Chinese Food 67: Boiled Pork Entrails with Cake Bits卤煮

Among the countless restaurants which serve boiled pork entrails with cake bits in Beijing, the century-old brand “Xiao Chang Chen” is the most famous one. The first “Xiao Chang Chen” restaurant was opened in South Hengjie outside the Xuanwu Gate. “Xiao Chang Chen” has the same qualities as other time-honored restaurants: superior materials, excellent workmanship and generous quantities, so it soon made a name for itself. With more and more customers coming, the broth was incessantly cooked and became even dense and fragrant, which made the business of “Xiao Chang Chen” even better.北京有无数家饭馆卖卤煮，但其中最有名的，是百年老号“小肠陈”。小肠陈最早经营的地界儿，在宣武门外南横街儿。说到小肠陈的特点，其实和所有的老字号都一样，一是选料精致，一是做工认真，再加上量足，于是也就慢慢的出了名。来的人多了，也就可以不间断的熬汤，时间一长，竟剩下一锅老汤。有了这锅老汤，买卖也就没人可比了在。

Lu Zhu Hu Shao (Lu Zhu for short), or Boiled Pork Entrails with Cake Bits, is a traditional snack of Beijing. Its main ingredients are pork intestines, pork lungs and dry bean-curd. Put these ingredients into a cauldron and cook them from morning to lunch time, then put baked wheat cakes into the cauldron. When the margins of the cakes are soaked and softened by the spiced and marinated broth, the boiled pork entrails with cake bits are ready to be served. There are two points which are very important in the preparation work: first, the pork intestines and lungs must be clean; second, the baked wheat cake must be made of “Qiangmian”, which is made in a special way by adding some dry flour into raised dough. If this is not done, the soup will smell unpleasant or the baked wheat cake will be cooked into nothingness. Just like most of other dishes in northern part of China, boiled pork entrails with cake bits features a heavy flavor, because in the cooking process, a large amount of condiments are added into the broth. Based on your own taste, you can add into it chili oil, garlic juice, vinegar, coriander and so on.卤煮火烧，简称卤煮，是北京的一道传统小吃。其主要原料是猪肠、猪肺和干豆腐，用大锅卤制，一般要在清早就开始“卤煮”，快到中午吃饭时间，加入戗面做的火烧，待到火烧边软，即可食用。卤煮火烧比较在意的，一是猪肠猪肺一定要洗的干净，一是火烧一定要戗面的。如果上述两条做不到，那么或是有异味，或是火烧会被煮烂，而无法食用。和北方多数的饮食一样，卤煮火烧以味儿厚见长。在卤制过程中，加入大量的作料。在食用中，可根据个人口味，适量的放辣椒油、蒜汁、醋，以及香菜等等。

Maintaining its own tradition, the entrepreneur behind “Xiao Chang Chen” Chen Yutian not only courageously introduced new ingredients, but also reformed the broth by putting some Chinese herbal medicines into it to remove the smell of the raw meat and make the soup more aromatic. The gathering of different ingredients as small intestines, pork lungs, pork tripe, pork hearts, pork livers, plain boiled pork, tofu, and baked wheat cakes and the fresh fragrant broth make it irresistible.在继承传统的同时，陈玉田不仅大胆引入从前没有的卤品，使汤锅里的“内容”更为丰富，还对多少年一贯制的卤汤进行“改革”，加入几味去腥提味的中草药，让其味道更为香浓。小肠、肺头、肚子、猪心、猪肝、白肉、豆腐，火烧……各类质地不一、口感各异的卤品“欢聚一堂”，再加上那锅鲜香扑鼻的卤汤，吊足了顾客胃口，勾动着食客馋欲。

Besides its special flavor, the cook’s performances when cooking are also very enjoyable.除了独特的风味，北京小吃制作中的表演性，更让人流连忘返。

The making of boiled pork entrails with cake bits is carried on before the eyes of the customers. Before you start to taste the delicious food, your eyes have already feasted. If you had ever seen Mr. Chen making the boiled pork entrails with cake bits, you would not be surprised to hear the story that he picked coal-balls out of the broiling stove chamber with his bare hands. For Mr. Chen, the boiling broth is just like the cold water from the pipes. Sometimes he put his bare hands into the boiling pot to check the ingredients. He was very calm and composed when doing all of this, which was really amazing.卤煮火烧“明案”操作，让食客赏心悦目，未曾动箸，眼睛已自“进食”不断。你若是亲眼目睹陈玉田老人在卤汤锅前忙碌的情景，再听到从热炉膛里奔外捡煤球的事儿便不觉得稀奇。那锅热浪翻滚的卤汤，在陈老先生看来与刚从自来水管子接的凉水并无二异。只见他不时把手探将进去，随心所欲地在锅中捞取各种卤品，其动作之泰然，神态之平静，令人叹为观止。

He was also quite familiar with the chopping methods of all kinds of ingredients: chop the baked wheat cakes into square figures, bean curd into triangle, small intestines into sections, and lungs into tiny pieces. Before your eyes have seen clearly, all the ingredients have already been put into the bowls separately. At last, Mr. Chen scooped the broth and poured it over the multiple layers of chopped ingredients slowly, and then his work was done. The procedure of pouring the broth is not easy at all. If the broth is not enough, the dish will not be so tasteful; if the broth is too much, the food will be covered and slip out of your sight.卤品置于案头，切法已在心中。火烧井字落刃，豆腐三角给刀。小肠花样分断，肺头剁烂筋脑。一阵眼花缭乱之后，各种卤品已然分门别类码放碗中。最后，陈老爷子舀起一勺浓浓的卤汤，慢慢淋落在层层叠叠的卤品之上，开始为自己的“作品”杀青。可别小看浇汤。汤少了，卤品不能入味，吃来味道太淡。汤多了，将“货”淹没，又丢了碗中风景。