Peng Zu, the ancestor of cooking, is the grandson of the ancient emperor Zhuan Xu (the eighth generation grandson of the Yellow Emperor).

When Emperor Yao offered him pheasant soup, Yao sealed Peng Cheng to him, so later generations called him Peng Zu. When Shun was a student of Yin Shouzi, he learned the truth and lived in seclusion in Wuyishan.

Su Dongpo, a famous politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, is very good at cooking and cooking. Many delicious dishes are named after his name "Dongpo".

Dongpo pork

In many restaurant menus, there is such a dish-Dongpo pork. This traditional dish handed down from the Northern Song Dynasty originated from the famous Su Dongpo. In the sequel to Dongpo, there is a poem "Ode to Pork": "Clean the pan, lack of water, and the firewood can't afford to smoke. Don't rush it when it is ripe, it will be beautiful when the fire is full. Huangzhou good pork, the price is as cheap as dirt. You refuse to eat, and the poor don't understand cooking. Get up in the morning and play two bowls, so full that you can't care about it. " What is written in the poem is actually a summary of Su Dongpo's experience in cooking Dongpo Meat.

China's ancient "founder" in cooking was Yi Ya.

He is a close minister favored by Qi Huangong, and used as a Yong person. Yong, written in ancient Chinese, means breakfast and dinner. Yi Ya, as a Yong person, is a chef who specializes in cooking Qi Huangong food. It is also common for later generations to write works such as the Food Classics, and it is also common to pretend to be Yi Ya. For example, Han Yi, a Ming Dynasty man, once compiled a book with eight contents: making, preserved, vegetables, cage making, oven making, cakes, vegetarian food, various soups and various medicines, and the title of the book is called "The Legacy of Yi Ya". In addition, Zhou Lvjing, a Ming Dynasty man, wrote "Continuation of Yi Ya's Legacy", which is also an antique food classics under the guise of name.

Yuan Mei, a litterateur in the Qing Dynasty, is the masterpiece of Yuan Mei, a talented scholar in the Qing Dynasty. The book not only contains the great essayist's understanding of diet, but also contains his unique evaluation and unique insights on life taste, which is interesting and literary. In addition, the book also includes other classics of China's traditional food culture, such as Lin Hong's "Mountain Family's Clear Confessions" in Song Dynasty, Li Yu's "Casual Messages" in Qing Dynasty, and Ni Zan's "Yunlintang Food System Collection" in Yuan Dynasty, etc., which has a unique taste and is quite valuable for collection.

One day, a guest came to Su Dongpo's house, and he cooked his favorite pork for the guests. Put the pork in the pot, add water and seasoning, and simmer slowly with low heat. He played chess with the guests, and they were very interested in it. Until the end, Su Dongpo suddenly remembered the meat in the pot. He thought that a pot of pork would be burnt, so he hurried into the kitchen, but he suddenly felt the aroma. When you look at the pot, the pieces of pork are ruddy in color, inseparable in shape and soft as tofu. When this dish is served on the table, the guests and he taste it, and they all think that the vegetable juice is rich and mellow, waxy but not greasy, and very delicious. Su Dongpo was inspired by this and often cooked this dish, and summed up the experience of cooking this dish with a poem "Ode to Pork".

Dongpo cake

Su Dongpo's official career was not smooth. In the second year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, he was demoted as the assistant envoy of Huangzhou Yong ying. Huangzhou is now under the jurisdiction of Hubei Province. It is precisely because Su Dongpo once worked and lived here that he left a thousand-year-old flavor snack-Dongpo cake to Hubei.

At that time, Su Dongpo lived in Shuixian Pavilion in Chibi, Huanggang, Huangzhou. In the north of the pavilion, there is a ankokuji. In the temple, there is an elderly monk who often plays chess and writes poems with Su Dongpo, and they become close friends. Su Dongpo likes to eat crispy food, so the monk treats him with exquisite thousand layers of crispy cakes. After a long time, out of admiration for Su Dongpo, he called his favorite "thousand-layer shortcake" "Dongpo cake".

Dongpo Tofu

Su Dongpo's diet preference is tofu besides pork. He also wrote the poem "Boiled beans are creamy and crisp" for tofu, visualized the making of tofu with concise language, and accurately stated that tofu is the essence of food.

The method of making Dongpo tofu was once recorded in the book "Shan Jia Qing Gong" by Lin Hong, a native of Qiantang, Southern Song Dynasty. Taking Huangzhou tofu as the main material, the tofu is put into the paste made of flour, eggs, salt, etc., and then fried in a 5% hot oil pan, and then taken out and drained; Put the base oil, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and seasonings in the pot, and finally add the oiled tofu, cook until it tastes good, and then take it out of the pot.