潘江濤

“浙菜”由杭幫、甬菜、甌饈和紹味構成，屬中國八大菜系之一，久負盛名。

杭幫，乃“杭幫菜”之簡稱，是一種“南北合”的菜肴，擅長煮、燉、燜、煨，重原汁原湯。金華人相對口重，卻不排斥清新、淡雅、細膩的杭幫菜，甚至還有“百吃不厭”之感。

一

江南憶，憶江南，一定不會忘記老底子的杭幫菜。

所謂的老底子，不妨從良渚文化遺址中尋找：五千多年前，杭州人就已懂得“飯稻羹魚”——用稻米做飯，用魚鮮做羹，專家認為，此乃杭幫菜的雛形。

一方水土養(yǎng)一方人。隨著時代發(fā)展，杭幫菜博采眾長，漸漸從“浙菜”中脫穎而出，執(zhí)“浙菜”之牛耳，不能不歸功于大運河的開鑿和宋室的南渡。

隋代錢塘升郡，大運河開通，南方財富匯聚于杭，北上中原。臨安（今杭州）由此成為融經(jīng)濟、文化、政治、交通于一體的南北大動脈終端，匯集了各地的飲食風情。譬如，京幫擅長制作難度較大的“硬菜”——熊掌、燕窩、魚翅、海參……，這些山珍海味強調吊湯、重火勁、重入味，菜品味醇、香厚。有了大運河的便利，杭州的眾多酒家、餐館引進了不少京幫菜館的優(yōu)秀廚師，他們各展所長，杭幫菜中自然少不了清扒魚翅、稀鹵海參、蟹黃魚肚等等高檔京幫菜。而且，廚師們在菜肴風味上略加改進，更迎合南人的胃口。

宋朝君臣原是居住在黃河流域的北方人，傳統(tǒng)食物是面條和羊肉。當年，他們因“靖康之難”被迫遷都于杭州（臨安）后，把飲食習慣也帶到了江南。而都城臨安既有物產(chǎn)豐博之利，又有碧海青山之秀，當?shù)厝擞稚朴诓┎杀婇L，終于造就南北雜糅的杭幫菜完整體系。到了清朝，杭幫菜達到更高水平，乾隆西湖行宮御膳食譜保存至今，仍不失為杭幫菜的精美縮影。

所以說，杭州的美，不僅美在“東南形勝”，也美在“自古繁華”;不僅美在“春來江水綠如藍”，也美在江河之外的“商賈云集，酒肆林立”。如果說靈山秀水是來自大自然的豐厚饋贈，那么杭幫菜便是點綴于山水間的飾物，南北輝映、相得益彰。

有評論家說，中華民族大大小小的融合數(shù)不勝數(shù)，大多湮沒在歷史的長河里，但杭幫菜歷時八百年 ，既能高度融合又能清楚分辨南北特色，不得不說是個傳奇。

二

一款好的菜肴，不外乎色、香、味、形俱全。杭幫菜之所以是個“傳奇”，除了看色聞香品味之外，更能發(fā)揮想象，體悟意境。

意境，景中有情，情中有景，情景交融，是中華民族在長期藝術實踐中形成的一種審美意趣。杭幫菜既注重色香味，更講究意境美，以滿足消費者精神上的快感和對現(xiàn)實生活的體味?！秹袅讳洝氛f：“杭城風俗，凡百貨賣飲食之人……盤食器皿，新潔精巧，以炫耀入耳目……”

美饌美器，美美與共。只要稍微留意，即能發(fā)現(xiàn)杭州的大廚善于運用刀法、配色、裝盤等烹飪技藝和美學原理，把精與美、強與巧有機結合，在不經(jīng)意中呈現(xiàn)出一種含蓄之美。譬如，傳統(tǒng)名菜薄片火腿，片片厚薄均等、整齊劃一，每片紅白相間，造型猶如江南水鄉(xiāng)的拱橋，猶如一幅超脫絕俗的水彩畫。

“一菜一典”，又是杭幫菜的另一文化特色。像東坡肉的軼聞、叫化雞的來歷、西湖醋魚的傳說、龍井蝦仁的聯(lián)想、宋嫂魚羹的佳話以及莼鱸之思的寓意，無不詩情畫意，趣味盎然。

不獨如此，念一念那些傳統(tǒng)名菜名點，也都是滴溜溜的順口——龍井蝦仁、叫花童雞、蜜汁火方、清蒸鰣魚、火蒙鞭筍、荷葉粉蒸肉、西湖莼菜湯、咸件兒、片兒川、貓耳朵等，光聽聽菜名，就仿佛置身煙波浩渺的西子湖畔，臨湖沐風，推杯換盞，談笑風生。

“賞西湖景、吃杭幫菜”，是杭州作為國際旅游城市的標志性主題。從十年前即2011年11月10日開始，杭州市就開啟了兩場有關“杭幫菜”的盛大賽事。前一場聚焦的，是已經(jīng)在歲月的淘漉中沉淀了口碑和人氣的精品菜肴;后一場關注的，則是老百姓家席的美味和創(chuàng)意。

那時候，我已著手金華風物的挖掘與整理，雖說注意到了這兩場盛大賽事，卻苦于公務纏身，無緣現(xiàn)場觀摩。好在我記下了《杭州日報》記者柯靜的精彩描述：

當杭菜廚師以一手堪比掌上舞蹈的精湛烹飪技術，驚艷全場的時候;當杭州美食作為一張金名片，走向世界、享譽海外，并為宣傳杭州立下汗馬功勞的時候;當中外游客在“美食天堂”，對立足傳統(tǒng)又不斷推陳出新的杭幫菜贊不絕口的時候;當杭菜品牌國際化發(fā)展戰(zhàn)略，一點點變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實，呈現(xiàn)讓人驚嘆的杭幫菜效應的時候……蘇東坡的那句“天下酒宴之盛，未有如杭城也”，由此得到了最好的詮釋。

食，不分貴賤。吃前有期待、吃后有回味的東西就可以稱之為美食。在杭州，城市的繁華，西湖的靜美，文化的延續(xù)，最后都匯集到了一道道菜肴中。

2016年9月，杭州承辦高規(guī)格、高難度的G20峰會，各國首腦面對可口的杭幫菜，既飽口福，又享眼福。

三

一個城市、一個街巷以及一戶人家廚房的味道非常執(zhí)著，是輕易改變不了的。然而，你千萬不要以為，上得了國宴的“硬菜”只有樓外樓、知味觀、豐聚園、山外山等名店名館才有。

杭州人愛吃懂吃，也會做吃。只要是家庭聚會，或者有朋自遠方來，他們都會上有名館子、街頭小店點上一桌特色菜，或者是卷起袖子、圍上圍裙，炒幾個杭州的家常菜，眾人一起盡情享用老底子的杭州味道。

“龍井蝦仁”是20世紀二十年代推出的新菜，大小餐館都能做。這道菜用龍井茶的嫩芽搭配蝦仁烹制而成，原料簡簡單單，蝦仁與幾葉綠茶之外再無他物，可謂簡單到了極致;調料也很少，三兩種而已。蝦仁白嫩晶瑩，龍井翠綠欲滴，盛在潔白的餐盤里，自是一幅十分清雅的文人小品畫。記得1972年美國總統(tǒng)尼克松訪華時，周恩來總理在杭州設宴招待，菜單上就有此菜。

美食的好壞，和店鋪的名氣并沒有完全對等的關系。無人敢說，小店鋪就做不出好菜肴。一些真正的美食，往往需要我們帶著發(fā)現(xiàn)的目光去尋找。譬如，當年那只香透了的老頭兒油爆蝦如今已經(jīng)做成了杭州本地知名的連鎖品牌。

老頭兒，是一些老杭州人對老爸的稱呼;油爆蝦，則是杭州土著最愛的下酒菜。誰能想到，當“老頭兒”和“油爆蝦”撮合到了一塊兒，居然成就了一家極為火爆的餐館。

退職離崗前，杭州雖說沒有少去，卻一直無緣得見那“火爆”場景。不過，讀一讀李郁蔥、王珍的描述，你就能感知什么叫“小店不小”。

“杭州人愛吃，這造就了杭州美食江湖的一些獨特景象，像現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)很有名的開了很多連鎖店的一家油爆蝦店，當年在一個深深巷子里開第一家的時候，那個老板極牛，瘸著個腿，客人點菜多了他要生氣，說夠了，然后給你劃掉幾個……”

這是李郁蔥的話語，而王珍說得更直白：

“幾回試吃之后，感覺老頭兒絕不僅僅是傳說，他也是個真實?！薄懊客?時30分，時間一到即刻打烊，不管還有多少嗷嗷待哺的食客在排隊。店家很牛：‘鈔票是賺不光的。日復一日，天天是這樣的長隊。”

前不久去杭州訪友，在街頭小店見著有一只簡淡素靜，如同素齋的“荷塘小炒”，歡喜得不行。

那家小店很偏僻，雖說少了油爆蝦店的熱鬧，但蓮子、秋菱和藕帶3種食材，均來自鄉(xiāng)間荷塘。下鍋清炒，只用極少量的素油，大火熗了十幾秒。上得桌來，清清白白，猶如宋人小品，自帶遠山野畈的清氣，更有陶潛布衣歸耕南山的蒼古怡然。

還有，韭芽雞絲、調羹步魚、醬爆螺螄、飯焐茄子、干菜鴨子……杭幫菜吃不厭，也說不盡。但每臨酒宴散席，肚子為何還有“空落落”之感？

對了，少了“片兒川”。不妨再叫一大盆，大家分分，每人一小碗，這才溫心暖胃。

片兒川，是杭州餐館的頭牌主食。面的底料是咸菜肉絲和筍片，次次現(xiàn)炒，而杭州人喜歡的倒篤菜是一切“鮮”美之源。底料炒好后，加三勺清水，倒篤菜與嫩筍爆炒的鮮就開始在鍋里竄開，湯水一滾，三兩堿面下鍋，也是要滾幾秒才能撈起，為的就是讓面吃透那個“鮮”。一碗一燒，腌了一個月的倒篤菜，天地間自然發(fā)酵之美都收凝在這一碗中。何況，杭州人還喜歡在滾面過程中加點鹽或者醬油，這就是他們家常的最愛?！帮枴焙汀磅r”俱備，就是一碗好面。

片兒川，是否屬于杭幫菜系列，我不曾探究。但我知曉，杭州江洋畈有座杭幫菜博物館，那里展出的菜品豐富，體系齊全，光菜名就有多種版本。

手頭有一組數(shù)據(jù)是官方發(fā)布的：1956年評定杭州名菜36道，2000年評了48道，2006年評了108道。而民間流傳的菜品少說也有500道，每一道都飄逸著“媽媽的味道”。

The Story of Hangzhou Cuisine

By Pan Jiangtao

Zhejiang cuisine is famously known as one of the eight traditional Chinese cuisines， featuring Hangzhou， Ningbo， Shaoxing and Wenzhou flavors. And among the four flavors， Hangzhou flavor is of a fusion taste， combing the flavors both from the northern and southern parts of China. For Hangzhou cuisine， the cooking techniques of boiling， stewing， simmering are frequently used， and the ingredients and their liquids tend to be seasoned lightly.

When thinking about Jiangnan （south of the Yangtze River）， people always think about traditional Hangzhou dishes.

The traditions of Hangzhou dishes could be traced back to the Liangzhu Culture. As early as over 5，000 years ago， Hangzhou locals had already used paddies to cook rice and fish meat to make soup， which， according to experts， is the original form of Hangzhou dishes.

The fact that Hangzhou cuisine stands out from Zhejiang cuisine is attributed to the opening of the Grand Canal and the southward movement of the Song dynasty （960-1279）.

During the Sui dynasty （581-618）， money from southern China flew into Hangzhou， a hub of economy， culture， politics， transportation， as well as food. Many local restaurants hired excellent Beijing chefs， who introduced luxurious Beijing dishes such as sharks fin， sea cucumbers， crab and fish maw into the Hangzhou cuisine after slightly changing the flavors for the southern taste buds.

The ruling class of Song dynasty were originally northerners living in the Yellow River Basin， habitually living on noodles and mutton. When they were forced to move to Hangzhou （then known as Linan）， they also brought along their eating habits. Gradually a complete set of Hangzhou cuisine mixing northern and southern flavors was created. In the Qing dynasty （1616-1911）， Hangzhou cuisine developed to a higher level， evidence of which could be found in the well-preserved recipes of the imperial residence at the West Lake for Emperor Qianlong （1711-1799）.

If Hangzhous beautiful landscape is natures gift， then the local cuisine， an 800-year legend， certainly made the place more attractive.

A good dish is always expected to excel in color， aroma， taste， and shape. Hangzhou cuisine has more to offer： it touches peoples heart and gives them a space for imagination， a spiritual pleasure and a taste of real life.

Behind the Hangzhou cuisine are chefs who are adept at using culinary techniques and aesthetic principles. Their excellent skills with knife， color matching and plating adds some subtle beauty to the dishes.

Whats behind the Hangzhou cuisine are poetic legends， too. It is said that for every Hangzhou dish there is a story to make the dish tastier and more interesting. And the names of the traditional Hangzhou dishes are also easy and smooth to read out loud.

Hangzhou as an international tourist city has been attracting visitors and “enjoy the West Lake and Hangzhou cuisine”. On November 10， 2011， Hangzhou started to host two grand events celebrating its local cuisine. The first one focused on the exquisite fine dishes that have already been popular， while the second one focused on the home-cooked food that are delicious and creative.

In September 2016， Hangzhou hosted the G20 Summit， where heads of state were impressed by the delicious Hangzhou cuisine.

The flavor of a city， a street and a family cannot be easily changed. Apart from the famous restaurants such as Louwailou， Zhiweiguan and Fengjuyuan which serve abundant meat dishes qualified for a national banquet， there also are eateries or street vendors where one can taste the real Hangzhou.

“Longjing Shrimp” is a new dish introduced in the 1920s， widely served in restaurants， large and small. Always on a white plate， this elegant-looking dish only uses fresh shrimps which are white and crystal， and a few emerald green tea leaves， with very little seasoning. No wonder this dish was put on the menu for a banquet hosted by Premier Zhou Enlai in Hangzhou to entertain U.S. President Richard Nixon， who visited China in 1972.

However， it does not necessarily take a large restaurant to make really good food. Small eateries can also provide customers with hearty and delicious dishes， and the authentic Old Mans Oil-Popped Shrimp is one of them. By combining the name “old man” （“dad” in Hangzhou dialect）， and oil popping shrimp， a local favorite， it has turned into an unexpectedly popular restaurant chain that is always packed. And there are quiet， relatively isolated， thus less-packed eating?places as well， which are inviting in their own way.

When it comes to warm dishes that are close to the heart of Hangzhou locals， Pian Er Chuan， noodles with preserved vegetables， sliced pork and bamboo shoots in soup， are certainly not to be missed.

It is the top staple served by many Hangzhou restaurants. The base of the noodles is shredded pork stir-fried with bamboo shoots， and authentic preserved vegetable is the umami element of this dish. When the base is done and ready to use， three spoons of water will be added to bring out the freshness of the stir-fried shredded pork and bamboo shoots. Next， when the soup boils， some alkaline noodles will then be put into the pot to cook for a few seconds before taking them out into a bowl. This is to maximize the “freshness” of the noodles. Some Hangzhou locals make Pian Er Chuan at home， and they like to add a small amount of salt or soy sauce in the middle of the cooking， to enrich the flavor in a homely style.

In Hangzhou， there is a Hangzhou Cuisine Museum where a complete system of Hangzhou local dishes can be found. Here are some officially released data： in 1956， 36 Hangzhou dishes were selected into the famous Hangzhou Cuisine system， in 2000， the number grew to 48， and in 2006，108. And there are at least 500 dishes widely and dearly loved by Hangzhou folks， because these dishes remind them of their “mums cooking”.

Different places will feature different foods and different flavors. It is always important to inherit and innovate the local dishes， and let the food culture of different places flourish， for it is the differences that have made each place unique in their own way.