It is a local custom in the rural plains of Chengdu that whenever a family gets married, gives birth to a child, builds a house, etc., they invite relatives and friends to gather together and have a feast, commonly known as eating nine buckets of bowls (also known as nine big bowls) ). The origin of this term comes from the popular use of large bowls for drinking in Chengdu during the Republic of China. It is called "Nine Dou Bowls" because there are usually nine bowls of food at each table. In addition, there is another reason that the folk regard "nine" as a lucky number. There are sayings such as "nine-nine longevity", "nine sons succeed in the imperial examination", "nine will last forever". For such a banquet, "nine bowls" are the minimum standard. Of course, some poor families put seven bowls or rich families put eleven bowls.

You can often see such a scene in rural areas of western Sichuan: dozens or hundreds of people gather together. After a burst of firecrackers, in the sky of green smoke, they sit dispersedly according to the differences between men and women and seniority. At the Eight Immortals tables, people can eat and drink with their chopsticks. Not far away, a tall steamer was stacked on an earthen stove dug from the ground, steaming vines, and a simple chopping board was piled with dishes and tableware. The chef with a greasy apron tied around his waist quickly waved the spatula or kitchen knife in his hand, and bowls of dishes were served to the table like running water. The host kept greeting the guests and said that the food was not good because of the lack of staff. Please forgive me... ... This is the lively scene of eating "Nine Dou Bowls" in Bazi rural area in western Sichuan. "Dou" in Sichuan dialect means a large container. The nine-dou bowl is used to refer to this scene, which also means to praise the large amount of food. Because this kind of feast contains a lot of steamed vegetables and pickled meats (all meat), the jargon is called "three steams and nine buckles" (pot steaming, cage steaming, bowl steaming), so the folks also specialize in making "nine bowls" The country cook at the banquet is called the "oil cook".

The "Nine Dou Bowls" can be seven or eleven bowls, but it can never be eight or ten bowls. Why is this? In Bazi in western Sichuan, the pig troughs for feeding pigs are usually made of stone. According to the folk custom, "those who eat ten (stone) bowls" are used as a code word for cursing pigs, so you cannot entertain guests with ten bowls of food. Eight bowls of food cannot be placed on the table because beggars (beggars) usually come to congratulate or mourn during the banquet. They often make noises with lotus flowers in their hands, singing wherever they go and whatever they see. Because whether it is a red wedding or a white wedding, the host family believes in the principle of "the guest's visit is prosperous", and they must warmly entertain the beggars who come to support them. It's just that they didn't eat the same dishes as the other guests, but a bowl of rice each. In this way, an Eight Immortals table, with two people sitting on each side, can accommodate exactly eight bowls of rice, so people in western Sichuan call the table with eight bowls of rice a "beggar's mat". Therefore, the two numbers eight and ten are taboo when hosting a banquet.

The "Nine Dou Bowl" is a traditional Hakka delicacy for returning guests. Because it is often served at the head of the farmyard, it is also called the "Baba Banquet". The Baba Banquet best reflects the eating habits of Chengdu people. But if you want to eat it with flavor and atmosphere, you must be very particular about the form and content. In terms of form, the more diners the better, eating is like fighting a war of annihilation, the momentum should be loud, the soldiers should be vigorous, and the movements should be fierce.

As time goes by, farmhouse diets continue to develop from eating full, eating well, eating refined to eating healthy. However, the custom of Jiudawan is still passed down, the flavor of the farmhouse, the customs of the farmhouse, and the local culture of our western Sichuan people are interpreted here. If you think of eating nine bowls of children's shoes in Dujiangyan, look here! The Dujiangyan Nine Bowls recommended by Mei Xiaoqian is here. Address: No. 110, Zhongshan North Road (behind Tianyi Garden between Zhongshan Road and Xujia Road).

Let’s experience the folk cuisine of Western Sichuan together!