The representative of Taoism in the Warring States period, Zhuang Zhou, told a story: a chef slaughtered a cow for King Hui of Liang, and he was so skillful in slaughtering the cow that the knife moved nimbly through the cow's bones without a single obstacle, and with great rhythm. King Hui of Liang was dumbfounded and praised him for his skill. The chef said he had been unraveling cows for 19 years and knew the structure of the cow perfectly.

Liu An invented tofu:

Liu An, the king of Huainan, went out for a walk, and suddenly saw eight old men coming down from the opposite north mountain, though their beards were long and chest-length, but they were full of vigor and walked as if they were flying. Liu An was shocked, suspected of being a fairy, and then asked for a formula for immortality, the old man said he ate food made from ground-up soybeans. Liu An did as he was told and got tofu. From then on, tofu began to circulate in folklore.

The origin of "Dongpo meat"

Su Dongpo (1036-1101) was one of the eight great masters of the Tang and Song dynasties; he was one of the two great masters of lyrics and Xin Qiji; and he was a master of calligraphy and painting. He was also a master in the art of cooking. When he offended the emperor was relegated to Huangzhou, often personally cook with friends to taste, Su Dongpo's cooking, to braised meat is the most skillful. He once composed a poem describing his cooking experience as "slow fire, less water, when the fire is enough it is beautiful." However, it is rumored that the cooking of "Dongpo Pork", which was named after him, was an interesting incident that happened when he returned to Hangzhou for the second time as a magistrate.

By then, the West Lake had already been mostly obliterated by turnip grass. After he took office, he mobilized tens of thousands of workers to get rid of the turnip, dredge the lake and harbor, and built a long embankment with the excavated mud, and constructed a bridge to open up the lake, so as to make the West Lake look beautiful again, and to store water to irrigate the fields. This long embankment improved the environment, brought water conservation benefits to the public, and added to the scenery of the West Lake. Later on, it formed the "Spring Dawn of Su Causeway" which was listed as the first of the ten scenic spots of West Lake.

At that time, the people praised Su Dongpo for doing this good thing for the place, and heard that he liked to eat braised pork, and in the Spring Festival, they all went out of their way to send him pork to show their feelings. Su Dongpo received so much pork, think should be with tens of thousands of dredging West Lake workers **** enjoy it, and asked his family to cut the meat into square blocks, with his cooking method of firing, with wine, in accordance with the roster of workers sent to each household. His family in the burning, the "even wine together to send" understanding into "even wine together to burn" the result of burning out of the braised meat, more crispy flavor, eaters praise Su Dongpo sent meat burning method is unique, delicious and tasty.

Call Chicken:

Legend, when Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan, accidentally stranded in the wilderness. A beggar saw him pitiful, so he gave him the "called chicken", which he thought was a delicacy, to eat. Qianlong sleepy and hungry, naturally feel that the chicken is exceptionally tasty. After eating, they asked its name, the head of the caller was embarrassed to say that the chicken called "call flower chicken", the chicken called "rich chicken". Qianlong on the chicken was full of praise.

The man who called for the chicken realized that the homeless man was the Emperor. This "call flower chicken" also because of the emperor's golden mouth, became the "rich chicken". Passed down to this day, has become a famous dish on the hall of elegance.

Sixty Dumplings

In 1901, the Qing court and the Eight-Power Allied Forces signed the humiliating "Treaty of Simchou", the Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an decided to return to Beijing. When she passed through Henan, she sent down an order to taste the specialties of Henan. The local officials let the chef offer a "four seasons meatballs", which represents the meaning of the four seasons of the year. "Old Buddha" on this dish is very satisfied, said repeatedly praised: "taste good." Local officials hoped that Cixi and his entourage could pass by smoothly, who knew that something unexpected had happened. It turned out that Cixi this line of thousands of people, thousands of vehicles, fleeing from Xi'an and back, would have been humiliating, she had to set the scene, along the way to the people to build colorful shacks, repair the road, local officials take this opportunity to levy food collection, making a mess of people's lives. What is more annoying is that Cixi fleet passes by, but also "chicken into the cage, the dog on the rope, cattle and sheep into the circle of people prohibited". A chef in the do four seasons meatballs on the hate said: "blow up this scourge of the country and the people Cixi!" Someone else said: "Cixi ruthless, should be called her end!" But at that time, cursing the "Old Buddha" was the crime of extermination. So people used the harmonization of the word "Cixi" to change the name of the fried Cixi to "Fried Four Happiness", and "Cixi finished" to "Four Happiness Dumplings". Nowadays, the four joy balls have long entered the common people's homes. People according to their own tastes, there are changes in the ingredients. Such as adding shredded sea cucumber or shredded shrimp, shredded water chestnuts, etc., and then deep-fried, soup to the bottom of the heart of the green vegetables, the flavor is fresher, more nutritious, available in all seasons, young and old. As for the meaning of "Four Happiness", people have several ways of saying it according to their own wishes. For example, in the past, some said: "blessing, fortune, longevity, happiness for the four joys"