Let’s Talk about Marinated Food with Salt 咸来说卤

按照词典的解释，卤者盐也，特指井盐。而说到卤菜，乃是先有制备完全之卤汁，将已经粗略加工的材料置卤汁中持续以文火加热至入味而成。然而哪怕是一个简单的卤字，所表达的具体手段也不尽一样。譬如说卤蛋，是最最正本清源的卤法，与词典的解释基本一致。卤水一锅，煮蛋数只，徐徐加热，至深厚入味，即可大快朵颐；卤豆腐干、鸡翅鸭腿之流，则必须以热油炮(pao)紧表皮，再行卤制，使其型整，入味，且酥烂适口；猪肉、牛肉，最宜在冷水中焯至八分熟，再下卤锅。多数的食材须半熟或全熟后方可下卤水，尤其是肉食----道理是这样的，生肉的含水量相对较少，一旦加热，卤水中的盐分将大量渗入其中，口味太咸，且生肉带有血污，多少会污染到这锅卤水。一锅好的卤水不应该有如下的缺陷，譬如吃完口渴、口麻、全口燥热、肠胃坠胀等等，基本上是盐酱过多、麻辣过量所致。
According to the definition in the dictionary, Lu(marinate) means salt, especially referring to well salt. Marinated food, or food stewed with soy sauce and spices, means that the chef puts roughly processed materials into a master stock and heats them gently till they become tasty. However, even the simple character of Lu has many possible ways of interpretation. For example, marinated eggs are made with the most radical marinating method, which is essentially the same as the interpretation in the dictionary. Put eggs in a pot of brine water and boil the eggs till they become tasty; marinated preserved tofu and marinated chicken wings and duck legs must be covered with hot oil before being put into brine water, which makes them tasty, crispy, and palatable. Pork and beef are best when being put into cold water and being heated to medium before being marinated. Most ingredients need to be partially or fully cooked before being marinated, especially meat—the truth is that raw meat has relatively less water; once heated, the salt in the brine water will penetrate into the meat and make it salty. In addition, the blood in the raw meat will pollute the brine water. A pot of quality brine water should not have the following defects, such as making people thirsty, numb in mouth, hot and dry in mouth, bloating in intestines and stomach etc., all of which are the result of too much salt and chili.
虽是最简单的烹饪方式之一，卤的关键在于调配好各种卤汁。俗所谓“唱戏的腔，厨师的汤”其实说的就是卤水上的功夫。国中著名的潮州卤水，是南派卤菜的始祖，长江以南各省市的卤法大同小异，多少都与之类同。内容不外乎是糖盐酱油，大小茴香，豆蔻砂仁，陈皮桂皮，沙姜甘草，乃至花椒胡椒，然而用法用量则极其讲究，千变万化。街边买来的便宜卤水食品，大都入口咸重，却后味浅薄，原因就是各种调料的配比来得不讲究。
Although it is one of the simplest ways of cooking, the key to making marinated food is to mix a variety of flavors of brine water. Just like the old saying goes “opera actors rely on his or her voice; good chefs rely on quality soup”, the brine water is the key to making successful marinated food. The famous Chaozhou brine water is the ancestor of the marinated food of the south of China. Provinces in the south of the Yangtze River basically followed the same methods and make similar brine water. The ingredients needed to make the brine water generally include sugar, salt, soy sauce, fennel, cardamom, amomum, dried citrus peel, cinnamon, ginger, licorice and even pepper. However, for quality brine water, chefs must be very particular about how to mix the ingredients and different marinated food may need different compositions. Cheap marinated food bought on the street are mostly salty and with weak flavor, because the cook failed to pay attention to the proportion of the different ingredients.
家乡人是好吃的，什么都想卤一卤。我家姐夫生性幽默，打麻将时遇手气好，也自嘲手是“卤”过的。近些年最有名的，莫过于武汉的卤水菜鸭脖子，已经成了武汉特产的代名词，现在全国人民都视其如下酒恩物。在武汉，同一锅卤水往往同时卤着藕、鸡蛋、香肠、鸭掌、牛骨头，其味相互融合，拥趸甚多，乃是江城夜市一景；而讲究的店家，却只为鸭脖子独备一镬，专卤专用。多有不以为然者，实为未明其所以然：藕蛋肠掌者，可趁热或晾凉食用，滋味各佳，唯鸭颈一项，只宜凉吃----卤水经配制烧滚，下整条鸭颈慢火入味上色，三小时后关火加盖，使其自然凉透，卤水的滋味渗透到鸭颈的每缕纤维之中，啃起来，那是分外地有质感哪。
People from my hometown are fond of delicious food and want to marinate whatever they think will be tasty. My Brother-in-law is full of sense of humor, sometimes he really has the Midas touch when playing mahjong, and he will laugh at himself by saying that his hands have also been marinated. The most famous marinated food in recent years has been Wuhan’s marinated duck neck, which is synonymous with Wuhan specialty and is regarded as the perfect dish to go with wine by people around the whole country. In Wuhan, different foods, such as lotus roots, eggs, sausages, duck’s feet and cow bones, are always put into one pot of brine water. Different flavors integrate with each other and create a unique and savory flavor. While some restaurants keep a pot of brine water especially for duck neck.Many people disagree with this method because they don’t know the reason behind the recipe: lotus roots, eggs, sausages, and duck’s feet will not lose their flavor whether it is hot or cool; in fact, it is better to eat the marinated duck neck when it is cool—put the duck neck into the well mixed boiling brine water and simmer it till the whole neck becomes tasty and colored. Turn off the heat three hours later and cover the food with a lid. Wait till it is cool and the flavor of the brine water has infiltrated into each fiber of the duck neck. The marinated duck neck cooked this way is really tasty and delicious.
卤只能用水吗？当然不是，油也可以，称之为“油卤”。
Can marinated food only be created with a water based broth? Of course not, oil can also be used to cook marinated food. We call it oil brine.
不同于传统的食材思路，最近武汉人把海鲜也给卤了。曰“油浸大虾”，将配方不明的香料投入热油，制成“卤油”，烧至120度大火改小火，入足两寸大海虾后，关火，加盖，待其凉透，其味也入透，捞出沥去浮油上桌----其虾壳肉易于分离，虾肉弹性十足，鲜辣适口。
Different from traditional food ingredients and cooking methods, Wuhan citizens even began to make marinated seafood. One case in example is the marinated shrimps in oil. Put all kinds of spices into the boiling oil to make an oil brine, heat the brine oil to 120 degrees and then turn the heat down, put the two-inche large shrimp into the brine oil, turn off the heat, cover it with a lid and wait till it become cool and tasty, then take the shrimp and remove the oil sludge-the shrimp meat and shell will separate easily. The meat is flexible and spicy.