The Manchu-Han Banquet is a giant banquet in China that combines Manchu and Han dietary characteristics. It originated in the palace of the Qing Dynasty. It was originally a banquet for Kangxi's 66th birthday. It was intended to resolve the discord between Manchu and Han. This tradition was followed by later generations. , adding delicacies, extremely luxurious. Famous banquets in the Qing Dynasty also include the Mongolian vassal banquet, the courtiers' banquet, the longevity banquet, the thousand old man banquet, and the nine-white banquet.

Qing Dynasty

When Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty celebrated his 66th birthday, he hosted six banquets for three days and more than 300 delicacies for the Han and Manchu ethnic groups. It was tasted for the first time in the imperial palace and the emperor wrote "Man-Han Banquet", making the Man-Han Banquet famous for a while. At that time, there were distinctions between the Manchu and Han banquets inside the palace and those outside the palace. The Manchu and Han banquets in the palace were reserved for the emperor, uncles, brothers, empress dowagers, concubines, nobles, etc.; close relatives, heirs of the royal family, and meritorious officials (the Han nationality was limited to officials of second rank or above and the emperor's confidants) ) are eligible to participate in the Manchu and Han banquets in the palace. At the Manchu-Han banquet outside the palace, first- and second-rank Manchu officials often presided over scientific examinations and local meetings, and entertained imperial ministers with the Manchu-Han banquet. When seated, they should be seated according to their rank, wear court beads, and wear official uniforms.

During the Jiashen period of Qianlong, Li Douzhi's book "Yangzhou Shufang Lu" described the grand occasion in detail; in the luxurious six banquets, hundreds of famous delicacies from Manchu and Han Dynasties were collected, and there is a saying of "32 Treasures" .

"Mountain Bazhen" refers to camel humps, bear paws, monkey heads, orangutan lips, leopard fetuses, rhinoceros tails, deer sinews, etc.; "Lu Bazhen" eats toads, mouth mushrooms, jade emperor mushrooms, and Phoenix mushrooms. , corn treasures, Shafeng chicken, grouse, etc. The "sea eight delicacies" are bird's nest, shark's fin, black ginseng, fish maw, fish bones, abalone skin, etc. When cooking, use the techniques of steaming, boiling, roasting, stewing, simmering, pan-frying, deep-frying, roasting, stewing, grilling, stir-frying, and stewing. There are 196 hot and cold dishes, 124 snacks and tea, and 320 delicacies, which can be eaten in three days.

Utensils are mostly made of copper and are exquisitely carved. Pastel Wanshou tableware is used for meals. Large pieces of porcelain are imitated in the shapes of chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, etc. There are fire furniture (i.e. hot pot) on the upper floor. Place the vegetables and light the fire with wine on the lower floor. Water-carrying furniture is made of tin and divided into two layers: the inner layer is for soup and the outer layer is for boiling water, which is convenient for heat preservation.

When a Manchu and Han banquet is arranged in the Qing Dynasty, Manchu dishes are usually eaten first, and then the Chinese dishes are eaten. During this period, the table needs to be changed, which is called "turning the table." When the guests enter the banquet hall, they will play music first and then have snacks after sitting down. After the guests have arrived, the four fresh dishes will be removed and a toast will be made. , Chinese cuisine, commonly known as "turning the table". Since then, it has gradually spread to the people and has become a symbol of luxury for dignitaries.

After the Republic of China

The Manchu-Han Banquet was divided into the Big Manchu and Little Manchu banquets. The Big Manchu and Little Manchu banquets generally had 108 dishes and the Little Manchu and Han banquets had 64 dishes. In the early days, Shandong cuisine was more common, and there was also Tianjin cuisine. After it was spread over and over again, different interpretations appeared in different places in response to different tastes, materials, and cooking methods.

In the early years of the Republic of China, the Manchu-Han banquet was changed to the Dahan banquet. Soon it was replaced by the Bada, Baxiao and other banquets. In the 1930s, it was changed to the Bada banquet.

In November 1977, Guobin Restaurant (today's Federal Restaurant) was commissioned by Japan's TBS TV station to prepare a full Manchu-Han banquet with 108 dishes at a cost of HK$100,000. The restaurant employed more than 160 people and took 3 months to prepare. This process was broadcast live to Japan by artificial satellite. Since some animals have become protected animals and some cooking techniques have been lost, it is almost impossible to recreate a Manchu-Han banquet like the Qing Dynasty.

In 1983, at the "Guangzhou Famous Dishes Appraisal Exhibition" held in Guangzhou, the Manchu and Han banquets on display were divided into "Yutang Banquet", "Longmen Banquet", "Golden Flower Banquet" and "Lu Ming Banquet" "Four important banquets, a total of 128 dishes, including 64 dishes of famous dishes, 28 dishes of famous snacks, 28 dishes of fruits, 5 dishes of side dishes, and 3 dishes of single dishes.

Manchu and Han banquet recipes

The first banquet, the second banquet, the third banquet, the fourth banquet, the fifth banquet, the sixth banquet

White Braised Four Treasures and Eight Treasures Porridge, White Pear and Phoenix Preserved 100-year-old peach and a hundred birds returning to their nests mixed with white fungus

Imitated meal pastry, stir-fried cucumber sauce, white silver Ruyi Changchun soup mixed with fish belly, stick dregs and meal porridge

Phoenix lying on the nest, stir-fried with hazelnut sauce, hundred seeds, winter melon and two dragons Xi Zhu Bao Wang Naofu Barbecued Pork

Phoenix Spreading Wings Jade Bean Cake Ice Snow Lotus Jade Tremella Bean Paste Cake Stir-fried Pea Sauce

Phoenix Wings Bean Paste Roll Sampo Thousand Sons Hibiscus Deer Tail Bean Paste Cold Cake and egg tarts

Hibiscus prawns, two dragons playing with pearls, emerald willow and phoenix shreds, stir-fried shredded beef, phoenix breast, pearl emerald diced fish

Kung pao rabbit meat, nostoc, yellow flower emerald jade fan, strange flavor chicken slices Phoenix is ??born Hibiscus cake

Osmanthus, scallops, phoenix in golden clothes, phoenix fish belly, black rice porridge, phoenix with peony, hibiscus and fish horns

Tiger skin, rabbit meat, walnut cheese, bergamot, wide belly, braised deer tendon, phoenix eyes, autumn wave palace Preserved quail

Chicken dipped in mushrooms, amber pigeon eggs, bergamot, golden rolls, butterflies and sea cucumbers, dry-roasted winter bamboo shoots and osmanthus fish sticks

Golden cake, smooth quail, hibiscus, fish bones, chicken oil, shiitake mushrooms, osmanthus, jellyfish and carrot sauce

Money spinning gold cake roll palace row of fins gold house hidden lotus pond lotus fragrance pregnant mandarin fish

gold silk roasted wheat chrysanthemum tenderloin sea red shark's fin gold and silver pigeon meat red bean meal porridge fire refining golden body

Goldfish, duck paws, roasted lamb legs, poached crabmeat, mushrooms, venison, braised fish bones and mustard duck legs

Curry cauliflower kebab stewed lamb, lotus crisp, lotus rolls, flower basket, cabbage, money, shiitake mushrooms

Chestnut cake, orchids, dried beans, braised fish lips, Arhat prawn, butterfly prawn, gold inlaid jade board

Lotus seed meal porridge, carp leaping over the dragon gate, yellow robe, wheat ear shrimp roll, gold crystal jade crabapple

Glazed beads Longjing Goldfish, ginger juice, lentils, pipa, prawns, shredded chicken, noodles, orange cup

Dragon and phoenix tenderness, dragon holding begonia, golden fish belly, chicken to be fed, golden toad worshiping the moon, dragon and phoenix presenting auspiciousness

Longjing bamboo fungus, radish and cinnamon Fish, gold and fish horns, three-color cake, golden rooster, independent plum, bamboo and mountain stone

Spicy beef, soy sauce, cucumber, sunflower, mackerel, three fresh duck tongue, golden lion, hydrangea, honey sauce and yam

Soy sauce, jade dragon slices, deep-fried quail and lotus seed cake Two-color water chestnut cake, dragon and phoenix, double-hammered lotus root soup

Minced meat sesame cakes, Qiuju Aoshuang Pearl tofu, and dragon cream, pineapple jelly, steamed quail

Three fresh scallops, Ruyi rolls for mother and son reunion candy Stir-fried shredded eel with lotus root in vinegar and lotus sauce

Crisp rolls with bergamot, Ruyi Bamboo Sunflower Thousand Layer Cake, fried pheasant, Ruyi Oolong, three shredded humps

Sweet and sour fish roll with two-color beans Cake, the sun and the moon shine, fried fresh shellfish, grilled flesh, cauliflower, sand boat, stepping on the green

Peach kernel chicken, four happy dumplings, pine crane and longevity, magpie climbing branches, crispy pages, layers of pine hericium

Net oil Fish rolls, Tai Chi for fortune, swallow peas, yellow almonds, tofu, evergreen tang flowers and pistils

Fragrant peach, pigeon eggs, sandalwood fans, duck paws, five-thread vegetable rolls, swallow-tail peach blossoms, sleeping dragons and pearls, five-thread foreign powder

< p>Panda Bamboo Panda Crab Meat Crane Abalone Parrot Lettuce Hydrangea Cake Spicy Snails

Duck Shredded Vegetables Hydrangea Whole Fish Fragrance Dew Apple Oil Savory Prawns First Grade Official Swallow Elephant Eye Pigeon Egg

< p>Bird's Nest Four-Character Vegetables Snow Moon Mutton Adzuki Bean Cake Yulong Hot Pot Jade Strips Hidden Treasures in the Snow

Braised Fresh Mushrooms and Spring Bamboo Shoots after the Rain Swallow Shadow Golden Vegetables Mandarin Duck Cake Box Mandarin Duck Breastfeeding Jade Cup Longan

Imperial scallops, yellow jade palms, longevity barley meal, sesame pot fried cloud slices, pigeon eggs, mandarin ducks, fish and dates

Fried chicken, gourd, clouds, jade rabbit, cabbage, stir-fried prawns, kidney beans, goldfish and kidney bean rolls

Sesame rolled deep-fried spring rolls, jujube paste cake, pearls, snow fungus, stir-fried tenderloin

Stir-fried fish fillets