"Farewell My Concubine" is a traditional dish of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, belonging to the Hui cuisine family.

The people of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, in honor of Xiang Yu, the hero of Chu, who made great contributions to the overthrow of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty, and in memory of Yu Ji, a woman of great beauty who was concerned about the fate of the country and was righteous, created the famous dish "Farewell my concubine", which has been handed down to the present day.

In September 2018, the dish was awarded as the top ten classic dishes of Anhui Province of the "Chinese cuisine".

The traditional dish of "Farewell My Concubine" has a long history and was introduced in the late Qing Dynasty. It is made with turtle and chicken as the main raw materials, supplemented with mushrooms, cooking wine, garlic and other condiments, and refined by the cooking method of boiling and then steaming. Chicken and turtle are both great tonic dishes in the fall, and the chicken and turtle from the mountains are simmered together for 20 minutes to bring out all the nutrients and flavor of both. Then sprinkle down some special dry chili, making the fish spicy and tender, very pure. The fresh flavor and rich nutrition of the chicken pieces and the water fish make people's teeth and cheeks fragrant and unforgettable for a long time.

Expanded Information

The original name of "Farewell My Concubine" was "Dragon and Phoenix Chowder", because the turtle was the king of the aquatic family, so it was called the dragon; and the pheasant was the head of the feather family, so it was called the phoenix. In the early years of the Republic of China, the Governor of Fujian Li Houji (a native of Fengxian County) came to visit his family, the chef made this dish, but named it "Jiaji Reunion", Jiaji, a homonym of the family chicken. Reunion, turtle-shaped round. But this dish, the tortoise is difficult to find, wild pheasant is also very little, difficult to spread, and then changed to turtle and domestic hen.

After liberation, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi and other leading comrades of the party and the state came to Xuzhou to inspect the work, have tasted this famous dish, and give praise. This famous dish has been improved by the late famous chef Pei Jihong, through the chicken, turtle image of the foil, so that the king of the Farewell to Concubine this historical subject, meaning euphemistic, the mood is very wonderful. Chicken and turtle meat is tender, and the soup is thick and flavorful.

In 1981, Pei Jihong, head of the business section of Xuzhou Catering Company, changed the name of "Dragon and Phoenix Chowder" to "Farewell to the King (Turtle) Ji (Chicken)". 1982, "Chinese Cuisine" and other newspapers and magazines published the name of the dish "Farewell to the King" in the form of ""Farewell to the Chicken"". Chinese Cuisine" and other newspapers and magazines reported the dish and the allusion behind it under the name of "Farewell my concubine". Xiang Yu related places around the Huaihai area, have imitated, became a famous dish.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Farewell My Concubine (Name of dish)