“记忆的味道”之“家乡的年俗”

成果展示（第三期）

漫步于旧市街道，

嘈杂与喧嚣殆尽，

在这宁静平和的小城里，

新春悄然而至，

不须迎向东郊去，

春在千门万户中。

新一期“记忆的味道”，

让我们跟随2019级本科生高若鸿，

领略独特的小镇“食”光，

一起享受舌尖上的新春佳节～

A Tie of Kinship: Zhagan

in the New Year Dinner

In the south of Jiangsu Province, there is a small, slow-paced county city that is endowed with the heavenly Tianmu Lake and abundant produces. This city is Liyang, my hometown. In Liyang, as red lanterns climb up the lamp posts towards the end of each year, almost all family, poor or rich, start to prepare a traditional cuisine named Zhagan.

In terms of the word ‘Zhagan’, ‘Zha’, in mandarin, refers to the gesture of tying up while ‘Gan’ means livers. Therefore, Zhagan, as its name suggests, is a signature dish made by the straps of pork livers and intestines. Legend has it that Zhagan was invented way back in the Ming Dynasty by the mother of Lu Zheng, a descendant of the prominent poet Lu You.

As the story goes, the industrious Lu Zheng, after years of gruelling study, was about to go to Peking for the court examination hosted by the emperor. His mother intended to prepare some delicious food to wish him a good luck in the forthcoming test. Being so poor, however, the only ingredients she could procure were some pork, fried bean curd, pork liver and other intestines. The mother racked her brain, coming up with the idea of tying up these materials and boiling them in marinade. Beyond all expectations, the cuisine turned out to be a great success. The dish was later named as Zhagan. In the Chinese language, the pronunciation of ‘Gan’ is quite close to that of the word ‘Guan’, which refers to officials in the government. Hence, the name of the dish crystallizes the mother’s wish for her son to pass the exam and tie good fortune with himself to become an official.

Nowadays Zhagan has long become an indispensable part of the New Year dinner in Liyang. For local people, Zhagan’s root in the traditional culture is so deep that a reunion dinner without it would be totally tasteless—the atmosphere of reunion would be lost. I, as well as the rest of the family members, always return to my hometown and visit my grandparents in Spring Festival. When everyone is seated for the New Year feast, exchanging good wishes and laughter, my grandparent would rise to their feet and pick up the dish, distributing Zhagan to everyone, enjoying all the chat and joy that come along. The cuisine is also carefully boxed and mailed to those relatives in remote regions, so that the happiness is shared and the bond between family members is reinforced. Obviously, what is packed in Zhagan today is more than just pork intestines. Most importantly, it is full of kinship and love.

溧阳农家有三宝——扎肝、肉圆、酱剥子，其中扎肝是老大。逢年过节，溧阳人的餐桌上总少不了这样一道烟火气满满的乡村佳肴。扎肝是由猪小肠将油豆腐、五花肉、水发笋干、猪肝捆扎后红烧，成品个大饱满、红润油亮，一口咬下去只感到醇厚雄浑的卤香在口中爆开。扎肝、扎肝，谐音“扎官”，其中寄予着老一辈对年轻人的关爱与祝福，希望后辈事业有成，把官运牢牢扎在身边。

珍馐美馔，齿颊留香。

充满烟火气息的卤味不仅攻占味觉，

还饱有家族传承的厚爱。

记忆的味道是刊心刻骨的，

它源于对故乡的眷念，

它是滋养心灵的慰藉，

它是支撑前进的力量。