Chapter 49 Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse has a false name. The official name of Bouillabaisse should be Bouillabaisse de Provence, and I have read too many praise articles.Some people say that this fish soup is the first delicacy in Marseille; some people say that there are not many places of interest in Marseille, but fortunately there is this fish soup; some people say that no matter how far you travel, it is worth coming to Marseille to drink fish soup. These praises are all found in words. Some French people say it, and some foreigners say it. Can you still not believe it?If the saying of the first gourmet comes from other countries, there is still room for hesitation, and France is a big gourmet country!So I suffocated and waited to see Marseille drinking Provence fish soup.When I was in Cannes, my friends heard that the fish soup on a local mountain by the sea was good, so I tried it and drank it. When I came back, I praised it, but I didn’t go. I thought that I only go to Marseilles to drink fish soup.

After arriving in Marseille, I asked around, which Provence fish soup is the most authentic.Because the city of Marseille is relatively messy, the catering industry coexists with good and bad, and things that harm customers happen from time to time.After repeated checks and checks, I knew that the one near Laogang was the best, and it was quickly confirmed in two local dining guides, so I made reservations in advance without saying a word, and all rushed to go. This restaurant faces the port. Sitting in the seats, you can see the masts lined up, the waves shining, the fishing boats are still busy unloading freshly caught seafood, and the fishing market on the shore is lively.Let's take a look, and we can be completely relieved about the freshness of the fish soup.

The fish soup was served very quickly. First, there was a large bowl for each table, and the waiter distributed it to each person's shallow basin one by one.The soup was muddy brown, and he frowned immediately after taking a sip of the hot air.It cannot be said to be unpalatable, but it is fishy and salty. It is a mediocre taste. It used to be available in some poor farmers by the sea.I like to eat fish, and I am not afraid of fishy fish, but I still can't compliment this kind of fishy fish that is not adjusted at all. The second dish is the main dish, which is actually made in the same pot as the first soup, but it is just a container of the actual soup.They look good, the red ones are crayfish, the black ones are clam shells, the white ones are fish meat, and three or two pieces of yellow ones are potatoes. They are combined with soup into a pot, one serving per person.Take a sip of the soup first, which is exactly the same as the first soup, so eat the real thing.It is very troublesome to pick out the crayfish meat, and finally, it is a small piece, which can be swallowed in two mouthfuls, and it is not delicious.Then I ate the fish, only to find that it was old and old. It turned out that these aquatic products had been boiled in a big pot for an unknown amount of time. How could the fish withstand such a boil?He had no choice but to sigh, took a piece of potato, and grabbed half a slice of bread to eat. It was considered that he had used up the bouillabaisse.

So what is the problem? There is nothing false about French cuisine, but because the mainstream cuisine is too fastidious, too refined, too ostentatious, and too popular, it has produced a rebellious publicity for folk and folk food.From the data, it turns out that when local fishermen go fishing, the wife is used to cooking the offal fish and shrimp left over from the past two days in a pot and waiting for her husband to come back to drink. This is the Provence fish soup in Marseille.The scene here is warm and touching, and the pot of offal fish and shrimp does have a special delicious taste, so it spreads quickly.But in all fairness, an occasional drink might be fine for the gourmet eater, and by normal standards it's not yet beyond Paleo.This reminds me of the rare and delicious food of ethnic minorities that I often heard when I visited Southwest China.

Gourmet food needs some basic conditions, and generations of chefs need to constantly create norms through exploration and be constantly tested by gourmets.The folk diet is immutable and crudely prepared, so it should not be confused with gourmet food. When food develops to a certain stage, it will return to the basics, and no matter how picky gourmets can’t underestimate home-cooked food, this phenomenon often creates a cultural misunderstanding, thinking that the more local the more it has the significance of promotion, and even the more international significance, in order to deny civilization. Hierarchy, the value of innovation and the meaning of fusion, it's a childish psychedelic.If the more local the more international, then the old peasants in the mountains can go to the United Nations to work.The home-cooked dishes that a person loves again after tasting all the delicacies in the world have actually been strictly re-selected and adjusted, just like Mei Lanfang’s re-selected Peking Opera after traveling in Europe and America. the difference.

The re-selected things do not necessarily have promotional significance.Their existence requires a series of conditions, and letting them wander around without the conditions can only make them mess up. From this, it is associated with the major cuisines in China, and they all encounter a problem of proper positioning.In such a big China, only a few cuisines have been selected, and the power of space is enough to scare people. Coupled with thousands of years of history, the power of time has been heavily added, so the national tradition, cultural precipitation, and regional charm seem to be intimidating. It's all dissolved in the sooty soup, which is beyond doubt.But over time, our tongues are the first to raise objections.After all, dishes are dishes, and the final judgment is based on tasting.Today, few people finally set a solid foundation in catering practice and stick to the purity of a certain cuisine.

Thinking about it carefully, in the past, a local tyrant or a warlord hired a chef in his home very richly. The chef learned a few dishes from the master, which can be regarded as belonging to a certain cuisine.But he has no one to communicate with, and nowhere to learn from. He has used this skill to stir-fry repeatedly all his life. It can be said that he is unambiguously loyal to the master, to the cuisine, and of course to the master, but the master is a bit pitiful.They have been eating these few dishes that their own chef is good at all their lives. Except for one or two men who go out, the meals of the rest of the family will not change for decades.These few dishes are called specialties, and they are really good for the whole family.Of course, there are extremely rare special circumstances. For example, the owner of this family occasionally eats a delicious dish at someone else’s house. The other party happens to be a relative or friend. On a whim, he suggested that the chefs borrow it from each other.But this is only a game played by a few people with moderate temperaments, and most families are afraid of family affairs being leaked, so they don't do this kind of mutual lending.I believe that these chefs do have several masterpieces, but one kind of masterpiece has been repeated countless times, and it is always not the taste.

In the past era, ecological information was blocked, transportation was backward, and semi-primitive food traditions in various places were difficult to optimize.Some people who love their hometown too much always superstitiously believe that the dishes of this province and county are unique in Kyushu, but the uniqueness here can only be understood according to the original meaning.Substantial optimization of diet must be premised on close competition, and only competition can compare, figure out, test, and improve.This point, I think, is difficult to achieve in other places except Yangzhou, Chaozhou and some big cities later due to the early development of commercial civilization.

So it can be said that for a long time, Chinese local dishes were largely locked in the gates of the rich and powerful, confined to one city and one county, and withered in the chaos of war. Although they were maintained by operational chefs, they were rarely promoted by creative masters, and basically stagnated. .The theory of cuisine has its origins, but if it is closed and inbreeding, the same line will inevitably degenerate, withering from generation to generation, and even the early delicacy will gradually deteriorate. The culinary skills of famous restaurants in contemporary metropolises have to look around and improve rapidly in the fierce market competition, and the overall level is naturally far beyond the past.However, the vague images and dignified looks of the past are fascinating, and often make people lose self-confidence today, so they have to use an old name indiscriminately.For the younger generation of Chinese chefs, I really want to advise them not to rely on any old titles, but to devote themselves to their own careful observation of cooking and multi-party communication.In this they should learn from French chefs.Some French chefs are already very famous, and they are used to getting up early, wandering in the vegetable market, looking for the best quality raw materials of the day, and then compiling the menu of the day.Nowadays, after wandering around in the morning, many famous chefs will sit down in a cafe in the vegetable market and discuss with their colleagues in detail, because they believe that subtle changes in natural seasons will make various foods show different flavors, which must be like sailing. Experts study hydrology and meteorology in general, so let's borrow a few more eyes.Of course, these discussions also included competition.It's just that their competition likes to be open and honest, and to pay attention to demeanor.

From bouillabaisse to Chinese dishes and French cooking skills, I couldn't stop writing for a while, because I was enjoying a special kind of pleasure.Because the issues mentioned here have actually gone beyond food and beverages and involved the entire culture, but there are many parts of the culture that cannot be tasted, so they also avoid social judgments.As a result, even the greatest absurdities become outrageously unsavory.Some astute cultural people have discovered the trick, and they deliberately burnt the tasteable culture, turning it into a dizzying black smoke that no longer caters to the world, circling in the blue sky and white clouds.Fortunately, there are still some corners that can be tasted, such as catering, which cannot escape everyone's inspection. In this case, why not talk about it?