Origin of Dongpo meat
Su Dongpo in Song Dynasty (1036-101year) was one of the top eight writers in Tang and Song Dynasties. Lyrics and Xin Qiji are both unique; Calligraphy and painting are also unique. Even in the art of cooking, he is good at it. When he violated the emperor and was banished to Huangzhou, he often cooked in person to taste with his friends. Su Dongpo's cooking was best with braised pork. He once wrote a poem to introduce his cooking experience: "slow down the fire, lack water, and it will be beautiful when the fire is full." However, it is said that it was an interesting thing that happened when he returned to Hangzhou for the second time as a local official to burn Dongpo meat named after him.
By that time, the West Lake had been largely submerged by weeds. After he took office, he mobilized tens of thousands of migrant workers to remove farmland and dredge the lake port, piled up the dug mud and built a long embankment, and built a bridge to unblock the lake, so that the West Lake could reappear and be irrigated with water. This piled long dike has improved the environment, not only bringing water conservancy benefits to the masses, but also adding the scenery of the West Lake. Later, it formed the "Su Causeway Chunxiao" which was listed as the first of the ten scenic spots in the West Lake.
At that time, the people praised Su Dongpo for doing this good thing for the place. I heard that he liked to eat braised pork. In the Spring Festival, they all gave him pork to show their wishes. Su Dongpo received so much pork that he felt that he should share it with tens of thousands of migrant workers who dredged the West Lake. He asked his family to cut the meat into cubes, cook it with his cooking method, and distribute it to every household together with wine according to the roster of migrant workers. When his family cooked it, they understood "send it with wine" as "burn it with wine", and the braised pork was more crispy and delicious. The eaters praised Su Dongpo for its unique cooking method and delicious taste. Everyone praised and anecdotes spread. At that time, among those who asked Su Dongpo for a teacher to teach, in addition to learning calligraphy and writing articles, some people came to learn to burn Dongpo meat.
After the Lunar New Year's Eve, every household in the folk makes Dongpo meat. As a custom, it is used to express the nostalgia for him. Now it has become a traditional dish in Hangzhou. Louwailou restaurant imitated his method to cook this dish, supplied it to the world, and constantly improved it in practice, which has been passed down to this day.