1. Dongpo Meat

On January 3, the fourth year of Yuanyou’s reign (1089), Su Shi came to Hangzhou, where he had been away for fifteen years, to serve as magistrate. In May and June of the fifth year of Yuanyou, heavy rains continued in western Zhejiang, Taihu Lake overflowed, and large areas of crops were submerged. Thanks to Su Shi's early and effective measures, the people in western Zhejiang survived the most difficult period. He organized migrant workers to dredge the West Lake, build embankments and bridges, and transform the old appearance of the West Lake into a new one.

The people in Hangzhou were very grateful to Su Shi for this good deed. Everyone praised him as a wise parent official. I heard that he liked to eat pork the most when he was in Xuzhou and Huangzhou, so during the Chinese New Year, everyone would carry pigs and wine to pay him New Year greetings.

After Su Shi received it, he instructed his family to cut the meat into cubes, cook it until it was red and crispy, and then distributed it to the migrant workers who participated in dredging the West Lake. After eating, everyone was amazed and sent him here. The meat is affectionately called "Dongpo meat".

2. Taibai Ya and Li Bai

Li Bai, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, lived in Sichuan with his father when he was a child and did not leave Sichuan until he was 25 years old. When he was in Sichuan, he loved to eat the famous local dish braised and steamed duck. Later, Li Bai was favored by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, and he entered Beijing and was awarded the title of Hanlin Bachelor. Based on the stewed duck he had eaten when he was young, he made a steamed fat duck and presented it to Xuanzong. Xuanzong admired it very much and named the dish "Taibai Duck", which continues to this day.

3. Xi Shi Tongue and Xi Shi

It is said that in the Spring and Autumn Period, King Gou Jian of Yue used Xi Shi’s beauty to eliminate the Kingdom of Wu. Then the King of Yue wanted to take Xi Shi back to his country, but his queen was jealous. Xi Shi was so beautiful that he was afraid that she would be favored when she came back, so he asked someone to sink Xi Shi at the bottom of the river. After Xishi died, she turned into this shellfish "sand clam". In the hope that someone would find her, she would spit out her lilac tongue to express her grievances. People made this kind of shell into a dish and named it Xishi's tongue.

4. Dumplings and Zhang Zhongjing

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the famous doctor Zhang Zhongjing retired and returned to his hometown. When he walked to the bank of Baihe River in his hometown, he saw many poor people suffering from hunger and cold, and their ears were rotten from the frost. He asked his disciples to set up a medical shed in an open space in Dongguan, Nanyang, and set up a large pot to give medicine to the poor to treat their injuries. His medicine is called "Quhan Jiao Er Soup", which is made by boiling mutton, chili peppers and some cold dispelling medicinal materials, then cutting them into pieces and wrapping them in dough to form an ear-shaped "Jiao Er".

Cook it in a pot and give it to the patients begging for medicine. Each person has two ears and a bowl of soup. After people eat the Quhan Decoction, their whole body becomes hot, their blood becomes smooth, and their ears become warm. After eating it for a while, their rotten ears will be cured. Zhang Zhongjing continued to give up medicine until New Year's Eve.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people celebrate the New Year and the recovery of rotten ears. They make New Year’s food like Jiao Er and eat it on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. People call this kind of food "dumpling ears", "dumplings" or partial eclipse, and eat it on the winter solstice and the first day of the new year to commemorate the day when Zhang Zhongjing opened shed medicine and cured patients.

5. Guangbing and Qi Jiguang

There is a famous local food in Fu'an, Fujian called Guangbing. Speaking of the history of Guangbing, we have to start with Qi Jiguang's fight against the Japanese. Back then, Japanese pirates were rampant and their movements were unpredictable. They would sometimes land in large numbers and then roar away. They would also sneak attacks at night, killing people and setting fires. Qi Jiguang led the rebels to hunt down and suppress people. The most important thing was speed. He always felt that burying pots to make rice was delaying time, but he couldn't think of another way.

Once, when Qi Jiguang was marching, an old farmer offered him many salty cakes with a small hole in the middle and sesame seeds on the outside as a token of comfort. He also said: "Don't look at this cake being naked. It can be worn with a rope and carried around. When you are hungry, you can tear it off to satisfy your hunger." Qi Jiguang praised repeatedly: "Old uncle, you are so thoughtful. Thank you so much." With this light cake, the march will no longer be delayed."

The news spread, and people from all over the country rushed to make light cakes to offer to the army, and the name "light cake" spread from then on. Come down. Later generations, in memory of Qi Gong, called this kind of cake "Jiguang cake". This name is still retained in Fu'an and other places today.

6. Imperial Concubine Chicken and Yang Guifei

One day, Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei were drinking and having fun. Concubine Yang was so drunk that she suddenly said coquettishly: I want to fly to the sky! Xuanzong thought that what she wanted to eat would "fly to the sky", so he ordered the chefs to make a "flying to the sky" dish and serve it, which made the chefs helpless.

Suddenly, a chef suddenly said: "Buy a few chickens, cut off the wings, stew them until they are tender, wouldn't they just 'fly to the sky'?" When the dish was presented, Concubine Yang was stunned. After taking a bite, I repeatedly praised: delicious, so delicious! Because the imperial concubine loved to eat this dish, it got the reputation of "imperial concubine's chicken".

Baidu Encyclopedia - Dongpo Meat

Baidu Encyclopedia - Taibai Duck

Baidu Encyclopedia - Xishi Tongue

Baidu Encyclopedia - -Dumplings

Baidu Encyclopedia--Guang Cake

Baidu Encyclopedia--Guifei Chicken