Hunan cuisine
ElwinRolfson
"Master Liao" is my grandfather, Xiaopeng, and his ancestral home is Xiangtan, Hunan. In his middle age, Grandpa Liao was a top chef in Changsha. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was transferred to Beijing and followed Chairman Mao and cooked for the Chairman. Later, my family moved to Beijing to live in the dormitory of the State Council. My home was just across the street from them at that time. <br />According to Grandpa Liao, Chairman Mao lived a simple life. In addition to work, his favorite sport was swimming. In terms of diet, there are only four dishes, one soup, two meats and two veggies every day. Unless other leaders come and the chairman invites them to eat, the chef will add two extra dishes at will. However, this is rare. The things that suit his appetite most are the braised pork and braised shrimp from his hometown in Xiangtan, but they don't eat them often. They only eat braised pork three times a week. The chairman often said jokingly,"It's time to make a tooth sacrifice to satisfy his cravings," Hehe! Prawns are eaten only once every half of a month. The chairman does not like to eat chicken, so the chef never cooks chicken for the chairman. Stir-fried sour horns with minced meat is a common dish on the chairman's table. <br />We were all surprised to hear it! Grandpa Liao said: "Even if it was his turn to make braised pork for the chairman every time, he would only eat three to five pieces and never eat more, while he only ate two shrimps." The chairman's dietary requirements are the simplest, as long as it tastes smooth, but he never says that the food is not cooked well. If he often cooks for the chairman, he will understand the chairman. As long as he does less food, it proves that he does not like it, but he never asks for anything just because he eats! Chairman Mao loved spicy food all his life. On the eve of the liberation of Peiping, when the Chairman hosted a representative of General Fu Zuoyi, he said on the table: "You are not a hero who cannot eat spicy food." Hehe! Therefore, the chairman likes everything spicy, and no one can persuade him. He thinks spicy is delicious food. The chairman has a heavy mouth and likes heavy and spicy dishes very much. No one can do anything about it! <br />After listening to these stories, everyone is amazed! The life of such a great man is so simple, and these details of life add a sense of admiration that arises from the bottom of his heart! <br />Today, we will make Master Liao's "Mao's Braised Pork". This dish is very simple to prepare. It is just a general cooking method in Changsha, Hunan Province, and does not require frying sugar. Back then, for the sake of Chairman's health, Chairman Mao's personal health doctor advised chefs not to use sugar color, as caramel is not beneficial to the human body. The specific practices are as follows;
