水作清甜

水作清甜

WATER, SWEET WATER

Two Carps Playing with LotusesA most popular Summer dish, in which a freshly picked lotus leaf isused to hold the jellies.双鱼戏荷鲤鱼荷叶戏水是济南常见景象，“双鱼戏荷”正是取意于此。如是荷花盛放的时节，托着双鱼的是刚摘下的鲜荷叶。

People in Jinan are bringing their most treasured spring water to the dining table. Spring water, lotus leaves, lotus flowers, cattails, mushrooms, lotus roots...everything related to spring water is used as cooking ingredients. However, unlike the usual strong-flavored Shandong food, Jinan's spring water cuisine tastes sweet and refreshing.

Text by Chen Yuqiang Translation by Wu Xiaoling Photos by ZengJian Special thanks to by Jinan Liangyou Fulin Hotel拍摄协助：济南良友富临大酒店

(First one on the left)Lotus Lake Shrimp Fresh shrimps from Daming Lake cuddled with egg white and milk, like a fairy meandering in the clouds.芙蓉湖虾仁取自明湖的鲜虾，为蛋清加牛奶所拥抱，犹如漫步云端的仙子一般。

(Second one on the left) Crispy Lotus CakeSelected ingredientsare made in the shape of lotus flowers, purewhite and crispy.荷花酥精选食材做成荷花造型，色泽洁白，口感酥脆。

The Top Soup Dish: Stewed Cattail in Milky Soup

Every year, fresh cattails grow only from May to September at Daming Lake, fed by many of the springs in the area. In the old days, cattails from Daming Lake were most cherished by the people of Jinan. As documented in “A Quick Overview of Jinan”, published in the early years of the Republic,“Cattails at Daming Lake have the shape of Zizania latifolia, and the taste of bamboo shoots. They grow everywhere at the lake, and are a valuable vegetable in several provinces in Northern China”.

A spring feast is featured with cattails cooked in creamy soup. While cattails are tender and crisp, a full spoon of deliciously light soup makes one feel as fresh and cool as being shaded by lotus leaves on a hot summer day.

The Dish for Honored Guests: Spring Fish Soup

The way to cook spring fish soup is just like the hospitality of the Jinan people: meticulous and lowkey. The fish used is the authentic Yellow River carp. To welcome guests from afar, the carp is placed in pure spring water for over seven days in order to clean up mud and sand in its body, and braised gently with soup-stock for four to five hours. The soup-stock, concocted from precious ingredients of spring water, pheasant, duck, and scallop, is elaborately boiled for three days in the Tan Family cuisine cooking method.

The moment the spring fish soup is served, the plate is wreathed in mist. Using a wooden base with the Chinese characters of the Five Dragon Lake, the chef pours lukewarm water onto the dry ice under the ceramic plate. The mist evaporating from the dry ice immediately wraps up the plate, making the Yellow River carp heave in the mist like it is alive.

爱泉如宝的济南人，将泉水端上餐桌。泉水、荷叶、荷花、蒲菜、菇、莲藕……一切与泉水有关的食材，都可入菜。然而，有别于鲁菜固有的重口味，济南的泉水料理却是清甜爽口的

汤菜之冠：奶汤蒲菜

每年，只有5-9月份，大明湖才能长出新鲜的蒲菜。众泉汇流的大明湖，旧时出产的蒲菜为济南人所器重。民国初年出版的《济南快览》称道：“大明湖之蒲菜，其形似茭，其味似笋，遍植湖中，为北方数省植物菜类之珍品。”

泉水宴便是以蒲菜为主料，加奶汤烹制而成。汤呈乳白色，蒲菜脆嫩鲜香，汤汁入口清淡味美，犹如炎炎夏日间寻到荷叶遮日般清爽。

贵客之肴：泉水老汤鱼

泉水老汤鱼的作法更能让人感受到济南人的好客之道，精心而不张扬。鱼，是老潭水里的正宗黄河鲤鱼。为了招待远道而来的客人，济南人将鲤鱼放入济南泉水中静养七天以上，吐净泥沙，放入老汤中以中文火慢煲四到五个小时，才是大功告成。老汤以泉水、山鸡、老鸭、瑶柱等名贵材料，配以谭家菜吊汤技法，经三天精心熬制而成。

泉水老汤鱼上菜的瞬间，云雾缭乱。厨师用刻有五龙潭字样的木制托底撑住装有黄河鲤鱼的瓷盘。在瓷盘下方，上菜时放上干冰倒入温水，一时间干冰挥发的烟雾包裹住瓷盘，黄河鲤鱼在云雾中上下起伏，仿佛鲜活一般。