舌尖上的美食 第22期:巍山扒肉饵丝 Braised Pork with Ear Piece

Braised Pork with Ear Piece巍山扒肉饵丝

Wei Shan, a small town in Yunnan, was stricken by drought around a thousand year ago. For a town which used to enjoy the mild weather all year along, the drought was completely unbearable. Unexpected and unprepared, the residents, mainly from Yi people, were desperate for food. To search for it, Xi Nu Luo, who later became the chieftain of Nanzhao, a regime in Yunnan province, went hunting with a group of young men. Before entering the forest, they were told that the wildfire had spread the forest due to the drought. As a result, the boars, which they were intended to catch, were burned to death. Not like everyone else who was discouraged by the news, Xi Nu Luo was not disheartened, saying: “The boars were just cooked by the wild fire, so we could simply take them home, stew them for a while and then have a nice meal!” Hearing this, those young men cast doubts on Xi Nu Luo’s fantasy, but with nothing to eat they took the dead boar ially the dead boars were repelled by the residents for they were uncomely and insipid, but Xi Nu Luo made them appetizing and attractive. He put the meat in a large pot, to be boiled gently and stirred very little. Considering the meat was greasy, he suggested that it could be eaten with Ear Piece, a local food which looked like noodles. The combination was considered perfect for the flavor of Ear Piece was mild while the flavor of braised pork was strong. Additionally, the color of the dish was black and white which was assumed aesthetic. Later, Braise Pork with Ear Piece has become a popular dish in Wei Shan.

据祖辈讲，巍山的扒肉饵丝的创始人是南诏国开国元君细奴逻。细奴逻未发祥时，他同彝族同胞一起以打猎为生。有一天，他们在围猎时碰到大火烧山，森林里的野猪被烧死了，他们就把烧黄了的野猪煮着吃，觉得非常香美。后来他们就经常把猎到的野猪用火烧后再煮着吃，渐渐地就流传下来。再后来细奴逻又创造了独具特色的巍山饵丝，让人们把烧猪肉与饵丝配拢着吃，久而久之发展成为今天色、香、味俱全的扒肉饵丝。