【寻味中华】重庆火锅：涮得了山珍海味 烫得了边角碎料******
中新社重庆1月24日电 题：重庆火锅：涮得了山珍海味 烫得了边角碎料
中新社记者 刘相琳
夜幕降临，重庆大街小巷中弥散着麻与辣的快感。一炉炉火锅渐次沸腾，翻滚的牛油，迸发出麻辣鲜香，令人欲罢不能。
火锅是重庆人聚会首选，几人围坐一口锅，毛肚的劲道，鸭肠的爽嫩，酥肉的香脆……觥筹交错间口腹之欲得到极大满足。“每天吃火锅遭不住(重庆话，意为受不了)，一周不吃也遭不住。”重庆人吴思这样评价。
重庆火锅协会会长陈国华说，重庆火锅有水派和陆派起源之说。普遍认为，清末民初，重庆是长江上游航运重镇，为了填饱肚子，船夫们常在江边随地搭起锅灶，用沿江两岸屠宰场丢弃的廉价动物内脏和牛油渣，拌上葱姜花椒等佐料一起下锅烫煮，这就是重庆火锅的雏形。
火锅匠人们总结出重庆火锅好吃的标准是“三水一堆”：吃了额头冒汗水；辣得流眼泪水；麻得流鼻涕水；桌上擦“三水”的纸用了“一堆”。
辣，不是重庆火锅的唯一标签。好吃的关键在香辛料之间复杂的配比。如今，重庆中心城区有超过3万家火锅店，外地人吃来大同小异，当地人却因底料的细微差别，分出“远近亲疏”。
重庆红汤火锅以味复合醇厚、重油重香著称。先将牛油放入旺火锅中熬化至170摄氏度左右，再倒入豆瓣、大蒜、大葱、生姜、香菜等，待熬成红油后再炒香，这是传统火锅底料的灵魂。
国家级中式烹调技能大师工作室创建人、知名火锅专家王文军说，正宗的重庆火锅底料，讲究麻、辣、鲜、香。牛油品质、原材料的选择配比、炒制的时长和温度，任何一个细节都可能成为影响味道的关键因素。
王文军说，辣椒让牛油增色去腥，豆瓣酱提鲜，大蒜增香，花椒增麻，佐料在热油中彼此融合。而醪糟则是不少火锅底料的秘密，酵母菌为锅底注入了生物驱动。匀速搅拌之下烟气升腾，两三个小时“寸步不离”的调制，冷却后再静待发酵7天，待各种原材料味道充分释放融合，才能成就饭桌上的麻辣鲜香。
把火锅分成九宫格，是重庆人的发明。中间格火大，要烫涮吃，东南西北四格，火温合适，不易煳锅，适合煮菜，四个边格，火力最小，适合焖煮食材。
煮菜顺序也有讲究，鲜鸭血和厚豆干要在没开火前进锅。底料烧开后，真正的老饕会先丢一把小葱和豆芽，滚上几十秒，将火锅的底味彻底唤醒。在东南西北四个横格中煮上老肉片和水滑肉等耐煮荤菜，中间格冒油泡时，才是烫菜的最好时机。
烫的核心不仅是熟，还要裹上油，让菜品吸味。鸭肠烫卷，毛肚烫泡，黄喉烫弯，腰片烫变色，多一分就老，少一分则不熟，烫涮之间菜盘已见底。
重庆火锅既涮得了山珍海味，也烫得了边角杂碎。鸭血、黄喉这些在其他菜系中被视为“鸡肋”的食材，却是重庆火锅最受欢迎的选择。而对脑花、牙梗等偏门食材的喜爱，更是将普通食客和老饕区分开来。
重庆火锅也正悄然发生变化。电子采购平台、机器炒底料、一次性锅底汤料的推广应用，用餐环境、调味技能等方面的改进，让纯正味道不会丢失，接受人群更广泛。
据重庆火锅协会统计，目前，小天鹅、德庄、刘一手等多家本土火锅企业，已累计在海外开店超600家，分布在20多个国家和地区的200多个城市。
夜色下重庆又开始沸腾，辣椒花椒“翻江倒海”，鸭肠毛肚“七上八下”的画面，依然不分季节地每天在这座城市里反复上演。(完)
中新网评：美国众议长选举“连续剧”暴露美式民主痼疾****** 中新网北京1月9日电(蒋鲤)在15轮投票表决后，美国众议院议长选举这场“连续剧”终于落下帷幕，众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡最终成功当选第55任美国众议院议长。这是美国国会过去164年来耗时最久的一次议长选举记录，将美国“对抗式民主”的弊端暴露无遗。
资料图：美国众议院共和党领袖麦卡锡。中新社记者 沙晗汀摄 由于两党对立加剧、党派内斗、利益分配不均等因素，众议长选举陷入一场拉锯战。在此次众议长竞选中，美国民主党议员继续抱团，多轮投票中，一票不投麦卡锡，共和党右翼“强硬派”领头的约20人小团体也拒绝投票麦卡锡。 麦卡锡的当选之路一波三折，除了本人的“政治投机派”角色在国会不受欢迎外，与共和党内部政治分歧关系密切。 一方面，共和党党内反对者认为，麦卡锡对民主党态度过于软弱，无力对抗民主党控制的参议院和拜登政府，另一方面，因为共和党的多数优势微弱，党内一些影响力较小的派系的政治力量则被放大，有利于他们巩固自己的选票。 此外，党内反对者也认为，自己的选票没有换取更多利益，希望以此作为筹码换取麦卡锡更大的让步，比如让他们获得众议院重要委员会中的职务。 作为仅次于美国总统、副总统的政坛三号人物，众议院议长通常由众议院多数党领袖担任，选举几乎没有悬念。然而，麦卡锡此次为当选，不得不做出多个关键让步，其中可能包括恢复一项罢黜议长动议机制，使得众议长的权力被削弱，难以掌控众议院。 美国有线电视新闻网CNN称，麦卡锡在这场不合时宜的政治勒索中作出让步，这种绥靖政策只会让极端主义势力更加强大。 这场引发全世界围观的尴尬选举暴露出美国政治存在严重的对立和分化。在权力博弈思维的裹挟下，党派利益凌驾于国家和人民利益之上，美国两党相互拆台，陷入“为反对而反对”的无脑对垒。而即便是一党内，也会因为利益分配问题产生不同的小派系，相互对抗，选票变成了谋利益的工具。 从国会山骚乱到打破记历史记录的15轮众议长选举，“对抗式民主”让美国政治陷入瓶颈，长期对抗势必会让政客们丧失客观公正的判断能力，其政治阶层是否有能力治理国家也会引发质疑。 两党之争和党派内斗进一步放大了美国政治体制弊病，美国所谓的“民主”形象，让全世界大跌眼镜。鼓吹以选民利益为先的美式选举，变成了政客们利益置换的游戏，进一步彰显出美国“民主政治”日渐失能，不断极化的党争已使美国政治制度陷入死循环。
House speaker election reveals deep-rooted problems in U.S. democracy (ECNS) -- The Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as the 55th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after 15 ballots. As the most grueling House speaker election in the past 164 years, the election has highlighted the defects of the country’s "confrontational democracy". The election once reached a stalemate due to intense partisan strife, inner-party struggle among the Republicans, uneven distribution of interests, and more. Democratic Party members forged a close alliance, refusing to vote for McCarthy, while about 20 Republicans also declined to cast ballots for the GOP leader. Except for his unpopular role as a "political speculator" in Congress, McCarthy’s hard-won election can be attributed to turmoil within the Republican Party. On the one hand, opponents in the Republican Party believe that the GOP leader's attitude toward the Democrats is too weak to confront the Senate controlled by Democrats and the Biden administration. On the other hand, the political power of some less influential factions in the Republican Party has been amplified due to the Party’s weak majority advantage in the House of Representatives, which is conducive to consolidating their ticket warehouses. Meanwhile, these opponents believe that their votes failed to win them more benefits, hoping to use this as a bargaining chip for McCarthy's further concessions, such as getting them positions in important House Committees. As the third political figure after the President and Vice President of the U.S., the speaker, by tradition, is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives. But McCarthy has made many concessions in order to bring the ultra conservatives along, involving what’s known as the “motion to vacate,” a mechanism by which members can force a vote to depose the speaker. The reported concessions will empower individual members at the expense of McCarthy’s sway as speaker. CNN thought the concessions he made during this unseemly political shakedown would only make the extremist faction more powerful. This embarrassing election, which has drawn global attention, exposed the serious opposition and polarization in American politics. Both Democrats and Republicans put their interests before that of the country and its people, attacking and opposing each other irrationally. Besides, different factions arise within a single party and confront each other because of the distribution of interests. Votes have become a tool to win more benefits. From Capitol riots to the House Speaker election with record-breaking ballots, "confrontational democracy" has become a bottleneck of American politics. Long-term confrontation will surely impede politicians to think objectively and fairly while their capacity of governing the country will also raise doubts among the public. Both parties’ struggle and infighting among the Republicans have further amplified the defects of the American political system, with its "democratic" image shocking the world. The U.S.-style election, which advocates putting voters' interests first, has become a game of interest exchange among politicians. In addition, it further demonstrates the malfunction of American "democratic politics" and the constantly polarized party struggle that has trapped the American political system into an infinite cycle.
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