天津的早点诱惑

天津的早点诱惑

如果说南方的早餐，内容之丰盛、制作之精良非粤式早点莫属；那北方早餐的代表必然是天津早点了。不说狗不理包子、耳朵眼炸糕这些享誉海内外的吃食，就这简简单单的一顿早餐，天津人同样格外地讲究。无论是一套刚刚摊出来的煎饼果子，还是一碗热乎乎的豆腐脑，都是天津人的心头爱。

Fried Dough Twists.天津大麻花

Taste is essential for breakfast and especially important to the people of Tianjin. The people there seldom cook breakfast at home because they love to eat out. Although the streets are fi lled with breakfast shops, the "Tianjin locals" are very experienced and picky when it comes to the day's fi rst meal. They care not about the size or decoration of restaurant, only the smell of its food. They know exactly who serves the most authentic foods, which Chinese crepe with pastry uses good ingredients and smells the best, who fries the largest and most crispy donuts, and what sauces are used to make Gabacai (pancake stripe noodles).

So what breakfasts do the "Tianjin locals" eat? Goubuli Stuffed Bun, 18th Street Fried Dough Twists, Gabacai, Chinese crepe with donut, fried cake, fried Chinese burrito, Douhua Youtiao (Chinese donut)…… These foods are mostly “steamed” or “fried” and symbolise "thriving, reunion, growth, and prosperity." The people of Tianjin love to eat and chat, and for them, each day starts with their breakfast.

Gabacai

Gabacai, or pancake stripe noodles. Evolved from the Shandong crepe. Gabacai is made using mung bean crepe (called "gaba" by Tianjin people) cut into thin strips mixed with marinade sauce. Fermented bean curds, chilli paste, dried sausage, sesame sauce, and parsley may also be added according to individual taste. The result is a beautiful dish with pungent aroma and light refreshing taste. The "Gaba" is tender and chewy. This dish is perfect when eaten with sesame fl at bread.

Gabacai is best when eaten hot. As the main ingredient is mung bean, the dish is detoxifying, appetising, healthy, and has a taste you'll never get tired of.

Chinese Crepe with Cruller

In modern cities, breakfasts are required to be simple and quick. The people of Tianjin understand this. Authentic Chinese crepes can only be found in breakfast stands along the sidewalks or in the communities. The mung bean paste is spread into a thin but unbroken circular layer. The eggs ensure the nutritional value. The crisp fritter and wonton skin are fried into a golden crisp. Seasonings include fl our paste, diced green onions, and chilli sauce. The dish is soft outside and crisp inside, refreshing and delicious, and takes only two minutes to enjoy.

1. Gabacai (pancake stripe noodles).

嘎巴菜。

2. Sesame-seed baked cakes.

芝麻烧饼皮酥脆，瓤松软，清香可口。

3. Mutton Offal Soup.羊杂汤也是天津人喜爱的早餐之一。

Fried Cake

Fried cake is one of the well known traditional snacks of the Hui people in Tianjin, and is regarded as one of the "three Tianjin must have foods" along with the Goubuli Stuffed Buns and the 18th Street Fried Dough Twists. The ingredients include raw dough made with local yellow rice and glutinous rice fi lled with bean paste made with cinnabar red bean. The cakes are placed in a warm oil pot, and turned and fried until their skins transform into a golden crisp. When you take a bite, you can clearly distinguish the golden, white, and black colours. The golden colour comes from the crispy skin, the white part is the chewy but non-sticky skin made with glutinous rice, and the black part is the sweet and refreshing red bean paste fi lling. The entire combination is quite unique.

Goubuli Stuffed Bun

The stuffed buns of Tianjin are the most economical and popular food. They are also very well reputed in the north, the entire nation, and around the world. The stuffed bun that can best represent Tianjin is no doubt the "Goubuli Stuffed Bun." The fl our and stuffi ng of Goubuli Stuffed Buns are made using the best ingredients under the strictest process. They have beautiful perfect shapes with no holes or leaks, take the shape of a chrysanthemum fl ower, and each bun has 15 to 16 folds. The freshly steamed buns are refreshing, not greasy, aromatic, and delicious. The fi llings are usually meat based and come in a few variations: sea food, marinated meat, vegetable and others. The key features of the Goubuli Stuffed Buns are their abundant juices and that they are always eaten steamy hot right after removal from the steamer tray. The art of eating the buns is to place a bun on a dish before its skin breaks, softly bite a hole into the skin, drink the delicious juice in the bun, and then eat the fi lling and the skin. The regular Tianjin diners are known as the “bun eating masters”!

早餐，味道至关重要，天津人最懂得这一点。老天津人很少自己在家做早餐，喜欢去外面吃早点。虽然大街小巷里充斥着大大小小的早点店，但“天津土著”吃早点很有心得和讲究。他们不看店面的大小、装潢，只在乎早点的味道，对于哪儿的东西正宗他们了如指掌，知道哪儿的煎饼果子用料好、味道香，哪的果子炸得又大又脆，嘎巴菜里面放的是什么卤。

一顿丰盛的早点下肚能到中午都不饿。“天津土著”都吃吗早点？狗不理包子、十八街麻花、嘎巴菜、煎饼果子、炸糕、大饼夹卷圈、豆腐脑油条……以蒸、炸为主，寓意着“蒸蒸日上、团团圆圆，红红火火、兴兴旺旺”。一边吃，一边聊，天津人一天的生活就从吃早点开始。

嘎巴菜

嘎巴菜，又称锅巴菜。由山东煎饼演变而来，绿豆煎饼（天津人称为嘎巴）切成细条，拌入制好的卤汁，根据个人口味加入腐乳汁、辣椒糊、香干片、芝麻酱和香菜末。不仅色形美观，吃起来清香扑鼻、素淡爽口，嘎巴香嫩有咬劲。同芝麻烧饼一起食用味美适口。

嘎巴菜最好是热吃，因为主料是绿豆，能解毒清热，开胃健脾，有益健康，百吃不厌。

煎饼果子

现代城市里，早餐的首要需求就是要简单快捷。味道正宗的煎饼果子在早点摊，马路边或者社区里才能见到。绿豆面展开一个美妙的圆形，薄匀不破，鸡蛋保证营养，馃箅儿（薄脆），馄饨皮油炸而成，金黄酥脆。配以面酱、葱末、辣椒酱作为佐料，外柔内脆，鲜香兼备，享受它只需要两分钟。

炸糕

炸糕，天津地区著名的回族传统小吃之一，与狗不理包子、桂发祥麻花并称“津门三绝”。面皮原材料是当地产的黄米和江米，用朱砂红小豆制成豆馅。包好后温油下锅，勤翻勤转，这样炸出的炸糕，色泽金黄爆“刺儿”，咬一口，黄白黑三色分明。黄的是焦黄酥脆的外皮；白的是糯米的皮料，柔软糯黏，有嚼头又不粘牙；黑的就是细甜爽口的豆沙馅，别有风味。

狗不理包子

天津包子，是经济实惠的大众化食品，在北方，在全国，乃至世界许多国家都享有极高的声誉。最能代表天津包子的，当属狗不理包子。狗不理包子的面、馅选料精细，制作工艺严格。外形美观，不走形，不掉底，不漏油，呈菊花形状，每个包子都有 15—16 个褶。刚出笼的包子，鲜而不腻，清香适口。以鲜肉包为主，兼有三鲜包、海鲜包、酱肉包、素包子等。因为包子讲究油大汁多，加之现出屉现吃，又热又烫口。吃时趁包子还没有破裂迅即放入碟中，轻轻咬破包子皮，把包中的汤汁吸饮下肚，然后再吃包子的馅和皮，老天津食客堪称吃包子高手。

Chinese crepe with donut.全国人都爱吃的煎饼果子。