The Healing Hutangfen

By Zhou Yinghui

It was seven years ago that I decided to settle down in Wuhan.When I came to this metropolis,distant from my hometown and loved ones,there was a sense of bewilderment and homelessness in my heart for quite a while.

Wuhan is nicknamed a “paradise of breakfast.” There are many types of food for breakfast,such as hot-dry noodles with sesame paste,doupi (a panfried delicacy of glutinous rice and minced meat),mianwo (salty deep-fired doughnut-shaped snack made of rice and soybean milk),tangbao (steamed dumplings filled with minced meat and gravy)...You can sample them for one month without repetition.But there was always a little lack of excitement in the taste buds,and the feeling of nostalgia was deepened in the humdrum day after day.

Mr.Z read my mind.One weekend morning,he suddenly said,“Let’s go to taste the most delicious breakfast in Wuhan.”

“Isn’t it just hot-dry noodles? I’m already fed up with it.” I criticized it in my heart but didn’t utter a word,following him tamely.

A white porcelain bowl was brought up:it was rice noodles in creamy and thick soup,which looked unattractive,dull and monotonous.Had it not been for the garnish of dried shrimp,spicy diced radish and coriander with scallions,it would not have been appetizing at all.

There are numerous choices for breakfast in Wuhan.武漢早餐眾多

Hubu Lane in Wuhan is famous for its street foods.武漢戶部巷

決定來大武漢落腳是七年前的事。遠(yuǎn)離故土、作別親人，來到這偌大的城市，好一陣子心中都涌動(dòng)著一抹惶惑飄零之感。

武漢是個(gè)“早餐之都”，過早的餐點(diǎn)品類不少：熱干面、豆皮、面窩、湯包……吃一個(gè)月，都可以不重復(fù)。只是味蕾里總歸少了點(diǎn)刺激，思鄉(xiāng)之情便在這日復(fù)一日的平淡里愈加深濃起來。

Z 看出了我的心事。一個(gè)周末的清晨，他突然說：“走，去過早。嘗嘗大武漢最美味的早點(diǎn)?！薄安痪褪菬岣擅鎲幔吭缇统阅伭??！蔽野底愿拐u，卻沒有說出聲，乖乖地跟他走。

粗白的瓷碗端上來，卻是乳白微稠的一份湯粉，看上去其貌不揚(yáng)、寡淡單調(diào)，若不是尚有些蝦皮、辣蘿卜丁和小蔥香菜末點(diǎn)綴，著實(shí)勾不起太大食欲。

我小心翼翼地捻起幾根包裹著厚厚糊狀物的米粉放入口中，一時(shí)間呆住了。細(xì)長軟糯的米粉竟是想不到的魚鮮滋味，混雜著白胡椒的辛辣，令人一洗前嫌，刮目相看。喝上幾口，便似乎有一股鮮活的生命氣息游走于唇齒之間，沉睡了整晚的五臟六腑頓時(shí)清醒過來，酣暢淋漓的汗珠痛快地涌出毛孔，細(xì)細(xì)密密地綴了一額。

Z 又端上來一份油條，他把油條折斷浸入湯中，示意我再嘗嘗。稀疏的孔洞里蘸滿香濃的湯汁，我咬上一口，固態(tài)與液態(tài)、酥脆與綿軟、香甜與辛辣交織在一起，著實(shí)令人驚艷。

I carefully picked up some rice noodles wrapped in thick paste into my mouth,feeling stunned for a moment.The slender,soft,and glutinous rice noodles were unexpectedly flavored with fresh fish and mixed with the spicy taste of white pepper,which refreshed me impressively in a spick-andspan manner.After taking a few sips,it seemed that there was a fresh breath of life lingering between the lips and teeth; my internal organs suddenly woke up after sleeping overnight while beads of sweat gushed out of my pores heartily in profusion,decorating my forehead finely and densely.

Z brought up a portion of youtiao (deep-fried dough stick),broke it,dipped it into the soup and motioned me to try it.After the sparse holes dipped in the tasty soup,I took a bite:the combination of being solid and liquid,crisp and soft,sweet and spicy was really amazing.

“Youtiao is a perfect match for hutangfen (rice noodles in flavored thick soup),” Z said with a beaming smile.

A bowl of hutangfen Photo by Cao Ting 鮮魚糊湯粉 圖/曹婷

The delicacy of minced fillet,the spiciness of pepper,and the softness of hutangfen,together with the deep-fried scent of youtiao,all urged me to wolf it down.Looking down at the plainlooking bowl,I couldn’t help but compare this meal with a woman with delicate features,coarsely clad in plain clothes yet not thick and heavy in colors,who didn’t put much effort into performance,but when interacting with her,you feel like you’re drinking mellow wine,which grows more fragrant over time.

Z said that the hutangfen was carefully cooked with small carp or small eels.First,they cut and wash the fish clean,place it on the soft fire and cook it overnight until the fish flesh and bones blend with the water; cull the fish bones,mix buckwheat flour with rice flour to thicken the fish,then add white pepper to remove the fishy smell; thus a pot of fresh,thick,sweet,and spicy hutangfen is done.

After eating a bowl of refreshing fish hutangfen,I immediately felt carefree and at ease.“Don’t you think it’s a little bit like some food of Henan?” Z looked at me with a smile.

“Hot Spicy Soup!” I was suddenly enlightened.This kind of food most related to my homesickness seemed to have nothing in common with hutangfen,but they are both refreshing to eat.

Hutangfen is called “Wuhan’s Pita Bread Soaked in Lamb Soup” by many northern diners.The combination of fish ( 魚) and sheep ( 羊) means fresh ( 鮮) in Chinese.It is ingenious to replace the freshness of the sheep with that of the fish,the bread soaked in lamb soup with rice noodles and the lamb soup with the hutang (flavored thick soup).From this point of view,hutangfen is really a superb substitute to satisfy the tastes of all people and comfort the homesick wanderers.Behind this comfort food was the water country which quietly embrace and immerse you in its breath and charm.

Among the top ten rice noodles in China,Wuhan’s hutangfen is not included.It’s too ordinary,even too cheap.In the old days of poverty,most of the diners were coolies working as porters on the docks who labored hard every day.In order to keep away from hunger for a longer time,they added the uncooked rice noodles into the soup paste.Therefore,this snack used cheap materials and cumbersome procedures to create a delicious taste,brewing a fantastic flavor beyond imagination in a time of scarcity.

Since then,when feeling slightly weak and unable to brace up myself,I would buy a bowl of hutangfen.Savoring mouthfuls of the spicy fresh delicacy,the satisfaction of my taste buds would skyrocket right until the last noodle.When my empty stomach is filled with the warm soup,I would feel my heart enriched instantly—warm all around with strength returning to my entire body again,reviving on the spot.

Only with such a bowl of healing fresh fish hutangfen soothing the worn-out body and mind,and the gurgling stomach,can I feel peace of mind in this place,which I now consider my hometown.(Translation:Qing Run)

“糊湯粉的絕配是油條?！盳望著我笑嘻嘻地說。

魚糜之鮮美、胡椒之辛辣、米粉之綿軟，加上油條的焦香之氣，真真令人想把舌頭也吞進(jìn)肚子里。低頭再看看這樣其貌不揚(yáng)的一碗，不由得想到，這份餐食，正如眉目清淡的女子，粗布素衣而不濃彩重墨，舉手投足亦不著力表現(xiàn)，與之相交，卻如飲甘醇，歷久彌芳。

Z 說，這糊湯粉的湯汁，是用小鯽魚或小鱔魚精心熬制而成。先將魚剖洗干凈，置于文火之上，通宵熬制，直至魚肉及魚骨與水相融相合，不分彼此。后剔除魚刺，以蕎麥粉與米粉混合勾芡，再加入除腥增味的白胡椒。一鍋味鮮汁濃、清甜辛香的糊湯便大功告成。

一碗醍醐灌頂?shù)聂~糊湯粉下肚，整個(gè)人登時(shí)覺得渾身舒爽通透起來?！澳悴挥X得它跟大河南的某種吃食有點(diǎn)類似？”Z 望著我笑，目光里大有深意。

“胡辣湯！”我恍然大悟。這種最牽系著我思鄉(xiāng)情結(jié)的吃食，看起來與糊湯粉毫無相似之處，吃起來卻都有令人通體為之一振的感覺。

糊湯粉被不少北方食客稱為“武漢的羊肉泡饃”。魚羊者，謂之鮮也。以魚之鮮代替羊之鮮，以米粉代替泡饃，以糊湯代替羊湯，絕妙無比。如此看來，糊湯粉著實(shí)是一碗可以滿足八方口味、慰藉思鄉(xiāng)游子的上好替代品。在對你脈脈相慰的背后，它不動(dòng)聲色地用這水鄉(xiāng)澤國的氣息風(fēng)韻，悄無聲息地將你侵襲與浸染。

中國有名的十大粉類之中，并不包含大武漢的糊湯粉。它太過平常，乃至廉價(jià)。在曾經(jīng)的貧苦年代里，食客多是在碼頭上做搬運(yùn)工的苦力，每天拼的是實(shí)打?qū)嵉囊簧砹?。為了耐饑，便在糊里加入生米粉起稠。所以，這份小吃，乃是用廉價(jià)的材料、繁瑣的工序，打造出鮮美的味道，在有限的匱乏里醞釀出超乎想象的美好。

從此，遇到略覺疲軟、無力支撐的時(shí)候，我便會去買上一碗糊湯粉。一口口品著這份爽麻鮮美，味蕾的滿足感直線上漲，直到吃完最后一根米粉，仍覺意猶未盡。空虛的胃被這熱乎乎的糊粉填滿，心中立馬充實(shí)起來，周身暖意融融，力量重新回到體內(nèi)，整個(gè)人登時(shí)滿血復(fù)活。

有了這么一碗治愈系的鮮魚糊湯粉，安撫疲憊的身心與轆轆的胃腸，唯覺此心安處，他鄉(xiāng)亦可是吾鄉(xiāng)。