According to legend, Emperor Kangxi once took his attendants to the Changshan Valley in Luanping for hunting.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Emperor Kangxi was about to ride his horse back when he suddenly spotted a sika deer. He hurriedly drew his bow and arrow, and chased after it as fast as possible.

At this time, it was getting dark, and the attendants didn't know where they were.

Kangxi was panting from exhaustion and his stomach was growling with hunger, so he had no choice but to ride his horse back.

After walking for a while, I suddenly saw a light in front of me. When I looked closer, I saw it was a farmhouse.

Kangxi reined in his horse and saw a white-haired old man and his sons about to eat.

On the dining table were steaming, browned cornmeal dry food and fragrant polenta, as well as hare meat stewed with mushrooms, roasted daylilies and a large plate of cold dishes.

Kangxi felt even more hungry at this time. He dismounted and walked into the farmhouse and said, "I am passing by. Because it is late, I am also hungry. If I want to borrow a meal, I must pay more silver." The people in the mountains are straightforward and hospitable.

When I heard that the guests were coming from far away, I immediately made room for them to take their seats.

After Kangxi finished eating, he asked: "Who cooked such delicious food? She must be a clever wife, right?" The old man smiled and said: "No, there are no women in my family. There are only three sons. The eldest son went to the mountains to hunt, and the second son went to the mountains to hunt.

He went up the mountain to chop firewood, and San'er grew vegetables and cooked rice at home. This meal was cooked by his third son. "Kangxi also liked San'er's beauty when he saw it.

At this moment, the emperor's attendants saw the emperor's royal horse outside and came in.

Only then did the family realize that the visitor was the emperor. They were so frightened that they quickly kowtowed.

Kangxi smiled and said: "I am very happy to see your family enjoying peace and happiness!" He ordered a reward of a hundred taels of silver before riding back.

A few days later, Kangxi remembered the delicious corn porridge, so he sent someone to find the old man's third son and asked him to make corn porridge in the imperial kitchen.

From then on, polenta was included in the imperial dining room’s recipes.