Braised pigeon is one of the traditional famous dishes in Guangdong Province and belongs to the Cantonese cuisine. The main ingredients are pigeons, which are characterized by crispy skin, smooth meat, tender bones and juicy. Braised Shiqi pigeon in Zhongshan, Guangdong is a famous dish for state banquets.
There has always been a saying among the people that “one pigeon is better than nine chickens”. Braised pigeons are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. When eating braised pigeons, most people do not even let go of the bones, because the pigeons that have been stewed and fried are fragrant to the bones.
As one of the “Three Treasures of Guangming”, Guangming pigeons have the reputation of “the best pigeon in the world” and are the authentic food signature of Shenzhen.
Historical Origin
The popularity of eating pigeons in Guangdong is obviously affected by the introduction of foreign pigeon breeds. The excellent pigeon breed Zhongshan Shiqi pigeons that are still used in Guangdong restaurants are actually hybrids of white-feathered king pigeons, home pigeons and local pigeons brought back from the United States by overseas Chinese in 1915. The most popular braised pigeon in Guangzhou is also not a local flavor, but a product influenced by Western food.
According to the “Story of Chinese Cantonese Cuisine”, braised pigeon was first created by Taiping Restaurant, a Western restaurant established in Taipingsha, Guangzhou in 1885. The owner, Xu Laogao, was originally a handyman in the canteen of Qichang Foreign Company. According to the “Famous Western Dishes Textbook” compiled and printed by the Guangzhou Catering Service Advanced Technical School in 1963, braised pigeon is fried pigeon, and braised pigeon has gradually changed from a representative dish of Western restaurants to a representative dish of Cantonese cuisine. In 1939, the “Jingbao” published an article titled “Song Meiling Likes to Eat Braised Pigeon” to introduce that the Western dish “braised pigeon” that Song Meiling liked was a Guangdong specialty, because pigeons were a unique treasure of poultry in Guangdong, and “the ones produced in other places were far less plump and delicious.”
The origin of Zhongshan braised Shiqi pigeon is not in Zhongshan, but in a Chinese-Portuguese restaurant in Macau – Foxiaolou. The founder of the restaurant, Huang Mincheng, was originally from Zhongshan. In order to cater to the eating habits of the Portuguese natives in Macau, Huang Mincheng’s restaurant created a baked Shiqi pigeon dish, and the cooking method is more refined: select 21-28 days old pigeons weighing about 8 liang, soak them in white brine, and then bake them in the oven. “Xindu” magazine published an article titled “Pigeon” in the 23rd issue of 1943, recording a diner’s “exploration” process in Foxiaolou. He praised the pigeon for being “deep-fried but not burnt, and solid but not dry”. Since Macau was a thoroughfare between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau at that time, the way to eat braised Shiqi pigeon was also spread.
Braised Shiqi pigeon in Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel, Guangdong. At that time, many national leaders went south for inspection and stayed at Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel. Braised Shiqi pigeon was also one of their must-order dishes. One day in May 1994, Zheng Weishu, then general manager of Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel, received a call from his superior, asking Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel to send two chefs to Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to cook Shiqi pigeon for the state banquet. Since then, Shiqi pigeon has been served as a local specialty on state banquet tables, becoming a shining name card of Zhongshan’s urban culture. The cooking skills of Shiqi pigeon were also passed on by the chefs of Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel to the chefs of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Later, it spread to major hotels in Beijing and became a famous dish in Beijing.
There is also a saying that historically, “braised pigeon” originated from the kitchen of the coastal defense barracks on Dapeng Peninsula during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and is one of the main representative dishes of the military cuisine of Dapeng Fortress. There is a saying among the people that “one pigeon is better than nine chickens”. Shenzhen braised pigeon is one of the most popular pigeon dishes. [2] Braised pigeon is a representative traditional dish of Shenzhen. It has the traditional skills of Hakka people and takes into account the folk characteristics of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It is a valuable intangible cultural heritage of the catering industry.
Ingredients:
Ingredients: one pigeon, one portion of brine, a few slices of ginger, 2 scallions, two chilies, and appropriate amount of oil.
Crispy water: 1 spoon of honey, 1 spoon of rice vinegar, and a few drops of light soy sauce.
Brine: cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, pepper, star anise, tangerine peel, grass fruit, licorice, monk fruit, ginger, pepper, soy sauce, rock sugar, etc. The taste of the raw materials cannot be particularly prominent. If the taste is particularly prominent, it means that too much is added.
Production method
The production of braised pigeon is relatively complicated, and it is divided into multiple processes such as braising, rinsing, hanging, drying, and frying. The core process is divided into two steps: one is braising pigeon, and the other is frying pigeon.
Steps:
- Wash the pigeon and take out the internal organs, and soak it in a hot water bath (scalding).
- Prepare the brine. The brine should be prepared in advance. If the materials can be complete, then they should be complete. If not, try to make up as much as possible. The taste of one or two of them cannot be particularly prominent. The cooked brine is mellow and fragrant. It is best to save the brine after braising the food, store it in the refrigerator, take it out and heat it every few days, add a little bit of spices each time you stew it, and continue to store the brine after finishing it. Such brine will become more fragrant as it cooks.
- Add ginger slices, shallots, and dried chili to the blanched pigeon, and then put it in the blanched pigeon. Boil for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat and soak for 40 minutes.
- Take out the braised pigeon and dry it.
- Prepare the crispy skin water.
- Use a brush to brush the crispy skin water on the dried pigeon, brush it all over, and then put it in a ventilated place to dry.
- Continue to brush a layer of crispy skin water on the dried pigeon, continue to dry, repeat 3 or 4 times, and the drying process is best for about 3 hours.
- Heat oil in a pan, use a spoon to scoop oil on the pigeon until the pigeon turns golden yellow.
Tips:
- The braised pigeon here is made in a relatively easy way, that is, the brine is brine, then dried, and then fried. It will be more convenient to operate, but this method is easy to master improperly, which will make the pigeon meat old and the fragrance of the pigeon will be lost.
- The most important point of braised pigeon is to marinate the marinade properly before frying, so that it is flavorful enough, and the marinade is suitable to be slightly salty, because the soaking time is not long. If the marinade tastes light, the pigeon may not be flavorful enough. However, if it is not flavorful enough, you can also enjoy it with Huai salt.
- Whether drizzling with oil or frying, you need to control the oil temperature. The oil temperature should be high. It is easier to control if you drizzle it, and it will be golden, crispy and bright. If you fry it, if you don’t control it well, the pigeon will likely precipitate water when it is put into the pot, and the skin may turn black all of a sudden. Unprofessional drizzling with oil feels safer. The oil temperature is high and the color is fast, so that the pigeon is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so that the juice of the pigeon will not be lost.
- The pigeon is delicious when it is fresh out of the oven.
