due to the shortage of "oil towers", customers sometimes come to the store in advance to "occupy the number" to make an appointment. In 1979, at the Shaanxi Provincial Food and Beverage Industry Flavor Food Exhibition, the Golden Line Oil Tower was highly appreciated by Chinese and foreign audiences and merchants. After more than 1,000 years of changes, the production technology of the gold thread oil tower has become more sophisticated. The Golden Line Oil Tower has now become a beautiful spot for hotels and restaurants to entertain foreign guests.

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After wheat is milled and processed, it becomes flour, also known as wheat flour. Flour can be divided into two categories: grade powder and special powder according to different processing accuracy and use, and can be divided into three categories: special flour, standard flour and ordinary flour according to different processing accuracy; Special flour is flour made by grinding special varieties of wheat; Or according to the needs of the purpose of use, on the basis of the grade powder, add edible whitening agent, edible leavening agent, edible flavor and other ingredients, and mix evenly to make flour. The types of special flour are diverse, the formula is accurate, and the quality is stable, which provides good raw materials for improving labor efficiency and making good quality flour products.

Flax cake, also known as Hu cake, sesame baked cake, one of the folk snacks in Shaanxi. It is mainly made of flour and is named because it is sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is a vegetarian food made of special flour, vegetable oil, sesame seeds, and natural grass. It existed as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty and developed into a popular convenience food in the Tang Dynasty.

"Hu food" has been popular in China since the Han and Wei dynasties, and was most prosperous in the Tang Dynasty. During the Anshi Rebellion, Xuanzong Xixing walked to Xianyang Jixian Palace, but there was nothing to eat, so he had to use "Hu Cake" to satisfy his hunger. "Tongjian" Xuanzong Ji said: In the middle of the day, the sun is still uneaten, and Yang Guozhong is from the city to offer Hu cakes. Hu Sanxing's note said: "Hu cake is now steaming cake". Gao Rukong said: "Hu Bi Yan is also written with flax." It is characterized by crispy and oily aroma, moderate saltiness and rich nutrition. It is characterized by yellow and bright color, crispy skin and soft inside, and fragrant sesame oil.

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"The flax cake is like Kyoto, the noodles are crispy and fragrant, and the fragrant oil is newly baked, and it is placed on the hungry Yang Ambassador, and it seems to be a supplement." This is the great poet Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty in the poem "Sending Flax Cakes and Yang Wanzhou", the praise of flax cakes. The flax cakes of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty were very famous, especially the best made by Fuxingfang.

"The Book of the Continuation of the Han Dynasty" has "Emperor Ling is good at Hu cakes, and the nobles and relatives of Beijing all compete to eat Hu cakes." "Taiping Yulan" has, Lu Bu led the army to the city of Chengshi, "Li Shujie made 10,000 Hu cakes and held the laborers first." "Su Zong Record" has, "Yang Huizhong has entered the market since he entered the market, and his sleeves are full of Hu cakes. "Zizhi Tongjian, Xuanzong Ji" has: "To the German Yuanzai, the Anshi Rebellion, Xuanzong Xixing, the rush of the road, to the Xianyang Jixian Palace, there is no hunger, and the Hyuga Shen is still the last to eat." Yang Guozhong from the city of Hu cake to offer. ”

The Japanese monk Yuanren's "Pilgrimage to the Tang Dynasty to Seek the Law" has "The sixth day of the first month of the sixth year of the opening of the spring, the order to give the porridge of the Hu Cake Temple." When the line of Hu cakes, the common people are the same. "The Decision of the Ting Wei" also records that Zhang Gui of the Tang Dynasty, because of his monopoly on Hu cakes, became famous, and was later named Santai Order, etc., and the list goes on.

The fact that flax cake can appear repeatedly in Han and Tang Dynasty literature proves that it was already a common food at that time. But there are different opinions about where and when Hu bread began, and what kind of food it is. According to the cloud of "All the Jingyinyi", "This oil cake was originally a Hu food, and China has followed it and changed slightly, so it has this name in modern times." ”