When cleaning the pan, use less water, and the stick of firewood will not smoke.

Don’t rush him until he matures. When the fire is sufficient, he will be beautiful.

Huangzhou’s good pork is as cheap as dirt.

The rich don’t want to eat, the poor don’t know how to cook. They get up early in the morning and make two bowls, so full that they don’t care about it.

1. When Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou, he wrote the famous limerick "Ode to Pork".

2. Note:

The sound is chēng, iron pot. 罨: The sound is yǎn, covering up, covering up. Firewood: firewood, firewood, weeds, etc. for fuel

3. Translation:

Wash the pot clean, add a little water, and burn the firewood and weeds , suppress the fire and simmer it with a virtual fire that does not emit flames. Wait for it to cook slowly on its own, don't rush it, when the heat is enough, it will naturally taste delicious. There is such good pork in Huangzhou, and the price is as cheap as dirt; rich people don't want to eat it, and poor people don't know how to cook it. I'll make two bowls when I get up in the morning. Don't worry about it when I'm full.

4. Appreciation:

Chinese people sometimes relish a dish on the dining table - "Dongpo Pork" after a delicious meal; in fact, what people eat Dongpo Pork has been greatly improved compared to what Su Shi made at that time. For example, snow peas, green onions, Shaoxing wine, ginger, salt, etc. were used. In Su Shi's era, it was impossible to have so many tricks. However, one thing remains the same as Dongpo's method today - simmering it slowly over low heat. The Dongpo elbow in Meishan should be simmered over low heat for about 3 hours, until the skin becomes tender when lightly poked with chopsticks. It is not known how long Su Dongpo spent on stewing. However, from Su Shi's "Ode to Pork", one can easily find the core sentence: "The stick of firewood cannot produce smoke or flames" - look, doesn't this mean to emphasize the use of low heat for stewing? Stewing over slow fire is the essence of Dongpo elbow. Without this method of stewing over low heat, the "soul" of Dongpo elbow will be lost. This is the result of Su Shi's continuous exploration in practice. If a rapid fire is used, not only will the pork be easily scorched, but all the flavors of the meat and seasonings will not be fully cooked out. Only use low heat and slowly cook it until it is cooked. Not only is it easy to digest, but it also tastes good and has all the five flavors. The purpose of the so-called "less water" is that when the meat is cooked, the water will just disappear. In this way, the soft, tender and delicious cooked meat can be tasted in your mouth. Or ask, the answer is there, Dongpo pork elbow is stewed over low heat - everyone knows. In addition to gourmet quality and innovation, what else can it not do? In addition to mastering the rules of cooking, the birth of Dongpo elbows also had other ("soft power") factors. It should be noted that Su Shi experienced a life and death test before stewing Dongpo Pork. With a strong sense of responsibility for the country and the nation, he wrote many poems and criticized the rulers, but he was imprisoned and almost killed. When he was spared from death and sent to the barbaric land of Huangzhou by the imperial court, the embarrassment of living conditions, the harsh surrounding environment, especially the embarrassing situation of a great writer who was famous all over the country, were enough to make him feel bad. Decadent and sinking, it is difficult to cheer up. In such an adverse situation, how could he sleep well, and how could his food and drinks be sweet? But Su Shi used his tough character to show an optimistic life interest. "Dongpo Pork" and "Ode to Pork" were born when life was extremely difficult and the situation was extremely bad. Knowing Su Shi's scene of breaking free from the critical point of life and death, it is not difficult to appreciate the extraordinarily peaceful and optimistic spirit that shines in "Ode to Pork". People saw that Su Shi quickly adjusted his state in adversity and patiently studied the art of cooking pork. "Clean the pot" - wash the pot cleanly, which shows the author's meticulousness and his extremely persistent and devoted mentality towards cooking. Don't underestimate these three words. This is a concrete manifestation of pursuing the cleanest and best cooking results. It is also a subtle manifestation of his spiritual state of calmness, where honor and disgrace do not matter. In addition, the tone of the two sentences "Don't rush him when he is mature, he will be beautiful when the fire lord is sufficient", as well as the words "zi", "mo", "the lord of fire is sufficient" and "he is beautiful" all reveal that It shows a calm attitude that is neither urgent nor hot, and shows the complacent and leisurely image of the cook. Dongpo has entered—a creative state of total immersion and self-forgetfulness. He is convinced that his cooking method will achieve the wonderful result of "his own beauty". Looking at it further, the author's sigh of "The good pork in Huangzhou is as cheap as dirt. The rich are unwilling to eat it, and the poor don't know how to cook it." This further uses contrast to highlight the pleasure and optimism of inventing a new cooking art.

He was thinking that no one in the huge Huangzhou could research and create good cooking techniques when faced with such high-quality pork! It can be said that this optimistic and comfortable mood under hardship became an important prerequisite for Su Shi to create this unique "Dongpo Pork" in China. Let us first take a look at Su Shi’s learning methods. When Su Shi studied, he had the famous method of "being attacked on all sides". In "Another Reply to Wang Xiang Shu", he once said: "Every time I study, I try to read them all. Books are as rich as the sea, and they are available in all department stores. People The energy cannot be absorbed at the same time, but it can only be obtained by those who want it. Therefore, I hope that scholars will seek it one time at a time, just as they want to seek the role of the ancient sages in rising and falling, but do not have any other thoughts. The same is true for seeking deeds, stories, classics, cultural relics and the like. Although this is a clumsy way to learn, it is not the same as those who dabble in it. Ridiculous! Ridiculous!" Su Shi's famous method of "being attacked on all sides" is actually a method of reviewing classics and books. Either read a book several times, or pay attention to only one issue at a time, or focus on the "rise and fall and control of chaos", or focus on the "role of saints", or explore "deeds, stories, facts, classics, articles and cultural relics", so they carefully master the classification of historical works. , collect and use your own experience. This kind of repeated reading over and over again is actually very similar to the way the author added firewood and burned the fire again and again when cooking Dongpo Pork, so that the taste of the meat and ingredients gradually penetrated deep into the bone marrow and spread throughout the whole body. You see, through reviewing and thinking over and over again, Su Shi was able to think about the various flavors of a book many times from various angles, and thus understood the various mysteries in it. If you think about it carefully, people will find that Su Shi's rules of reading and cooking pork stew are internally consistent. That is what he said in "Ode to Pork": "Don't rush it until it matures. When the fire is sufficient, it will be beautiful." Only by practicing it continuously, repeatedly and deeply in the (seemingly ordinary) work , only then will a miracle happen. Su Shi is a genius, but it is difficult for ordinary people to imagine that such a genius like him could be so "clumsy" and exert such "stupid" strength when reading or even cooking pork stew! Some senior scholars at the time did not understand Su Shi's stupid method of learning to read. According to the record in Volume 34 of "Shuo Yun": Zhang Fangping, a scholar-bureaucrat who once promoted Su Shi and his son to the dynasty, heard that Su Shi was reviewing the "Book of Han" for the second time, and asked mockingly: "Do you need to read it twice? "? Su Shi said: "This old gentleman doesn't know that there are people in the world who have read it many times"! Zhang Fangping once borrowed Seventeen Histories from others to read, and returned it a month later, saying that he had finished reading it. He was a well-read man who had a strong memorization ability and often remembered books in his mind after reading them. However, among the famous works of Chinese articles , there is no trace of Zhang Fangping, but Su Shi, who he thought was "clumsy" (he had to read the "Book of Han" several times), has left so many popular and immortal poems in the history of Chinese literature! The reason here is that although Zhang Fangping has an excellent memory, he did not tirelessly understand the essence and essence of the book like Su Shi. In other words, he neither had Su Shi's patience and tenacity like stewing pork, nor did he realize the gradual and long-term nature of grasping the laws of things. Su Shi was an expert in reading, an expert in cooking meat, and a great expert in dealing with life and knowledge. His secret is to be down-to-earth, to be a man and to make a fuss one step at a time. Look at his self-cultivation skills: "The talents of ancient people were not as great as those of today. They lived on their own and did not dare to use it lightly to wait for it to mature. Min Min Yan is like a baby with long hopes." . Nurturing the weak will make them strong, and nourishing the weak will make them full." ("Jia Shuo") He said that the ancients' cultivation method was like the patience of parents raising babies, not impetuous, not excessive, from weak to strong, from weak to full (like the way of stewing Dongpo pork, calm and solid, please note, pork rinds The meat is tough and thick, and the difficulty of stewing it is quite comparable to reading "Han Shu" and raising children); this kind of cultivation is the safest and most reliable way to cultivate life. And we can see that it is no accident that Su Shi, who understands the principle of hard work and is committed to repeated practice, was able to discover and successfully complete the production of "Dongpo Pork". It is closely related to Su Shi's life and study habits. The discussion of the issue did not stop here. What’s even more wonderful is that Su Shi’s stewed pork is closely related to his personality and worldview. He creatively unifies stew with thinking about life, which is amazing. Please take a look at one of his interesting quotes: "I have tried to read Buddhist books in the past, but I can't understand their secrets. I only use their superficial assumptions to cleanse myself. If a farmer removes the weeds and spins them away, even if it is useless, However, in the end, I will not go away. If you are a gentleman in this world, you will not know the so-called transcendent and profound enlightenment.

In the past, I thought that the ancient good commentaries on Zen were complete, but what I said was superficial. Servant Chang said in ancient times, what the Duke talked about was like eating dragon meat, but what the servant learned was pork, and there is a gap between pigs and dragons. However, the Duke talked about dragon meat all day long, which is not as real as the servant eating pork. Beautiful and really filling. I don’t know what the result is from the Buddhist book? For the sake of birth and death, transcending the three vehicles, do you become a Buddha? " ("Reply to Bi Zhongju's Book") The general idea of ??this passage is that although Su Shi himself was also studying Buddhism, he only absorbed the beneficial elements ("take its superficial hypothesis") and did not blindly follow Buddhism, such as the kind of "out of Su Shi simply did not believe in the mythical talk of "life and death, transcending the Three Vehicles" and becoming a Buddha ("becoming a Buddha"). He only hoped to use the elements of Buddhism that are beneficial to life to truly benefit physically and mentally. Su Shi made a metaphor : He calls Buddhism "dragon meat" and compares his practical attitude of learning from Buddhism to "pork". Although dragon meat is beautiful, no one has seen or eaten it; and pork may not taste as good as dragon meat. Beauty, however, can be seen and tasted. It is not difficult to understand that Su Shi has regarded pork as a symbol of life cultivation and self-transcendence, and formed his own unique "pork view". At this point, let's re-appreciate his "Ode to Pork": "Wash the pan cleanly, use less water, and the firewood will not smoke." Although "wash the pan cleanly" means to be ready for cooking, this is actually what it means. This is the embodiment of piety and seriousness when doing things or cultivating the body and mind. This is how you should do everything you do. From this careful "cleaning of the pan", readers can get a glimpse of Su Shi's rigorous and sincere attitude in cultivating his body and mind. When water touches the firewood, the smoke from the firewood will evaporate." - Put in not too much water, not too little, and the fire should be neither too big nor too small. Only by simmering in this way can the meat be cooked well and delicious. Su Shi told us that in specific practice , every link must be done steadily and carefully, without any carelessness. Through this meticulous preparation and actual operation, what we see is not only the cooking itself, but also a conscientious approach to life and self-cultivation. Be energetic. "Don't rush it until it's cooked, it'll be beautiful when the heat is sufficient." As long as the pork is cooked properly and simmered slowly, when the time comes, it will naturally taste mellow and beautiful. It's boiled meat, and when we think about life, don't we just find that it hits the shortcomings of life in a society that is eager for quick success? It takes time to gain a mature understanding of success and be impetuous. Sometimes the “result” is actually a failure. “Huangzhou has good pork, but the price is as low as dirt. The rich don't want to eat it, the poor don't know how to cook it." The excitement of life often lies in the ordinary daily life. People don't think there is any mystery in common foods like pork; homely dishes like stewed pork In addition to the pork itself, Su Shi's sigh also has a pity that can be associated with it-when faced with various things in life, people may not want to. Or he is unwilling to understand deeply and tap its potential. Readers should understand the deeper meaning beyond the love of pork from his sighs - truth, goodness and beauty are in our daily and hourly lives, and we have great potential to discover and create beauty. The mission and happiness of life that can be tapped. Reminiscent of Su Shi's "Reply to Bi Zhongju" mentioned above, which compared eating pork to a symbol of physical and mental cultivation, and discarded the illusory (Buddhist) "dragon meat" and other mystical talk. With philosophical thinking, we may have a deeper understanding of the other meaning of the four lines of "Huangzhou Good Pork": "Wake up two bowls in the morning, and you will be so full that you don't care." He was very satisfied, so he actually ate "two bowls." "Two bowls" not only expressed the satisfaction of the appetite, but also the contentment of the soul. The author seemed to have anticipated the comments and surprises of others, he said humorously. , I eat pork, my belly is full and my heart is full, like a fish drinking water, I know whether I am warm or cold, and I can ignore the praise and criticism of the outside world. Readers who understand Buddhism know that Buddhism emphasizes "peace of mind" and emphasizes looking down on external objects (including external objects). Others' opinions), and value inner peace. Therefore, it can be said that Dongpo's plain ending of "Don't worry about your own family" actually shows his Buddhist cultivation and contains profound insights into life. What shows is that when reciting "Ode to Pork", Su Shi did not deliberately interpret or explain his "pork view" thinking about life, but revealed his Buddhist philosophy intentionally or unintentionally in a blur of words and ink. Cultivation and the reference and transformation of Buddhism need to be supplemented. The three words "Ode to Pork" in Su Shi's poem may seem funny, but actually contain serious themes in the humor.

The author's ode, of course, includes the enjoyment of taste and the pride in his own cooking innovation; but when we understand Su Dongpo's difficult situation at that time, we will vaguely see an unyielding soul behind the poet's enjoyment of the delicious taste. , a philosopher who always pursues a higher and more profound taste in his life, and who achieves the ideal of "unity of knowledge and action" in daily life and rational thinking. In particular, the author organically combines the art of cooking with the ideal of transcendence in life, setting a model for us - pork is pork itself, but also something else.