Buddha jumping wall is a famous traditional dish in Fuzhou, which is famous at home and abroad. It has been listed as the "chief dish" of Fujian recipes by local culinary circles, with a history of 100 years.

There are as many as 18 kinds of raw materials for Fotiaoqiang cuisine: sea cucumber, abalone, shark fin, scallop, fish lip, gelatin, razor clam, ham, pork belly, sheep elbow, sheep toe, tendon, chicken breast, duck, chicken gizzard, mushroom, bamboo shoots and so on. The cooking process is very complicated: firstly, 18 kinds of raw materials are fried, fried, boiled and fried to make dishes with their own characteristics, then they are stacked layer by layer in a big Shaoxing wine jar, and appropriate amount of Shang Tang and Shaoxing wine is injected to fully blend soup, wine and vegetables, and then the jar mouth is sealed with lotus leaves and heated on the fire. The use of fire is also very particular. It is necessary to choose heavy and smokeless white charcoal. First, boil it with high fire, and then simmer it for five or six hours. The story ends here.

Why is such delicious food called "Buddha jumps over the wall"? There are three kinds of folklore in Fuzhou. First of all, it is said that at the end of Tongzhi (1876) in the Qing Dynasty, an official of Fuzhou Guanqianzhuang hosted a banquet for Zhou Lian, the chief secretary of Fujian, and his wife in Shaoxing, personally cooked a dish called Fushouquan, which included chicken, duck, meat and several kinds of seafood, and put it in a jar filled with Shaoxing wine. Zhou Lian was so full of praise after eating it that she ordered official chef Zheng Chunfa to imitate this dish. Zheng Chunfa went to the door for advice and reformed the materials to make the dishes more delicious with more seafood and less meat. Later, Zheng Chunfa left Zhou Lian's official residence to raise funds to open Juchunyuan Restaurant, and "Fushouquan" became the main dish of this restaurant. Just because the pronunciation of "Fushouquan" in Fuzhou dialect is similar to that of "Buddha jumping over the wall", over time, "Fushouquan" was replaced by "Buddha jumping over the wall" and became famous all over the world.

The second is: Fujian custom, on the third day after the new wife gets married, she should cook by herself to show her tea and rice skills, serve her in-laws and get appreciation. Legend has it that a rich girl was spoiled, didn't learn to cook, and was worried on the eve of her wedding. Her mother took out all the delicious food at home and cooked all kinds of dishes, wrapped them in lotus leaves and told her how to do it. Who knows that the young lady forgot all the cooking methods, so she poured all the dishes into a shochu jar, covered it with lotus leaves and put it on the stove. The next day, the aroma floated out, and the whole family praised the cooking well. This is the origin of the "Buddha jumps over the wall" of "cooking 18 dishes in one pot".

Third, a group of beggars beg around with clay pots every day, and pour all kinds of leftovers together to cook, which is steaming and fragrant. When the monk smelled it, he couldn't help being tempted by the fragrance and jumping out of the wall to eat and drink. There is a poem to prove it: "the fragrance of meat floats ten miles, and the Buddha hears that he abandons Zen and jumps over the wall."

Because the "Buddha jumps over the wall" is to stew dozens of raw materials in an altar, it not only has the common meat flavor, but also maintains its own characteristics. It tastes soft and moist, rich and fragrant, not greasy; The ingredients penetrate each other and taste delicious. At the same time, it has high nutritional value, and has the effects of invigorating qi and nourishing blood, clearing away lung heat and moistening intestines, and preventing and treating deficiency and cold. When serving, it's even better to serve with a dish of coir radish (shredded white radish), a dish of oil mustard, a dish of ham with bean sprouts, a dish of fried bean sprouts with mushrooms, and a silver roll and sesame cake. Its taste is endless. □ Cheng Ping