Zhang Dashao is a cheerful person who always follows his words and achieves results in his deeds.
Now that we had agreed with Ning Weimin, just one day later, several recipes for "Gongting Jade Liquid" were handed over to Ning Weimin.
And soon, he personally took Ning Weimin to the outer suburbs of Qinghe.
What is this going on for?
Went to buy chickens.
The chicken that Zhang Dashao cooked for Alain Delon was really no ordinary chicken.
In the whole capital, there are probably only a few families in a village in Qinghe who raise that kind of special chicken.
Not to mention anything else, the appearance of this chicken is unique.
Phoenix crown!
Golden feather!
Hairy legs!
That dignified and extraordinary appearance is very ornamental and will definitely make people's eyes shine and be unforgettable.
For example, Ning Weimin followed Zhang Dashao to the home of a fellow villager. As soon as he walked into the courtyard and took a look, he stayed on the spot.
You know, he had watched the TV series "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" in his previous life.
The look of the chicken in front of him was so beautiful!
In particular, the majestic and majestic strutting of the big rooster is just like the angry rooster in "The Ghost Blowing the Lantern: Wrath of Qing Xiangxi", which can destroy evil spirits and poisonous mirages.
The Nuqing chicken in the TV series has colorful feathers and golden claws. It is larger than ordinary chickens and has eyelids that turn down from top to bottom like humans. It is said to be a rare phoenix species in the world.
As for the chicken in front of Ning Weimin, in addition to being golden all over, the eyelids are the same as those of a normal chicken. Except for turning from bottom to top, all other features of its appearance are consistent with it.
Even the arrogance of giving up on others is exactly the same.
This inevitably made him mutter, thinking that the chicken written by the author of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" really had a real-life prototype.
He even couldn't help but take advantage of the fact that the host was entering the house to boil water, lowering his voice and secretly asking Zhang Dashao questions.
"Master Zhang, does this chicken come from western Hunan? Isn't it the rumored phoenix breed? Is it called Nuqing chicken..."
But his fascinating question made Zhang Dashao completely confused and shook his head in confusion.
"Xiangxi? Impossible. What is Nuqing? I've never heard of it. This chicken has nothing to do with other places. This is an authentic species native to the capital, and you can't find it anywhere else..."
But Ning Weimin's eyes widened when he looked at the strutting big rooster, and the more he looked at it, the more he looked like it.
"Are you sure?"
Unexpectedly, Zhang Dashao was so sure, "Of course. Just believe me."
Then he introduced the origin of this chicken to Ning Weimin in a well-reasoned and well-founded manner.
"You don't know something. Where did this chicken come from? It has to be traced back to the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, many chicken breeds such as Jiangnan dwarf chickens, nine-pound yellow chickens, Taihe chickens, and bearded chickens settled in the capital with immigrants. But.
These southern chickens had just arrived, but they were not adapted to the cold in the capital and could not survive. However, many of them died. A small number of them were left alive, and changes gradually appeared during the long period of cross-breeding. These chicken breeds were born
There is a rare chicken breed with hairy crests, hairy beards and hairy legs, which is the kind of chicken you see now. You are also right about what you said. This chicken does have another name, it is called 'Phoenix'
chicken'."
"Phoenix chicken?"
After hearing the last sentence, Ning Weimin, who was already a little disappointed with the chicken's mediocre origins, suddenly became interested.
"Master Zhang, how did you get this name? You have to give me a good education..."
"Hey, this isn't obvious yet! Look at the appearance of this chicken, with its crest, beard, hairy legs, yellow feathers, yellow beak, and yellow shanks. There are golden feathers everywhere, and even the legs are protected by feathers, so
Does its distinctive external features look like a phoenix? To put it bluntly, it actually evolved to keep out the cold. In addition, as the old saying goes, five claws are a phoenix and four claws are a chicken. It is a coincidence that this kind of chicken also has a
The special thing is that most chickens have four toes, but this one has five. This one has a phoenix crown on its head, five toes on its feet, and six wings, so it is naturally called the 'Phoenix Chicken'."
Ning Weimin was overjoyed when he heard this, "This is great. Since it has such a name, it will lead to something happening."
Where Cheng thought Zhang Dashao's response surprised him even more, "Hey, this is not a false reputation. What's more, where is this?"
Ning Weimin heard the meaning of the words, and his heart suddenly turned again, and he started to calculate.
"What do you mean, does it have anything else to say?"
"No."
In fact, Zhang Dashao didn't want to hide it from him. In addition, the owner of the small courtyard was also in the house, so it wouldn't hinder him.
As we talked together, we naturally talked endlessly, pouring beans out of bamboo tubes.
"Don't forget, because of the cold weather in Beijing, this kind of chicken has a slow growth cycle and rich subcutaneous fat. A large amount of nutrients and flavor substances are naturally deposited in its body. Didn't you just eat it a few days ago? This kind of chicken is not only oily.
It is large, its fat is evenly distributed, and its firm and delicate meat texture is its outstanding advantage, which contributes to its extraordinarily delicious taste.”
"Let's put it this way, to eat this kind of chicken, it doesn't matter if you don't know how to cook it. You just need to clean the chicken and then add salt to stew it. The aroma will be full of aroma and the soup will be delicious. And the eggs of this kind of chicken are also very good.
Eat it, because it is also oily, and the yolk is red in color, which is very nutritious. There is really no fishy smell at all. Is it too much to call it a phoenix egg?"
"So, as early as more than 200 years ago, Emperor Qianlong had already given this chicken the title of 'the best chicken in the world' in his poem. In her later years, Empress Dowager Cixi often had a bad appetite and did not want to eat.
If you don’t eat this chicken, you won’t eat it. Don’t forget that this kind of chicken is only called “Jingcheng Oil Chicken” by people in the capital city. Because it first appeared in Wali Village, Chaoyang, it is also called “Wali Oil Chicken” by some people. But a few times
For hundreds of years, this kind of chicken has been a tribute designated by the Qing Dynasty royal family just like Jingxi rice."
"Therefore, in the capital of the Qing Dynasty, this chicken became famous and its value doubled, and its real name, from the time it became a tribute, should be called 'Palace Yellow Chicken'. Even at the founding ceremony of our Republic, this chicken was
Breeding chickens also served as the 'state banquet chicken' and were on the dining table of the first banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China..."
Well, Qianlong’s imperial gift, the best chicken in the world! Isn’t this enough?
At this time, Ning Weimin was so excited by Zhang Dashao's popular science that his eyes were gleaming.
He is not a monkey, otherwise he would have scratched his head and ears like Sun Dasheng when he saw the peach garden.
However, the more excited he was, the more doubts Ning Weimin could hold back.
"Master Zhang, why do I feel like something is wrong? According to you, such good chickens are an irreplaceable imperial delicacy in the Forbidden City. Shouldn't we try our best to promote them and raise more of them? And they are all served at the state banquet, right?
How prestigious is it to treat guests with delicacies at the first banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China? Not to mention that this chicken should be ranked first among the specialties of the capital, but at least its reputation should not be lost to roast duck. Then why has this kind of chicken disappeared?
But now my reputation has faded away? Even I am a catering person. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known today..."
"Isn't that strange?" Zhang Dashao was not stopped by the question. The old man rubbed his beard stubble and continued to talk.
"Do you remember? I said before that this kind of chicken is a rare breed of chicken. Why do I say that? It's because this kind of chicken is difficult to raise. First of all, the palace yellow chicken likes to run around in free space and eat.
There must also be enough green fodder for it to live well. In the past, those who raised chickens for the palace had to feed them chicory and catch grasshoppers for them. Only such chickens can grow well."
"In addition, this chicken grows slowly and has a low egg production rate. Raising this kind of chicken can kill people. In fifty days, it will grow to about one pound, and in one hundred and twenty days, it will grow to three pounds.
It's about a kilogram, and it's a good thing because it has a long growth cycle. So since the Qing Dynasty, this kind of chicken has been sold at a high price, and even those carelessly raised on the market cost two or three times the price of ordinary chickens."
"Think about it, this kind of chickens can't just be penned in the yard, they can only be raised in places with few people, vast land, and uncultivated grasslands. And who can afford to eat them? So after the founding of the People's Republic of China, as soon as the plan was implemented
Economically, this kind of chicken should not be smoked. Although it is well-known and has excellent meat and eggs. However, the breeding cost is high, and it cannot be sold at a high price. If it is kept to lay eggs, the yield is still low. As long as you can raise one
Sanhuang chicken and Luhua chicken are more cost-effective for farmers than raising them."
"In addition, in order to protect people's livelihood, the government is also introducing and promoting chicken breeds that lay more eggs and gain weight faster. Especially in the 1970s, in order to meet the people's egg needs, we introduced broiler chickens from abroad and established related systems
.Although the effect is good and can better meet the needs of the public. However, with the continuous introduction of fast-growing foreign chickens from abroad, our local chickens are in an even more worrying situation. I'm not telling you, you can still see this kind of chicken now.
Chickens, in a few years, may not be possible anymore. Sooner or later, they will be driven out by those 'foreign breeds'. After all, they grow very fast. Although they can't be stewed for an hour, the bones will become pulpy, but the people don't care about that. Poor people,
Just eat meat if you can, and there are a few people who really know what chicken should taste like."
Having said this, Zhang Dashao couldn't help but lamented, "Hey, actually, the quality of these chickens you saw today is not as good as before. Because these are the last few, and I don't know how to raise chickens.
, even the species is skewered with the grass chicken. Although it is still considered a palace yellow, there are many times in it. I have seen it, and the five-fingered one is less than 50%. If you add the wind crown, golden feathers, hairy legs, the speed
With these conditions, it is only 30% at most. In other words, out of the dozens of chickens here, only the last few are real palace chickens. I estimate that if the whole village is put together, there will be no more than twenty qualified chickens.
of."
Hearing this, Ning Weimin's mood suddenly changed again, and he broke into a cold sweat with a cry of "Ah".
I'm stumped... Could it be that such a good chicken is going extinct?