Famous dishes in Fuzhou include Buddha jumping over the wall, lychee meat, drunken pork ribs, eight-treasure schoolbag fish, chicken minced fish lips, pipa shrimp, purse shark's fin, etc. To eat Buddha Jumping Over the Wall and other traditional dishes, you have to go to Juchun Garden.

Traditional specialty snacks include: fish balls, taro paste, pot side paste, taro fruit, nine-layer fruit, light cake, meat floss, onion meat cake, swallow skin, thread noodles, and spring rolls. At the "Weizhongwei" snack bar, you can taste various traditional snacks in Fuzhou. But the most popular snack bars on the streets of Fuzhou are Shaxian snacks. Shaxian is a place name in Fujian. Shaxian snacks were brought by people from this place. They mainly sell noodles, stew pots, fish balls, wontons and various braised foods. This kind of snack bar has a small appearance, but it is a must-try place when traveling in Fuzhou.

Fuzhou’s vegetarian dishes are also very famous. They are made from plant foods such as gluten, tofu skin, tofu tendons, winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and fungus. They are processed skillfully, cooked well, and taste very good. Many temples and restaurants in Fuzhou serve vegetarian dishes, and the vegetarian dishes of Gushan Yongquan Temple are the most famous. There are more than 30 kinds of famous vegetarian dishes: "Nanhai Golden Lotus", "Half Moon Shenjiang", "Shigu Three Delicacies", "Yongquan Three Silks", etc.

Onion meat pie

Onion meat pie, a traditional snack in Fuzhou. An oven-baked pastry made with flour as the main ingredient and pig fat, chopped green onions, and raw sesame seeds as auxiliary ingredients. The method is: knead the flour into a pie crust, marinate the diced fat meat with white soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, refined salt, five-spice powder or salt and pepper, pepper and other seasonings to make a filling. Sprinkle raw sesame seeds on top and bake in oven.

There is also a traditional snack in Fuzhou called shrimp dried meat pie. The preparation method is similar to that of scallion meat pie. The shape and size are the same as the light pancake. It is filled with dried shrimp, diced meat, salt and pepper, etc. It is baked in a furnace and is crispy and delicious. It has a history of three to four hundred years.

Light cakes

Light cakes are cakes baked with flour and a little salt. They are about 6 cm in diameter and have holes in the middle. They are crispy and delicious. One of the traditional snacks loved by Fuzhou people.

There is another type of light cake, that is, the salt is changed into sugar, and the shape is twice as big as the salty cake. It is called "Zhengdong cake". But whether it is "Guang Cake" or "Zhengdong" Cake, their names are related to the legend of Qi Jiguang entering Fujian to fight against the Japanese.

Guangbing is deeply loved by Fuzhou people. Literati in ancient times liked to eat light cakes. When those candidates who went to Beijing to take exams passed by Fuzhou, they would buy a lot of light cakes to use as dry food on the way. Over time, how many light cakes they ate became synonymous with measuring the degree of study of the candidates. Nowadays, people in Fuzhou eat all the cakes and have many tricks. There are seaweed pancakes filled with stir-fried dried seaweed and spicy and sour condiments, spicy cabbage pancakes filled with mustard greens, and meat pancakes filled with rice noodles and meat. wait. In the past, light cakes were considered street snacks and were not considered elegant. Nowadays, Fuzhou people also serve light cakes on their banquet tables. When Fuzhou people invite guests from far away to taste the light cake, they will proudly introduce the legend of the light cake to the guests.

Oyster cake

Fuzhou’s traditional snack is made by wrapping oyster meat, lean pork and celery stuffing with rice and soybean flour and frying it. The finished product is round, golden in color, crispy in shell, delicious in filling and meaty in taste. Most Fuzhou people make oyster cakes as porridge and side dishes. It tastes better if eaten with Dingbian paste.

Such snacks are available at food stalls in the streets and alleys.

Drunken Chicken with Red Grain

Drunken Chicken with Red Grain is a traditional famous dish in Fuzhou. The preparation method is to boil the selected white tender frogs in a pot over low heat (the water must not boil), remove them, let them cool, then cut them into pieces and marinate them. The method of making drunken juice is to mix MSG, refined salt, red grains, five-spice powder, Shaoxing wine, white sugar and chicken stock. This dish is red and white in color, tender and mellow, sweet and sour, and meaty and delicious.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

Fuzhou’s traditional famous dish has a history of more than 100 years and was developed by Zheng Chunfa, the owner of Juchunyuan Restaurant. This dish combines a variety of delicacies from the mountains and seas. It is simmered with more than 20 raw materials such as shark's fin, sea cucumber, chicken, tendons, scallops, mushrooms, abalone, etc. The cooking process is strict, the nutritional value is high, the aroma is rich, meaty but not greasy.

Ju Chunyuan Restaurant’s Buddha Jumping Over the Wall is the most famous, but this dish is relatively expensive, generally costing 300 yuan per cup for a single person.

Attachment: The origin of Buddha Jumping over the Wall

It is said that several scholars came to Juchun Garden to recite poems and compose poems. The boss Zheng Chun sent a jar of his own specialty dishes, and the altar lid When the dish was opened, the whole hall was filled with the aroma of meat. The scholars all clapped their hands in wonder and chanted: "When the altar is opened, the aroma of meat floats around, and the Buddha abandons his Zen and jumps over the wall." Hence the name of this dish.

Chicken and Fish Lips

Chicken and Fish Lips is a traditional dish in Fuzhou. The fish lips, a rare seafood, are used to remove the fishy smell and then marinated in Shaoxing wine. The chicken breasts are chopped with the back of a knife. It is in the shape of velvet. It is cooked into chicken velvet soup, put in fish lips and braised, sprinkle with minced ham and serve. This dish has a snow-white color, soft and waxy fish lips, rich in gelatin, mellow chicken mince, and a fresh and refreshing taste. It is a must-have dish in high-end banquets.

Lychee meat

Fuzhou’s traditional famous dish has a history of two to three hundred years. It is made of lean pork meat imitating the shape of lychees. Cut the lean pork pieces into diagonal pieces with a cross knife. Because the depth and width of the buns are uniform and appropriate, they are rolled into a lychee shape after deep-frying and served with tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and other seasonings.

This dish can be eaten in ordinary restaurants.

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls, also known as spring pancakes and pancakes, are a popular traditional snack in Fuzhou with a long history. It is said that there was a scholar in Fuzhou during the Song Dynasty. In order to study for the exam, he studied all day long and often forgot to eat and sleep. His wife tried to persuade him over and over to no avail, so she came up with a way: grind the rice into pancakes, stuff them with vegetables and meat, and wrap them into rolls, which can be used as both rice and vegetables. This snack was later named spring rolls and gradually became popular in urban and rural areas. People in Fuzhou often eat it during the Spring Festival, and it is as common as making dumplings during the festival in the north. Cai Xiang once wrote a poem praising it: "I think of Sanjiu when eating vegetables on a spring plate."

Now the spring roll wrapper has been replaced by flour, and the filling is usually made of bean sprouts, leeks, dried tofu, and some are also filled with shredded pork, bamboo shoots, chopped green onion, etc. The more advanced spring rolls are filled with shredded chicken or oysters. , made of shrimp, mushrooms, leeks, etc. Spring rolls are fried over low heat until golden brown, crispy on the outside and burning on the inside, also known as "fried spring".

Seven-star fish balls

Seven-star fish balls are heart-filled balls that originated in the early Qing Dynasty. Because after being cooked, it floats on the soup surface, rising and sinking in different directions, like stars swinging in space, hence the name "Seven Star Fish Balls". It is made by mincing eels, sharks or freshwater fish, adding sweet potato flour (starch) and stirring evenly, then wrapping it with lean pork or shrimp fillings. The skin is thin and even, the color is white and shiny, the food is smooth and crisp, and the soup is meaty and not greasy.

This kind of food can be eaten in ordinary snack bars.

Yanpi

Yanpi is a thin slice made of minced meat and sweet potato powder. It is also called meaty swallow skin. It was created during the Guangxu period in the late Qing Dynasty. It is white in color, fragrant in texture, smooth, tender, and crispy. Tender and refreshing, it can be cut into shreds and cooked. It is a unique snack in Fuzhou. The dried swallow skin can be stored for a long time and is a great gift for relatives and friends. Yanpi can be purchased in food stores. In addition, it can be made into many famous dishes and snacks such as Taipingyan.

Attachment: Taiping Yan

Chop fresh fish, pork belly, dried shrimp, and celery stems into fillings, wrap the stuffing with dried swallow skin cut into two-inch square slices, and wrap the swallow The middle waist of the leather is closed and pinched tightly, so that the edges naturally bend into a long spring flower shape, also known as "little Changchun". After steaming, add it to boiling water and scoop it up. Add seaweed, celery rice, shrimp oil and other seasonings and cook with duck eggs to make Taipingyan, a must-have dish for festivals or festive days in Fuzhou. Taipingyan is favored by Fuzhou people because of its auspicious meaning.

Taro paste

A traditional Fujian-Lai sweet. Steam betel nut taro and press it with a knife to make a paste. Add sugar, eggs, cooked lard and water, mix well, and put it in a bowl. Steam over high heat for one hour, take it out, pour cooked oil on it, and sprinkle with chopped red dates, melon seeds, cherries, winter melon sugar, etc. Serve. This dish is fragrant, sweet, delicate and delicious. Taro paste is a common dish at Fuzhou people's banquets. Whenever a banquet comes to an end, the last "finale" dish is usually taro paste. This kind of dessert is also available in most restaurants.

Attachment: The origin of taro paste

It is said that in 1839, Lin Zexu went to Guangzhou to ban smoking. In order to ridicule Chinese officials, the consuls of Britain, Germany, the United States, Russia and other countries prepared a Western-style banquet for Lin Zexu. , trying to make Lin Zexu make a fool of himself while eating ice cream.

Afterwards, Lin Zexu also prepared a banquet to invite him back. After a few cold dishes, he served taro paste. At first glance, taro paste looks like a cold dish, but it is actually very hot. Foreigners didn't know this, so they scooped it up and ate it, only to be burned until they screamed.