According to legend, Jinling (now Nanjing), the capital of the Ming Dynasty, suffered from a severe drought. In order to pray for Buddha and rain, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, took the lead in abstaining from meat and vegetarianism for several months, and his appetite became worse and worse. At this time, Liu Aren, a military strategist, had just returned to Jinling from Longquan, Zhejiang Province, and specially brought famous specialty mushrooms from his hometown. After soaking, he added seasoning and made a "roasted mushroom" for Zhu Yuanzhang to taste. Zhu Yuanzhang smelled the fragrance before he put chopsticks on it. After eating it, he felt more fragrant, softer and more delicious, and repeatedly praised it as a rare good dish. Ask the strategist Liu Bowen: "Why is this dish so delicious? Where was it born? " Liu Bowen, a military strategist, told Zhu Yuanzhang about the characteristics of mushrooms in Longquan County, Zhejiang Province, and the story of a girl named "Mushroom" in Qingyuan, Zhejiang Province, who fled to the mountains to starve to death to avoid persecution by the rich man. After she woke up, she ate the mushrooms grown here, not only recovered, but also lived to be over 100 years old.
From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang often ate this dish in his palace, which was called "longevity dish" for both state banquets and daily meals. Spread to the Qing dynasty, the imperial dining hall of the Qing palace also regarded it as a delicacy. During the Qianlong period, there were dishes such as "mushroom duck" and "fried mushroom" at the Manchu-Han banquet, but the preparation method and ingredients were different, and mushrooms were eaten together with vegetarian dishes such as chicken.