Of course, the most important dish in Fujian cuisine is the "Buddha jumps over the wall" known as "the first soup in China". This century-old chief Fujian dish has many origins with Zheng Chunfa, the owner of Juchunyuan restaurant. Juchunyuan Teahouse was founded in the fourth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1865), and it is the oldest historical store in Fujian.
According to legend, at the end of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1874), Zhou Lian, the chief secretary of Fujian, went to an official's house in Yangqiao Lane, Fuzhou for dinner. The host's wife was from Shaoxing, and specially prepared a special dish "Fushouquan" for this family dinner. This dish puts chicken, duck, pork and several kinds of plum blossoms together in a jar that used to hold Shao wine and simmers for two hours, and the delicious food overflows the room. When Zhou Lian returned home after eating, she asked Zheng Chunfa, the chef, to do the same thing, so after Zheng Chunfa's improvement research, it gradually became the food of "Buddha jumping over the wall".
"Buddha jumps over the wall" is a representative of the stew dishes in the altar. It was originally named "Fushouquan", but it was renamed "Buddha jumps over the wall" because there was a phrase in the poem improvised by the literati in Yaji, Juchunyuan Restaurant. "Buddha jumps over the wall" has a fine selection of materials, with more than 30 kinds of raw materials and ingredients used, including meat and seafood, and mushrooms and fresh fruits. When it is made, it is primarily processed by more than a dozen processes, and then according to the properties and characteristics of different raw materials, they are carefully put into Shaoxing jars and simmered with low fire. After simmering, the altar was opened, and the meat was fragrant and delicious, which was unforgettable for a long time.
Speaking of the "Buddha jumping over the wall", which is a leader in Fujian cuisine, we have to mention that it was once listed as the first delicacy in the Manchu-Han banquet of the Qing court. Since the founding of New China, the "Buddha Leaping Wall" has served as the first main course of state banquets for foreign heads of state many times. Former British Queen Elizabeth, former US President Ronald Reagan and former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew have all eaten the Buddha Leaping Wall and widely praised it. Former King Sihanouk of Cambodia once said: "If you haven't eaten the Buddha jumping over the wall, you haven't eaten Chinese food."
An authentic "Buddha jumping over the wall" took more than a week to make. And the materials are expensive and the methods are exquisite. Among the ingredients used to make the Buddha jumping wall, there are more than 20 kinds of seafood delicacies such as shark's fin, abalone, sea cucumber, muscovy duck and old hen.
In the production process, the carefully selected ingredients are preliminarily processed by frying, frying, cooking and frying. When frying pig's trotters, muscovy ducks, old hens and other ingredients, a lot of old wine will be added to the pot. Then, the broth boiled in advance is poured in, and after being heated in the pot, all kinds of ingredients and broth are put into the jar.
The last process, that is, the "Buddha jumping wall" after the altar was installed, was placed on the stove and began to simmer. The fire must be a high-quality smokeless charcoal fire, and there is almost no fragrance in the process of simmering. On the contrary, when simmering into the altar, the soup is thick brown, fragrant and thick but not greasy.
"Buddha jumps over the wall" simmers dozens of raw materials in one altar, and these meaty flavors still maintain their own characteristics after several hours of simmering. It tastes rich and fragrant, but it is not greasy, and all kinds of materials penetrate each other and taste delicious. After the meal, you can feel that the upper and lower lips are gently stuck by the soup left over, which should be the boiled collagen. Therefore, people will also say that "Buddha jumping over the wall" is not only rich in nutrition, but also can promote development and enhance immunity, and also has the effects of beauty and delaying aging.
Now in Fuzhou, if you want to eat the authentic "Buddha jumping over the wall", you can go to Juchunyuan Hotel. Now its seventh-generation inheritors are continuing to cook this classic Fujian dish in the most authentic way. This Fuzhou cuisine has now been listed as a "national intangible cultural heritage".
Some people say that the most healing thing in the world is sound first and food second. When your tongue is stable, your soul will no longer wander. "Buddha jumps over the wall" stabilizes the tongue of diners and comforts the wandering soul.