On Saturday, May 29th, 2004, the TV station broadcast a news that the average temperature in Shanghai has exceeded 22 degrees for five consecutive days, which indicates that meteorology has officially entered the summer. Summer in Shanghai is not easy. It's not only hot during the day, but also hot air blowing in the middle of the night. In addition, the humid environment makes people feel humid, sultry and lazy all day.

Continuous high temperature will make people weak, listless, tasteless and lose appetite, which is called summer sickness in Chinese medicine. Summer onset is a very common disease, and many people don't think so at all. They think that since they have a bad appetite, they should eat less, just to lose weight. Some people eat hot and salty dishes such as mustard tuber and pickles because they have bitter taste in their mouths. In fact, such an idea is tantamount to quenching thirst by drinking poison; Because of sweating in summer, serious physical exhaustion, long days and short nights, the actual time and frequency of human exercise are larger than in winter, so we should pay more attention to the balance and collocation of nutrition in summer. In addition, although eating salty things in summer can speed up the excretion of sweat, it is not advisable to consume too much salt before going to bed, otherwise it will cause the overload of the heart, liver and urinary system, which is completely useless. The proverb "Salt soup is better in the morning and worse in the evening" is a proof.

Boiled dried silk is a refreshing and nutritious summer delicacy. Dried silk, that is, dried tofu, is boiled in a lot of water. This seemingly simple dish, in fact, is not simple, but it is a housekeeping dish in Weiyang cuisine, and it is also the signature dish of Shanghai New Zhenjiang and Meilong Town. This dish smells delicious, and the delicious taste of ham and Kaiyang permeates into the extremely fine dried tofu, which is full of threads. However, there is not a drop of oil flower and no bean smell, which is a delicious masterpiece.

There are two kinds of dried bean curd in the market, one is light brown, commonly known as "dry tea", and the other is white, commonly known as "dry incense". This dish is made of dried incense. The fragrance type of dried incense should be square and elastic, and the color is white and yellowish. It is necessary to smell it. It's the top grade to have bean smell without bean smell. You can even take a look at it when you buy it. The cross section of good quality dried fragrant bean curd is flat and even, while the poor quality dried fragrant bean curd is mixed with bean dregs, or can not be filtered through, and the cross section is uneven. It's rotten when it's cooked.

The dried fragrant incense bought seems to be a small dried fragrant incense stacked on a big fragrant incense, but it is actually indented when it is made, which is convenient for post-division. Dried citron should be sliced first, which is called "slicing" in terminology and "batch" in Shanghai dialect. Before making dried incense in batches, the four sides of "dry incense" should be cut off to make it a complete cube. Batch of dried incense is a very interesting thing, and it is also an excellent opportunity to practice knives. Knives are also very particular. It is best to use a square slicing knife, which can be dipped in water first, or even rubbed with cotton paper dipped in oil, so as to prevent the dry fragrance of slicing from sticking to the knife surface and breaking. When approving, hold the knife in your right hand, place it horizontally with the knife face up, hold the dried incense in your left hand, and cut the knife into dried incense at the parallel angle of the chopping block with your right hand, and approve one piece. Pay attention to the fact that the cutting surface should always be parallel to the chopping block, one knife at a time. Do it in one go, and don't procrastinate, otherwise the thickness of the fragrant dried fruit will be uneven.

I've always heard that senior chefs in New Jinjiang have two unique skills. One is to cut twelve slices of fragrant dried bean curd horizontally, and the other is to cut a piece of tender bean curd into bean curd shreds the size of matchsticks, with the same thickness and length of roots without breaking. I have never tried the latter. I approved this batch of dried incense, from ten at the beginning to thirteen now. After the dried fragrant slices are made, they are stacked together and cut into silk. Of course, the thinner the silk, the better. One knife sticks to everything, you can cut hundreds of knives. In this way, a dried fragrant incense can cut out thousands of dried silk, so three or four dried fragrant incense can make a full bowl. Cut the dried silk and put it in water for later use.

It is not enough to have dried silk, but also ham and Kaiyang. Use the top ham, only lean meat, cut it into very fine shreds (the selection and use of ham have been mentioned before, so I won't repeat it), and clean it first for use. Kaiyang is made by cooking sea shrimps, drying them in the sun, and then shelling them. Good Kaiyang, red and bright, smells fishy, tastes fresh but not astringent, and feels dry and elastic; Kaiyang, poor quality, wet and salty, stinking. It will break when you pinch it with your hand. In Kaiyang, all major southern goods stores sell them, and the price ranges from ten yuan to several hundred yuan according to different quality; Kaiyang is also called golden hook, spring red, autumn red and pigeon foot according to its grade, origin and fishing time. Of course, only gourmets can tell the difference. The shell of Kaiyang is sometimes peeled without peeling, and it can be peeled with a little soaking in water. There are two uses of this dish to promote yang. If you pursue the taste, Kaiyang should be shredded; And if you want to pursue color, just use Kaiyang.

Cook dried silk in chicken soup without oil. More soup, bigger fire, so it is called "chef". After the soup is boiled, add the dried shreds and stir-fry it a little, then add the shredded ham and Kaiyang, cook for an hour, and add salt to the pot. When filling the pot, pull the dried silk, ham silk and Kaiyang silk out to drain the soup, and put them into a small bowl for shaping. Then, pour the small bowl into the shallow soup basin, lift it and pour it on the trapped soup until the soup at the bottom of the basin is one finger deep.

This dish is fresh but not greasy, elegant but not monotonous. If it's too much trouble to do, you can also buy a 100-page thick one and let the stall owner cut the silk with a noodle press, which saves the trouble of drying the slices, but the taste is a little poor. In addition, if there is no chicken soup at home, you can change it to water, which is lighter.