Buddha jumping wall is a famous traditional dish in Fuzhou, which is famous at home and abroad. It has been listed as the "chief dish" of Fujian recipes by local culinary circles, with a history of 100 years.

There are as many as 18 kinds of raw materials for Fotiaoqiang cuisine: sea cucumber, abalone, shark fin, scallop, fish lip, gelatin, razor clam, ham, pork belly, sheep elbow, sheep toe, tendon, chicken breast, duck breast, chicken gizzard, duck gizzard, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and so on. The production process is very complicated: first, stir-fry, fry, boil and fry 18 kinds of raw materials to make dishes with their own characteristics, then stack them in a big Shaoxing wine jar layer by layer, and inject a proper amount of Shang Tang and Shaoxing wine to make the soup, wine and vegetables fully integrated, and then seal the jar mouth with lotus leaves and heat it on the fire. The use of fire is also very particular. Be sure to choose heavy smokeless white charcoal. Boil it with high fire first, and then simmer it for five or six hours with low fire. This is the end of the story.

Why is such delicious food called "Buddha jumps over the wall"? There are three kinds of folklore in Fuzhou. Let's make it clear that at the end of Tongzhi (1876), an official from Guanqianzhuang, Fuzhou hosted a banquet in honor of Zhou Lian, Chief Secretary of Fujian. His wife personally cooked a dish called "Fushouquan" from Shaoxing, which contained chicken and duck meat and several kinds of seafood, and put it in a jar filled with Shaoxing wine. Zhou Lian was so full of praise after eating it that she ordered official chef Zheng Chunfa to imitate this dish. Zheng Chunfa went to the door for advice and reformed the materials, using more seafood and less meat to make the dishes more delicious. Later, Zheng Chunfa left Zhou Lian's official residence to raise funds to open Juchunyuan Restaurant, and "Fushouquan" became the main dish of this restaurant. Just because the pronunciation of "Fushouquan" in Fuzhou dialect is similar to that of "Buddha jumping over the wall", over time, "Fushouquan" was replaced by "Buddha jumping over the wall" and became famous all over the world.

The second is: Fujian custom, the third day after the new wife gets married, she should cook in person, show off her tea and rice skills, serve her in-laws and gain appreciation. Legend has it that there was a rich girl who was spoiled and didn't learn to cook. She was worried on the eve of her wedding. Her mother took out all the delicacies at home and cooked all kinds of dishes, wrapped them in lotus leaves and told her how to do it. Who knows that the young lady forgot all the cooking methods, so she poured all the dishes into a Shao jar, covered it with lotus leaves and put it on the stove. The next day, the aroma was overflowing, and the whole family praised the cooking well. This is the origin of the "Buddha jumps over the wall" of "cooking 18 dishes in one pot".

Third, a group of beggars beg around with clay pots every day, and pour all kinds of leftovers together to cook, which is steaming and fragrant. When the monk heard it, he couldn't help being tempted by the fragrance, jumping out of the wall and feasting. There is a poem to prove it: "the fragrance of meat floats ten miles, and the Buddha hears that he abandons Zen and jumps over the wall."

Because "Buddha jumps over the wall" is a stew of dozens of raw materials, which not only has a common meat flavor, but also maintains its own characteristics. It tastes soft and moist, rich and fragrant, not greasy; The ingredients penetrate each other and taste delicious. At the same time, it has high nutritional value, and has the effects of invigorating qi and nourishing blood, clearing away lung heat and moistening intestines, and preventing and treating deficiency and cold. When serving, it is even better to serve with a dish of hemp fiber radish (shredded white radish), a dish of oil mustard, a dish of ham mixed with bean sprouts, a dish of fried bean sprouts with mushrooms, and a silver roll and sesame cake. Its taste is endless. □ Cheng Ping