Su Dongpo was appointed as the magistrate of Xuzhou. At that time, the Yellow River burst. Su Dongpo led the people to fight for more than 70 days and nights, and finally solved the flood. To thank Su Dongpo, people killed pigs and sent meat to Fu Su. After the disaster, the people were naturally not rich. Su Sanfan refused, and asked the cook to return the pork to the people according to the practice of Sichuan cuisine.
People think that this kind of meat tastes fat but not greasy and delicious, so it is called "gift meat". Later, Su Dongpo was demoted to Huangzhou, and he often cooked in person to improve the "ritual meat". "Slow fire and little water, full of natural beauty" is the secret, and this is the origin of Dongpo meat.
In his later years, Su was banished to Huizhou. He used local materials, added local specialty prunes to Dongpo meat, and created a famous Lingnan dish stewed with prunes. The contribution of Dongpo elbow is not Su Shi, but Wang Fu, Su Shi's wife. According to legend, when Wang Fu stewed his elbow at home, he accidentally made it brown and sticky, so he quickly cooked it with seasoning to cover up the burnt taste.
It turned out to be surprisingly good. Su Shi was so happy that he cooked it again and again, leaving a record to promote it to relatives and friends, so the "Dongpo elbow" was passed down from generation to generation. This dish is fat but not greasy, crisp but not rotten, with good color, fragrance, taste and shape.
According to legend, when Su Shi was studying in Lingyun Temple, he often went to Lingyunyan to wash inkstones. The fish in the river eat its ink, and the skin color is black as ink, so it is called "Dongpo cuttlefish". This dish is red and bright, crispy and tender, sweet and sour and slightly spicy.