Yes, eggs are definitely better than meat: the rheological history of Chinese eggs

Written by Wei Shuihua

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Whether it is egg in English or dan in Chinese, unless otherwise specified, it refers specifically to "eggs".

This is a rare phenomenon in the comparison of Eastern and Western food cultures. It proves the universal value of eggs on the human table, presents the diverse expressions of eggs in the human kitchen, and also reflects the common preference of human taste buds for eggs.

Yes, eggs are delicious.

No.1

In Chinese, "蛋" is a character that appeared and was used very late. In its evolution, it has had derivative characters such as 蜑, 疍, 鹫, etc. Strangely, although they all have the meaning of proliferation, reproduction, and birth to a greater or lesser extent, they all have derogatory meanings without exception.

This may come from the natural hostility of viviparous animals towards oviparous animals; perhaps it is the vigilance towards "those not of our kind" in the Chinese context; or perhaps it expresses the fear of disorderly reproduction in agricultural society.

In short, it has nothing to do with "delicious".

In archaeological excavations before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, various relics related to eggs were not uncommon, but in literature, eggs were almost nowhere to be found.

In the Book of Songs, which is known as an encyclopedia of the customs of the pre-Qin period, one can find almost all the food ingredients, products, and eating customs of the time. The only thing that is not mentioned is eggs.

In anthropology and history, it is generally believed that the appearance of eggs should be earlier than the beginning of human civilization - as early as the Ape Age, primates had already learned to take out bird eggs. The true history of egg consumption should have been revealed 50,000 years ago when humans in East and South Asia domesticated red junglefowl.

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In an era when meat and milk from livestock such as pigs, sheep, and cows were not yet popular, eggs were the first high-quality animal protein that humans could consume on a stable basis.

In ancient Greek banquets, people had already started using soft-boiled eggs as appetizers before banquets. In the later Roman era, there were even records of using eggs to mix colors for painting. Obviously, eggs had already reached a high popularity rate in the social environment at that time.

Following the path of the spread of domestic chickens, eggs were already very common in contemporary China. There is only one reason why they did not enter the mainstream Chinese diet and become a "delicacy" described in the literature of the Qin and Han dynasties.

Too ordinary.

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In an era when cooking technology was not very developed, eggs, which were in large quantities and easy to obtain, may have been a common tool for Chinese people to fill their stomachs for a long time. They were not great and not worth recording, but they presented the original taste of Chinese food.

Today, many snack eggs with a strong urban flavor are still preserved in snacks all over the country, such as tea eggs.

Essentially, tea eggs are boiled eggs in soy sauce. Putting fermented soybeans and eggs together and cooking them for a long time to make them taste good and color them is a very ancient and simple method. After being heated for a long time, the egg white undergoes a browning reaction, the color becomes darker, and more amino acid salts that represent umami and are easily absorbed by the human body are precipitated. This method does not require too high a temperature or ingredients.

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But in the long-term evolution, ordinary people have developed countless changes. Bay leaves, peppers, cinnamon, star anise, rock sugar, rice wine... all the common seasonings in Chinese food can be added to tea eggs and become part of its flavor.

Tea is the core.

Tea produced in southern China was originally a source of caffeine and theophylline extracted for excitement. However, tea, especially green tea, cannot withstand storage and transportation after it is prepared. Before the Sui and Tang dynasties, China's economic and political core was in the Yellow River Basin, where almost no tea was produced. A large amount of tea fermented and became damp during transportation. In addition to becoming the raw material for fermented tea, making tea eggs became the main use of these tea leaves.

According to tradition, tea eggs made in Jiangsu and Zhejiang must be made with tea leaves from the previous year, preferably with coarse leaves and old stems left over from drinking, slightly damp. It is not that this is not thick enough or not tasty enough when cooked. Adding it to the marinade of tea eggs, with a slight bitter taste, highlights the other salty, sweet, fresh and fragrant flavors.

From the perspective of human taste, this is a very advanced way of seasoning. Just like the Xiahebang cuisine of Sichuan cuisine, which uses well salt with a certain amount of impurities such as potassium chloride and magnesium chloride and a slightly bitter taste to season cold rabbit meat and cold beef, a little bit of bitterness can highlight and amplify the complex flavors of various spices.

Similar to tea eggs are salt-baked eggs, which are popular among Hakka people in Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong. Various spices including bay leaves, star anise and cinnamon are mixed with salt and stir-fried until hot, then the eggs are placed in the mixture and cooked through.

Through the pores on the eggshell, spices and salt will slowly impart a charming flavor to the egg. It may seem crude, but it is actually full of street wisdom.

In Kashgar, Xinjiang, roasted eggs are one of the most popular street snacks. In Uyghur, roasted eggs are pronounced "Tuhong Kawapu": Kawapu means "roasted meat" and Tuhong means "eggs". Although there are various kinds of roasted eggs in the Kashgar night market, such as roasted pigeon eggs, roasted ostrich eggs, roasted duck eggs, and roasted quail eggs, if you ask the store to buy "Tuhong Kawapu" without specifying the egg, you will get a roasted egg.

There is no standard process for roasting eggs at the beginning. They can be cooked in a barbecue oven, charcoal fire, or ashes. You can pierce the eggs with a skewer and roast them raw like lamb; you can also make a small window in the eggshell, add honey and spices, and then roast them. Different methods have their own advantages and flavors, but the only thing that remains unchanged is its civilian appearance and underworld temperament.

No.2

In the 6th century AD, the agricultural encyclopedia "Qimin Yaoshu" came out.

In addition to recording the agricultural landscape and agricultural experience and knowledge at the time, the Qi Min Yao Shu also compiled the cooking methods of agricultural products. A dish called "fried chicken" became the first recorded egg cooking in Chinese history: "How to fry the chicken. Break it, put it in a copper pan, stir until the yellow and white are mixed. Finely chop the scallion whites, add salt, rice, and fermented black beans. Fry it with sesame oil. It is very fragrant and delicious."

From the quality analysis of the ingredients, sesame oil and green onions provide a charming aroma, fermented black beans and salt provide a salty and fresh taste, and eggs are the protagonist of this dish - they are not much different from today's scrambled eggs.

But in essence, what led to the birth of scrambled eggs was not the ingredients or the concept, but the iteration of metallurgical technology: the copper pan.

Although during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, iron smelting technology was not yet sufficient to forge a wok in the sense of today, copper cooking utensils with faster heat conduction had already appeared. With the help of oil, it became possible to quickly stir-fry eggs after they were cracked. Boiling and baking were no longer the only options for eggs.

Today, various kinds of scrambled eggs have become the most important Chinese egg dishes.

Almost all restaurants in North China have a standard dish called "Mushu Pork". In fact, it is a misreading and miswriting of "Muxu Pork". Muxu is osmanthus, which is used to describe the egg white and egg yolk after being fried, which look like silver osmanthus and golden osmanthus. The steroids and amino acid flavor substances in the eggs quickly vaporize at high temperatures, giving off a charming fragrance comparable to osmanthus. This is a metaphor that captures both form and spirit.

In addition to osmanthus meat with pork and black fungus, there is also stir-fried osmanthus with nuts and dried tofu, and stir-fried osmanthus with mushrooms with enoki mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms... They are all built on top of scrambled eggs, making the flavor more special and diverse.

In agriculturally developed areas, it is popular to use abundant fresh vegetables to scramble eggs, such as scrambled eggs with sand onion in the Hetao area of ​​Inner Mongolia; scrambled eggs with locust flowers in Henan and Shandong; scrambled eggs with toon and chives in Jiangnan; scrambled eggs with basil in Guangdong and Guangxi; scrambled eggs with jasmine and bitter thorn flowers in central Yunnan...

In areas with developed aquatic industries and extensive water systems, fresh seafood is paired with eggs, such as Jiangsu's fried whitebait and eggs, Zhejiang's fried dried shrimp and eggs, Fujian's oyster omelette, and Cantonese-style scrambled eggs with shrimps... Even though crabs are difficult to separate and not suitable for other food ingredients, people have used their brains to stir-fry egg whites and yolks separately, add balsamic vinegar and fish meat, and imitate the taste of crabs. "Crab-like" is probably the most popular scrambled egg dish.

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In those areas with relatively backward transportation and scarce materials, there appeared dishes such as scrambled eggs with soybean paste in Northeast China, scrambled eggs with pickled peppers in Guizhou, and scrambled eggs with bacon in eastern Sichuan. At this moment, eggs have become a platform for carrying and diluting the flavor of pickled and cured products.

In short, everything can be scrambled with eggs. This shows that Chinese people are unconventional and creative in choosing ingredients, and also proves the universal value of scrambled eggs that embraces a variety of ingredients and methods.

No.3

After the Tang Dynasty, China's economic center of gravity gradually shifted southward.

This is related to the frequent flooding of the Yellow River and the 700-year-long development of the south since the Three Kingdoms period. The Shanyue and Nanman lands, which were originally barbaric and unruly, gradually became the beautiful Jiangnan land and the rich Lingnan land. Rice has become an increasingly important staple food on people's tables.

In the north, the increasingly serious water shortage and desertification made it possible for cold-resistant and drought-resistant wheat to be used. China's current dietary structure of "rice in the south and noodles in the north" gradually took shape.

But eggs have built a bridge of communication across this chasm of dietary differences: whether it is rice or noodles, the inclusion of eggs has never been a barrier.

For example, Shandong's egg-filled pancakes, Tianjin's pancakes, Shaanxi's egg steamed buns, Henan's egg pot stickers, Zhejiang's chicken buns, Guangdong's egg waffles... The mixture of eggs and flour can naturally increase the protein content in pasta and increase the chewiness of wheat products. During the cooking process, eggs change their nature when exposed to heat, giving off fragrance, which complements the wheat aroma of pasta. If a little cooking oil can be added to it, a variety of pasta that everyone loves to eat can be created.

A bowl of noodles with a fried egg is the best reward for Chinese people everywhere on their birthdays, regardless of their region or origin.

They are faithful interpreters of the Chinese noodle world.

In rice-eating areas, eggs are used as fillings in the production of various rice products. In addition to becoming various egg dumplings and egg cakes, eggs can also be fried with rice. This is the most hidden monk in the world of food - fried rice.

For a chef, making fried rice is a test of his cooking skills. It requires selecting ingredients, cooking the rice, controlling the heat, and making it all in one go. It may seem simple, but each step bears witness to the cultivation of a chef's career.

For diners, fried rice is a dictionary that proves their knowledge and experience. Although the ingredients and cooking methods vary, experienced diners will always separate the dross and keep the essence, peel off the complicated appearance, and see the subtle intentions of the fried rice maker and the quality of the fried rice.

As for the food itself, fried rice conforms to the Chinese tradition of adapting diet to local conditions and deciding how much or how little is appropriate: on the simple foundation of eggs, rice, and chopped green onions, it carries an extremely magnificent taste palace composed of meat, poultry, freshwater fish, seafood, vegetables, and tubers.

Whether it is the dry, fragrant and soft Yangzhou fried rice with rich ingredients, or the Fujian fried rice with rich sauce and delicious taste; or the Guizhou strange rice with complex ingredients, salty and spicy; or the salted fish and chicken fried rice, pineapple fried rice, raw fried glutinous rice, snake blood fried rice, and fried rice that represent the Cantonese flavor... eggs are the real protagonists hidden behind them.

The world of fried rice is huge, but without eggs, it will never be a real world.

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No.4

Starting in the 16th century, the great voyages of discovery gradually influenced China, and the ancient Eastern continent inevitably participated in the world's great exchange of species.

Many important ingredients have entered the Chinese cuisine spectrum, such as tomatoes.

Fresh tomatoes are rich in glutamate. When heated and encounter sodium salt, it will complex to form monosodium glutamate, which is what we often call MSG today.

Interestingly, eggs contain a lot of amino acids such as alanine, arginine, lysine, and serine. Under the action of sodium salt, they will form a variety of amino acid salts. They will synergize with the sodium glutamate formed by tomatoes, making the umami taste multiplied.

This is the basic chemical logic behind adding various flavor nucleotides to MSG to make condiments such as vegetable essence and chicken essence.

Yes, tomatoes, eggs, salt and oil, the four most basic ingredients of the Chinese national dish: tomato and egg, are the real artificial flavor enhancers.

In addition to being one of the most common and popular national home-cooked dishes, it is also often used as a topping for noodles, a filling for steamed buns, a topping for rice, and an introductory ingredient for soup.

The reason is simple: tomato and eggs are so delicious. This natural MSG can be used in any corner of Chinese cooking and is always successful.

-END-

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin traveled all over the country to protect the ancient buildings that were damaged by the war.

Long-term overwork worsened Lin Huiyin's lung disease. In order to replenish her body, Liang Sicheng boiled an egg for her every morning. As for boiling eggs, Liang Sicheng's experience is: eggs boiled for three minutes are the most delicious, and eggs boiled for five minutes are the most nutritious.

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Of course, the variables involved in deliciousness and nutrition are not as simple as Liang Sicheng said. But the courage and wisdom of Liang and Lin, who used small things to achieve big things and simplified things, reflected in an egg can well represent the mental outlook of Chinese intellectuals in that era of enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens:

They are like eggs on the table, with a simple and civilian appearance, but inside they have a delicate taste that is as clear as seeing through fire, and a magnificent Mahayana flavor.

Source: Food and Art