A piece of pork, a tiger-skin egg, a dried flower and a bowl of rice with gravy are the "standard" lunch for many Xuzhou people. At the end of this meal, it will cost about 111 yuan, but it will make the diners eat a mouthful of oil and leave a fragrance.

bazi meat, as a classic dish in Huaihai region, belongs to Shandong cuisine and originated in ancient Xuzhou. Xuzhou is located at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces, where five major cuisines, such as Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Hunan and Huaiyang, blend well with each other, but bazi meat stands out among many dishes. What is its origin?

according to legend, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was chaos in the world. Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who are appreciate each other to each other, decided to worship and drink the wine. Because Zhang Fei was a butcher, he slaughtered a pig and cooked pork, tofu, eggs and other ingredients in a pot. Later, in the Sui Dynasty, a famous chef in Shandong improved this practice, carefully selected pork with skin, stewed it in a jar, and seasoned it with secret soy sauce. The stewed pork was fat but not greasy, thin but not firewood, bright in color and mellow in mouth, which was deeply loved by ordinary people. This practice, combined with the legend of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's sworn brothers, has become the meat of today.

some people say that bazi meat is like Xuzhou people's character, with rough appearance and meticulous heart. This kind of food full of Xuzhou character is exactly what we Xuzhou people can't forget, and it is the most original food memory and inheritance.

In the 1971s, there were only a handful of restaurants in Xuzhou City that cooked bazi meat. If a child was greedy, the adults would spend 21 to 31 cents to buy two pieces for their children to satisfy their cravings. Now, after decades of development, bazi meat has become a "special local famous dish" named by the National Catering Industry Association, and many restaurants, restaurants or food stalls have started bazi meat. It is at noon that you can smell the fragrance of bazi meat everywhere when you walk through the streets and alleys of Xuzhou. Come to a bowl of rice, ask for a piece of meat, and then match it with different side dishes such as vegetarian chicken, kelp and green vegetables. You can eat comfortably for ten yuan. If you eat with a few friends and drink a few bottles of beer, you can eat happily for only a few tens of dollars.

At present, some cities have opened small restaurants selling bazi meat, most of which are named as "authentic Xuzhou bazi meat". Then why can Xuzhou bazi meat spread thousands of miles and be liked by so many people? Because the pork belly is cooked with the best pork belly, it has a special taste of fat but not greasy. Although it is made with thick oil red sauce, it is not salty, just for the next meal. The combination of rice and meat just brings out all the rice and meat. Braised pork is just the general name of this snack, and there are other auxiliary dishes to match it, such as Sixi meatballs, dried orchids, kelp knots, gluten, bean gluten, bean skin, yuba, rotten clothes, vegetarian chicken slices, tiger skin eggs, day lily, small vegetables, beans, sausages, ribs, elbows, chicken legs and other combinations of meat and vegetables, which can meet the different dietary needs of customers.

Actually, the process of making bazi meat is not complicated. As a famous dish unique to Xuzhou, ordinary people can make bazi meat with great flavor. Cut the fat and thin pork belly into long strips, tie them together with hemp rope, cook them, and stew them in soy sauce until they are crisp and rotten. The pork is cooked with soy sauce, without salt or sugar. It is stewed in a tall crock with only soy sauce octagonal. When the heat is enough, it is sealed together and the aroma is overflowing. Pour the meat and juice on the white rice while it is hot, which is very delicious.

Xuzhou people are good at meat, affectionate and righteous.