万物皆可拔丝

“大底南人嗜咸，北人嗜甘。鱼蟹加糖蜜，盖便于北俗也。”这句话出自《梦溪笔谈》，初读之下，或许会让人心生疑惑：这是不是说反了？其实，这反映的是北宋时期人们的饮食习惯，那时的山东菜已逐渐崭露头角，成为“北食”的代表，与现今的口味偏好确有较大差异。

谈及如今的鲁菜，虽不以甜味为主打，但对糖的运用却极为讲究。最为显著的当然是糖醋与拔丝，这两种烹饪方式早已风靡全国，成为鲁菜中的两大招牌。糖醋鲤鱼、糖醋里脊，这些耳熟能详的佳肴自不必说。而拔丝类菜肴，诸如拔丝山药、拔丝苹果、拔丝地瓜等，更是鲁菜中甜口菜品的佼佼者，独具特色。

拔丝菜的起源虽无从考证，但至少在清初已颇为流行。“聊斋先生”蒲松龄曾言：“而今北地兴揠果，无物不可用糖粘。”这里的“揠”即为拔的意思，加上“糖粘”二字，无疑说的便是拔丝的甜菜。据蒲松龄的生卒年份推算，明末清初时，山东地区已普遍将糖炒至出丝，用于烹饪各式菜肴。

在鲁菜中，拔丝类菜肴独树一帜。它们不仅外表金黄诱人，如同金玉满堂，为节日增添了几分祥和与富贵；更因内里香甜可口，为宴席增添了一份别样的乐趣。当一盘热腾腾的拔丝菜上桌时，只需轻轻夹起一块，糖丝便如银线般绵延不绝，有时甚至能拉出丈余之长。为了避免糖丝过长且烫口，宴席上通常会备一碗凉白开。将夹起的食物在凉水中轻轻一蘸，糖丝迅速冷却凝固，既方便入口，又能让食材稍稍降温。这时品尝起来，外酥里嫩，甜而不腻，让人回味无穷。

拔丝菜的制作看似简单，实则精髓在于对火候的精准掌握。熬糖是拔丝菜成败的关键所在。糖的介质可以是水，也可以是油。用油熬糖虽然节省时间，但用水则更容易控制火候。熬糖时，需将白糖熬化至变黄并泛起小气泡，方可投入炸好的原料。颠翻数下，让原料均匀裹上糖汁，便可出锅装盘。然而，熬糖的火候、原料的炸制时间以及糖汁的包裹均匀度等，都需要厨师们经过长时间的练习和摸索。只有经验丰富的厨师，才能烹制出口感酥脆、糖丝绵长的拔丝佳肴。

拔丝菜的美味奥秘不仅在于其独特的制作技艺，更在于其丰富的口感和营养价值。常见的拔丝菜原料多为富含淀粉和膳食纤维的土豆、地瓜、山药等，有助于消化和吸收；也可以用水果入菜，如香蕉、苹果、葡萄、樱桃等，富含维生素和矿物质，有益健康。如今，厨师们的创意层出不穷，拔丝菜品更是五花八门，从拔丝鲜奶到拔丝粽子，从拔丝三宝到拔丝汤圆，甚至拔丝馒头、拔丝冰激凌……真可谓万物皆可拔丝入菜。尤为值得一提的是一道酥黄菜，看似简单，实则是以拔丝技艺制作的鸡蛋佳肴，其制作更为讲究，令人叹为观止。

今天，自北向南，无论是亲朋好友的温馨相聚，还是宴席即将落幕之时，一盘热气腾腾、金黄诱人的拔丝菜总能成为联结欢乐的纽带。随着欢声笑语，众人纷纷举箸共尝，你牵我扯间，银丝飞舞，满桌生辉。其间不乏心急之人，一口咬下，烫得直吸冷气，却也乐此不疲。然而，若动作稍缓，这拔丝美味便可能凝成一团，难以割舍，为这场盛宴再添一抹别样的挑战与乐趣。

编辑/郭晓娟

Candied dishes， e.g. candied yam， candied apple， and candied sweet potato， are among the best sweet dishes of Shandong cuisine， and have unique characteristics. The origin of candied dishes is unknown， but they were already prevalent in the early Qing Dynasty. Pu Songling， author of Liaozhai Zhiyi， said， “Now candied apple prevails in the north； no ingredients could not be sugar-glazed.” Undoubtedly， the two lines of verse describe candied dishes. According to the birth and death years of Pu Songling， in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties， various candied dishes were already prevalent in Shandong.

Candied dishes are distinctive among Shandong dishes. They not only appear golden， and attractive， symbolize abundant wealth， while adding a sense of harmony and affluence to festivals， but also bring a different kind of joy to feasts because of their sweet and delicious taste. After a steaming candied dish is put on the table， you can see endless sugar filaments （sometimes even more than 3 meters long） like silver threads as you pick up a piece with your chopsticks.

Common candied dishes are dominated by starch-rich and fib- er-rich potato， sweet potato， Chinese yam， and other ingredients， which are conducive to digestion and absorption. Some can be made of fruit， e.g. banana， apple， grape， and cherry， which are rich in vitamins and minerals， and beneficial for health. Nowadays， cooks have been proposing creative ideas one after another， and thus invented a wide variety of candied dishes， including candied fresh milk， candied rice dumplings， candied triad， candied sweet rice dumplings， candied steamed buns， and candied ice cream. Every ingredient can be made into a candied dish.