三丝汤 by 玄米 有关汤，最温暖最好喝的当然是我家外祖母做的烧肉粉汤。外祖母家从前是开饭馆的，选材，下料，火候她都一一教给了父母。每到过年，我们家就要买好几十斤肉，大部分都煮过，烧过，再回锅煮，然后藏在外边的坛子里，一直吃到没有为止，她告诉我们，肥肉上面的瘦肉才好吃！因此，每到过年买肉，爸爸都要买回上等的好肉，然后，煮，烧，煮。我家有一口有深又大的锅，所以，就会有好多好多的肉汤。他们用鸡血清汤，所以捞出肉，撇除油，再清了汤，肉汤会清香透明，然后，用烧好的肉，粉条和海带丝作一大锅粉汤，烧过的肉，肥而不腻，烧过的猪皮又回了锅口感特好，老家还会寄来一些土产，我们吃着炸黄糕，喝着粉汤，觉得幸福舒坦极了。过年的日子，这样的汤会登场很多次。肉汤没有了，用冻在外边的肉再煮一大锅，接着吃。除了粉汤，还要用肉汤作火锅汤底，还用它作混沌汤，用它汆饺子，基本上好日子可以过到正月十五。外祖母在我家过年的时候，全程都要请示她，所以肉的软硬，咸淡以及香料比例都会刚刚好，外祖母不在的时候，都是我爸爸单独操作，妈妈只动嘴，不动手，每年都会有失败的地方，不是肉煮过了，就是香料比例错了，爸爸总会挨埋怨，可我从来没有觉得哪一次的肉不好吃，汤不好喝过。后来我们大了，能够帮爸爸准备年味的时候，我总会告诉爸爸，肉很好吃，汤很好喝，一点也没有妈妈说的那些失败，爸爸总会呵呵呵呵的笑，你说好吃就对了，我也觉得很好吃。现在，我也能够理解妈妈了，她大概更追求她小时候吃惯的那一种味道和感觉，我们其实没有有那种味道的记忆。
请大家喝汤，祝大家健康～～ Liquid gold, Delivered in A Bowl by 纵然平行
As Chinese, most of us would be influenced and benefited through our proud soup culture one way or the other. But for me, soups created other dimension: my life has been entangled so deep and so wide with so many varieties of soups that sometimes I actually wonder what if a surgeon put me on the operation table to cut me open, he or she might be surprised to find out my blood vessels and arteries are flowing soups in alphabetic order, of course in Chinese pingin. :) Growing in eastern part of China, seasons came and went in my life were not just signaled by layers of clothes I needed to wear but the rotations of hot and cold soups brought up on the dinner table. I had soups made with ordinary veggies, bean curd, poultry, pork, beef, mutton, fish and ones made from exotic ingredients such as shark fins and swallow bird nests. Among all these soups I had, there is one soup standing out as my all-time favorite; that is an organic free-ranged chicken soup. Yes! chicken soup - the golden broth was so rich and intense resulted from hours simmering. The aroma floated out from the cooking pot in the kitchen and carried with soft murmurs of the woman’s chatting into every corner of the house. Its delightful scent let you reach beyond the physical boundaries. To me, it was symbolized as a piece of well-versed culinary poetry or a piece of soft lullaby sang by a loving mother to her child.
You may ask what is so special about chicken soup. To answer your question, you may have to “hold your horse” for a moment so, allowing me to give you some background info before we get there.
Today I can be easily labeled as a Big and Tall guy, but I was actually born as a preemie baby - about two months ahead of the supposed due day. I came to this world earlier because my mother was unfortunately hit by a bicycle rider. Before she knew it, I was already placed in an incubator where she worked as an Ob-Gyn doc. She told me many times that she felt awful and cheated, in retrospect, that she never got a chance, as so many patients of her did, to hold me for few moments and say few tender words before the nurse would take the newborn away.
If the problem with me would end in hospital ward, then it would be an understatement. In fact, the saga of misery was just opening the first chapter. After my mother brought me home about two month later after I was born, my self-reliant, with strong can-do attitude, mother faced her biggest challenge she ever encountered in her life, she could not produce enough milk for a hungry and growing boy whose digest system didn't agree with the powder milk in the cans.
According to my grandmother, when it came to the feeding time, the supposed pleasant mother and son bonding time quickly escalated into “battles” - a torture for both. It often ended up with crying mother and her screaming boy. Based upon my father's recollection, then I was so thin and weak that figuratively and literally I was like a malnutrition newborn dog puppy. And the irony was that my mother as an OB doctor who knew every possible cure available then for her less productive mammary glands and lactiferous ducts, and she tried them all. But to her dismay, nothing worked even with help of those milk-inducing soups and dishes my grandmother made. As a result, I was frequently brought to the hospital for medical attention. One day at lunch break, one of my mother's friends told my mother that her cousin in the countryside had given birth to a boy, but unfortunately the three-week old baby boy died at night due to incorrect head position. “All the sudden, something lit up in my mind.” she told me when I was old enough to know certain things.
Later I found out that my family’s decision of hiring a wet-nurse worked out very well in several fronts. First, Auntie Li was able to escape from the nightmare of losing her infant son and as well as from the blames laid on her by the villagers and her own family. Secondly she was no longer suffered from her bulging and over productive mammary glands since there was this constantly hungry crying baby boy kept yearning for more milk. Thirdly, feeding a infant of her baby's age alleviated the mental pain of her own, giving her an opportunity to reclaim her ill-fated motherhood to some degree. Last but not least she was treated and paid well in our family that she realized that a person’s life could be so much different in a totally different place.
One major changed in our home after Auntie Li's arrival was the frequency of making chicken soups in our kitchen. To help her produce more breast milk to sustain the hungry baby boy, Auntie Li often made chicken soups with live hens every week and she had never tired of drinking it. In fact, she credited it's magical affects for her never-ending fountain of milk for a fast growing baby boy. My grandma told me many times that Auntie Li often chuckled with content after the feedings like that “Mom drinks more chicken soup so you'd drink more milk, growing big and tall.” My grandmother added that later but, knowing Auntie Li would never say that in front my mother, who often was torn between her own feelings and her son's health when her son only wanted someone else instead of her when she returned home from work. My mother has never said a word in front of me, yet my father told me that Auntie Li became increasingly a threat as I grew older. I can understand the dilemma she would have to face. On one hand, my mother brought in the solution which not only solved the problem, but also made her life much easier, on the other hand, she was afraid she was losing something in front her eyes every day as Auntie Li and her own son were getting closer and closer. One morning I woke up a few days after I turned to four, Auntie Li was no longer to be seen in our house. My grandmother told me later with my grandpa's backup that I went berserk, refusing to eat and drink, and the whole house was in chaos.
When I was growing up, Auntie Li came to visit us every couple years. Each time she come to visit , she would bought bags of her local specialties such dried cured eels, salty fish, new crops of sweet rice, fresh shelled peanuts, nine time out of ten, she brought live hens. Often she would help my grandmother and mother to clean the bird, making the chicken soup I favored with dry dark mushrooms or anther fragrant mushrooms with an interesting name – monkey's head. I remember when I was little boy, she would sit in my room and play with me for hours, she would carry me on her lap and use her chin to rub my hair a little, talking about something in her own life that I had no clue about it. I would crawl up and down of her lap, listening to her soft voices and showing my favorite books and toys to her. A couple of time, I questioned her why she called me her son, and why I was my mom's son at the same time. For that she never answered my question directly or be angry at me either. Sometime during our Q and A, her eyes turning red, I would be quiet and lean my body to hers while he aroma of chick soup drifted around us. When I went to college, Auntie Li made less visits to our house. She was spending more time taking care of her aging parents and her sick husband. But each time she came, it would be a great time for our family, my mother would take her out for treats and buy her lots of gifts. Each time before she said bye to me, she would pinch my face a bit, teasing my shyness. Her hands that touched my cheeks were kind of coarse comparing with my mom's yet with the same degree of warmth. Her eyes shined with affection that you call tell only came from someone who cares.
Okay, enough these mushy stuffs, let us come back the chicken soup.
As we know, not all the chick soup is created equal. The one I am talking about is the extraordinary one. For one thing, the bird in the chicken soup I mentioned above is made from the organic free-ranch chicken rather from those chicken packed in plastic in the supermarket we buy in America. Only these hens which roam free at their wills are able provide a strong and deep chicken flavor, plus the golden hue showed in the soup. More, the hours of simmering accompanying with ginger and mushrooms in a deep ceramic pot make the chicken meat so moist, succulent and simply delicious. Maybe, because of the years Auntie Li being in my life, her treating me as her other son whom she has never had or because of her breast milk helped by the chicken soup saved my life and laid the solid foundation that allow me to maximize my physical potential, to me, chicken soup is no longer a hot liquid any more, it turns into a synonymous with love and comfort. If I can use a symbol to represent it, that would be the fuel made in kitchen by the women who loved me and filled up my tank for the journey where my heart leads to.
Note: 1) You guys should not let me be the last piece of the event, that is not fair, so do something. 2) The photo is from the net.
You and your daughter were so lucky to have mothers who had productive lactating ability like "Holstein cows". :) Reading your graphical description of milk-shooting-out made me almost choked with my coffee. :((
Unlike you and many other women, being low lactation gave my mother some hard time. I think it wasn’t entirely her fault, the combination of the mishaps - an accident that required her body and mind to recover and an ill-shortened pregnancy all made the matter worse. But in the end, everything worked out alright for all involving parties. :)
Today is the day our party ends, I’d take an opportunity to thank you for your time and efforts spent to make the net event happen with an original idea and make the party successful (well, it certainly could be better if we had more entries from the silent majority. :) ) Further, you are a courteous and hard-working hostess, your enthusiasm has made every contributor and every soup welcome. For that you deserve some serious credits.
You know what, if I had a glass of red wine and a fork with me now, I’d make the sound and thump “ speech! speech…” :))
纵然平行 发表评论于
回复苏乡门地的评论:
“we're expecting a 33-38F cool temp tonight, can you imagine that~~” Yes, I can!:) I am assuming you know what to do for combating the cold temperature in your household. Hint, the possible solution is right under your nose. :)
Appreciate your kind words and your cheering role in this net event, which has inevitably forced me to reexamine my childhood again and in turn give my eternal gratitude to the women who loved,comforted and educated me in every inconceivable ways. You know while writing my piece that kept me thinking as a fully grown man, I found myself in a softer position to see women from some deferent perspectives, in much more sympathetic and respectful lens.
Thanks you for your support and being a spirited advocate in the activity. I wish Ying Xiu A J would give away some “trophies” and “prizes” , if she does, you and many others could be winners in many categories. :) Anyway, just try to remember your mantra “adding oil!”
苏乡门地 发表评论于
回复纵然平行:
Yes, I also enjoyed the special chicken broth you brought to the party very much!
Thank you for sharing this heart-warming soup!
As the forecast says we're expecting a 33-38F cool temp tonight, can you imagine that~~
I am a bit baffled: so many of you suddenly turned into the silent majority. What is wrong with you ? The cat got your tongues or what ?:)
Where is DUMARTINI, the speaker of leader group, please do something, at least say something, otherwise, people here may start the movement of Occupying A J's Blog. :))
Hey, ladies I am just kidding, please don't be offended, okay ? , DUMARTINI, I'am just messing around, please don't get mad at me. :)
Quick update: I’ve crossed finishing line, in one piece. :)
And that is not all; thanks to your guys’ soups and perfect weather, I also advanced my last year’s record by 26 minutes and 9 second. Now it’s time for me to be a party animal. :))
FYI, men’s winner Geoffrey Mutai, a Kenyan marathon runner, broken the course record at 2:05:06.
回复南山松的评论:
谢谢好汤,看着简单,但是我知道那个肉圆子功夫大了,要做得好不容易.所以我很害怕做狮子头的,像打架一样要用力气的,嗨嗨嗨地一个人在厨房发疯.呵呵.令我想起我的一个老外朋友给我做SCHNIEZEL,说: KNOCK THE HELL OF IT.就是用那个木头锤子死命地砸.所以说, 君子远庖厨嘛.唉
Thank you very much for your support, appreciated! I hope I can beat my own records this time. On one of the positive notes, at this point, weather is looking pretty cooperative –cool with very little wind. Most people don’t know that marathon runners won’t care much about lower temperatures; on the contrary, they are afraid of high temperature or strong wind. The worst nightmare is the combination of these both. In long history of ing marathon here, all of the fatalities were directly related to the temperatures that were higher than 70 degree. Some of casualties were even professional athletes. Interesting enough, no runners have ever died of frigid winter like conditions since 1970 when the race was established.
As for the potential trades between us, I must warn you first, the exchanges of info are not meant to the faint heart. I my ask many tough questions and request the satisfactory answers, which might require certain exposures of “up close and personal.” :))
Put jokes aside, I think in the end of this soup celebration, it would be nice if you, with help from the others, would decide the best soup, best soup holding ware, best photography, best presentation and the most creative chef or whatever you believe should be mentioned/honored and reward ladies and gentlemen who made the soups party possible. It’s just a food for your thought.
纵然平行 发表评论于
回复苏乡门地的评论:
“是否要多挣几工分呢” before an answer can be given, would you kindly educate me what is “gong fen” how it got to do with rewards ? :)
You see, we need some incentives, tangible or intangible, to get people out their comfort zone, do you agree ? would you like to be this event’s sponsor ?
I think your soup could be one of the winners, nevertheless the decision might be under Ying Xiou A J’s discretion.
I am getting hungrier by looking at those great soups. :(
DUMARTINI 发表评论于
回复玄米的评论:
哇 这个保证好～～～
玄米 发表评论于
再不做，能想到的都得被大家先做了。本来就不会煲汤。
我先报汤名，海参，笋丝，皇菇丝三丝汤。周末做。
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复苏乡门地的评论:
I guess you got it wrong.
Who is Yin xiou? I never heard of him:)
eh, excuse me I got to go......~~~
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复南山松的评论:
谢谢阿松.
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复纵然平行的评论:
Ok, now I am smiling at you and give you all the support to get better record, which in trade we have to deal it in privancy~~~ Hopefull you will be that generous sponsor,haa
阿袖本事大！ 居然有个介么强汗sponsor who is so generous that he agrees to give away free tickets to Paris! 还成双给！ 请问：咱们“冲锋陷阵”在先者，是否要多挣几工分呢~~~
杜姐，今晚俺以实际行动做了一大碗鲜鱼丸汤，加蚕豆苗的，看起来也蛮不错 :))
纵然平行 发表评论于
Yes, I will submit my essay before the deadline you set. In the meantime, can you stop "yelling at" me ? :)
FYI, each year tens of thousands of people run ing marathon here. I am just one of these enthusiasts. In terms of finishing time, there were around three thousands runners crossing the line before me so I think it would be better for me to keep my humble voice down. But in case you absolutely have to know, we can trade, starting with your personal data for my timing records. It is only fair, right ? :)
Ladies and gentlemen,you maybe don't know, Yin Xiou may give away the prizes at the end of this net event, the first place winner would be rewarded with round trip airline tickets for two to Paris plus all of the first-class accommodations and the spending money for one week in France. :)
回复纵然平行的评论:
I never knew you were a marathon runner,more than once! What a hero. you got to tell me your record, let's say, less than 4hours? I know Oprah' s record is 4hours. I admire the runners!
As for bullying, of course, otherwise why do I accept you as Ad? That's the only fun I missed in my childhood~~
Okay, I got your points. After Nov. 6th, I am going to write a piece about a special soup that has some special meaning in my life so that you would be no longer to complain any more. How’s that sounds to you ? I can not make a good soup but at lease I'd able to contribute something instead.
Will check in tomorrow to see any progress that you ladies have made.
Continue adding oil. :))
纵然平行 发表评论于
回复graceusa的评论:
I swear to God, I’ve never said a single word about what you should do for your entry. I am afraid that A Su just made this egg stuff up with a purpose to “torture/tease” me. It’s a setup, don’t be tricked, okay ? :)
What about Nov 6th, I'd be happy to give you a hint --- "Run Forrest, Runnn!" :)) so let's all shout 纵然 Go Oil!
You know A Xiu, he could have been thinking more of large chuck of steaks these days instead of a tiny bowl of Yan Du stew,haha, oh, did you notice that something is missing in one of the bowl? no hint for that, haha
辛苦了楼主，温暖了大家，好汤还在后头，这就是安慰哈
俺这就准备明天的鲜鱼丸子菠菜汤去，要不然来一会咽/噎一回 :))
对了，石姐找到country ham啦？
玄米 发表评论于
这么快，大家的手艺不是一般的高啊。还有照相技术，我可怎么办呢。
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复陈默的评论:
等着你啊,写点什么也好的.
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复南山松的评论:
是啊是啊,上汤要快了
陈默 发表评论于
好主意啊！
哎呀我的厨艺......实在拿不上台面啊。我看看努力下～
南山松 发表评论于
大家动作好快啊！已经有这么多的诱人的汤了。
我得赶快了~~~
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复石库门的评论:
好呀,我回头拍一张上来给你看.今天晚上要出门,可能不行了.
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复纵然平行的评论
That's OK, but if you have time why don't you write about 腌笃鲜,你那么喜欢,肯定有感觉,也有故事
你说的会是你的生日吗?
享受汤吧,喝不到,饱饱眼福,运用一下想象力享受也好~~~
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复DUMARTINI的评论:
只只汤看起来都鲜得来....
盈袖2006 发表评论于
回复石库门的评论:
也谢谢你了,这么快交作业:)
纵然平行 发表评论于
No wonder the markets went down today because you guys have been keeping “cursing and yelling” me. :( But finally, heard you. :)
Seriously, may I appeal to your kindness to exempt me from this soup-party ? A couple of reasons (not lame excuses) I need your mercy and understanding: First and foremost, to make a great soup, it requires decent amount of time to planning and execution from shopping ingredients to making it into a super product not to mention some serious culinary skills applied. I have none of these qualification and prerequisites up to the job. In addition, since she is out of town for shooting magazines, my meals are basically take-outs just for the sake of saving myself some time and hassles. Moreover, Nov 6th are just days away, A J, do you know what that means ? :)
So ladies, would you please cut me some slack this time? I will make up to you guys next round if there would a new initiative originated.
All of the soups posted so far plus the wares hold them look really lovely and delicious, indeed. I surely could use them to comfort me right now. :))
BTW, did I tell you ladies I am born to be a good soup drinker/taster/eater ? :) (some of those good-looking soups should actually be called stews instead because they are, in fact, fabulous one bowl meal.)
Again, thanks a million for all your softheartedness!
OR 
有关汤，最温暖最好喝的当然是我家外祖母做的烧肉粉汤。外祖母家从前是开饭馆的，选材，下料，火候她都一一教给了父母。每到过年，我们家就要买好几十斤肉，大部分都煮过，烧过，再回锅煮，然后藏在外边的坛子里，一直吃到没有为止，她告诉我们，肥肉上面的瘦肉才好吃！因此，每到过年买肉，爸爸都要买回上等的好肉，然后，煮，烧，煮。我家有一口有深又大的锅，所以，就会有好多好多的肉汤。他们用鸡血清汤，所以捞出肉，撇除油，再清了汤，肉汤会清香透明，然后，用烧好的肉，粉条和海带丝作一大锅粉汤，烧过的肉，肥而不腻，烧过的猪皮又回了锅口感特好，老家还会寄来一些土产，我们吃着炸黄糕，喝着粉汤，觉得幸福舒坦极了。过年的日子，这样的汤会登场很多次。肉汤没有了，用冻在外边的肉再煮一大锅，接着吃。除了粉汤，还要用肉汤作火锅汤底，还用它作混沌汤，用它汆饺子，基本上好日子可以过到正月十五。外祖母在我家过年的时候，全程都要请示她，所以肉的软硬，咸淡以及香料比例都会刚刚好，外祖母不在的时候，都是我爸爸单独操作，妈妈只动嘴，不动手，每年都会有失败的地方，不是肉煮过了，就是香料比例错了，爸爸总会挨埋怨，可我从来没有觉得哪一次的肉不好吃，汤不好喝过。后来我们大了，能够帮爸爸准备年味的时候，我总会告诉爸爸，肉很好吃，汤很好喝，一点也没有妈妈说的那些失败，爸爸总会呵呵呵呵的笑，你说好吃就对了，我也觉得很好吃。现在，我也能够理解妈妈了，她大概更追求她小时候吃惯的那一种味道和感觉，我们其实没有有那种味道的记忆。 
