Liancheng Cuisine: Triangle Dumplings
Phoenix Drunken Chicken According to *The Chinese Cookbook*, “Hetian chicken originated in Hetian Town, Changting County, Fujian Province.” Legend has it that during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, Hetian chickens were sent to Chang’an (modern-day Xi'an) and consistently won in cockfighting matches, earning them the title of champion fighting cocks. Changting rice wine, traditionally brewed with meticulous craftsmanship using purely natural ingredients, contains over 20 kinds of amino acids and is highly nutritious…
Commonly known as "Roasted Large Chunks," this is a traditional dish from Changting with a long history. It was included in the official banquet menu as early as the Qing Dynasty. The skin of Crinkled Tissue Pork resembles crinkled tissue, presenting a deep red and crystal-clear appearance with excellent color, aroma, and taste. The cooking process of Crinkled Tissue Pork is as follows: (Feature) Skin resembling crinkled tissue, rich pork aroma, refreshing and not greasy.…
Triangular Tofu Dumplings have been a delicacy at banquets in Changting since the Ming and Qing dynasties. This dish is meticulously prepared, using tofu as the wrapper and filling it with lean meat, shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, scallion whites, and more. The triangular tofu dumplings made by chefs in Tingzhou feature snow-white wrappers and fragrant, tender, sweet fillings, standing out uniquely among tofu-based dishes with their distinctive flavor. （特…
Among Hakka cuisine is a dish called “Qilin Delivered from Its Womb,” which sounds quite mysterious just from the name. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re actually going to eat a “qilin.” If such a mythical creature really existed, it would probably be a first-class protected animal. The “qilin” here is simply a suckling dog, and the “womb” refers to a pig’s stomach. The cooking process for “Qilin Delivered from Its Womb” is one of the most elaborate in Hakka cuisine…
Cage Bed Millet, also known as "Winnowing Basket Millet," is a traditional food in both urban and rural areas of Changting. After steaming, the Cage Bed Millet is sliced into strips and dried. When seasoned and boiled, it is called "Rice Noodle Strips." When the whole steamed sheet is wrapped around stir-fried lean pork shreds, chopped leeks, bean sprouts, and rolled into a tube shape, then drizzled with peanut oil and soy sauce, it is called "Cage Bed Roll." [Features]: Fine in texture…
Fujian Tufang Areca Taros have a long history. Due to the local soil and climatic conditions, they develop unique qualities that have established them as a distinctive regional brand. The taros are notable for their large, attractive size, tender and fine texture, soft and crumbly mouthfeel, rich fragrance, and uniquely delicious flavor. They are rich in starch, protein, vitamins, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and a variety of…
The Hetian warm-water fish is famous for being plump, fresh, and tender. Legend has it that warm-water fish originated in the Ming Dynasty when locals discovered a type of fish downstream from a hot spring. These fish were round and flat, scale-less, plump, and beautifully colored. When they mistakenly came ashore and hopped around on the ground for a while, their bodies would show fine red streaks. Once placed in a pot and lightly boiled, they became incredibly tender and fresh. People then dug ponds downstream from the hot spring and began experimenting with stocking the fish...
Ponds and reservoirs in both urban and rural areas of Changting mostly raise grass carp (鲩), bighead carp (鳙), silver carp (鲢), and common carp (鲤), with fresh fish available daily. Among them, grass carp is the most beloved for its delicious broth and tender meat, making it suitable for all ages. The *Changting County Annals · Products Section* records: "鲩, also known as grass carp, resembles trout but is larger, with an elongated and round body, thick and loose flesh. Its breed came from Ji..."
Since the Ming Dynasty, shaomai has been a famous local delicacy in Changting. Resembling a pomegranate in shape, shaomai is known for its thin skin, tender filling, fragrant aroma, and mouthwatering taste—earning it the nicknames “Three Special Pomegranate Fruits” and “Three-Mile Fragrance.” Later generations called it “shaomai” because its wrapper is made of flour and it needs to be eaten hot, or “rushed to cook.” …
“Longyan Salty Crispy Peanuts” refer to the salty, crispy peanuts produced in Xinluo District, Longyan City, Fujian Province. Xinluo District in Longyan City is abundant in peanuts, especially in processing them into salty, crispy varieties. Historical records indicate that as early as the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, the Xinluo area began processing peanuts with exquisite craftsmanship, boasting a production history of over 200 years...
Place the braised pork slices skin-side down in a serving bowl, then arrange garlic cloves and cuttlefish slices on top. Sprinkle dried vegetable powder over the surface, drizzle with the braising sauce, and steam in a steamer over high heat for 1 hour. Remove, pour off the steaming liquid, then invert onto a round plate. Heat the steaming liquid in a wok over high heat until boiling, thicken it with a diluted starch slurry, and drizzle over the Dried Vegetable Braised Pork to finish. …
The most renowned Hakka dish, hailed as the “Number One Hakka Dish.” Made with the “Famous Chinese Chicken” — the Hetian chicken from Wentian Town in Changting — and cooked with Hakka rice wine, it features a golden, crispy skin, tender white meat, and a fragrant taste. This dish is a staple at festive banquets in Changting and a must-try for visitors from home and abroad. As the saying goes, “If you haven’t…
Hetian Chicken: Originating from Hetian Township, it is a premium local breed of poultry raised for meat. It is large in size, elegant in appearance, and has brightly colored feathers, featuring the distinctive “three yellows and three blacks.” The traditional “clear stewing” method offers a cooling, fire-reducing, and nourishing effect. As the saying goes: “If you haven’t eaten Hetian Chicken, you haven’t truly been to Changting”…
Changting Chestnuts: Produced in areas such as Nanzhai, Luofang, Huangwu, and Chenfang villages. Varieties include hairy chestnuts, glossy chestnuts, and melon-seed chestnuts, with hairy chestnuts being the best. When cooked, the flesh is tender, sweet, and fragrant. Glossy chestnuts have a milder taste and firmer flesh. Melon-seed chestnuts are small with crisp, tender flesh. They have been cultivated for over 300 years.…
Have been a delicacy at Changting banquets since the Ming and Qing dynasties. The preparation of this dish is quite elaborate: a five-centimeter square piece of tofu is taken out of water, a thin layer is sliced horizontally with a knife, and gently spread on a piece of gauze. The filling—made from minced lean meat, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, onions, and other ingredients—is placed in the center of the tofu slice. The gauze, along with the tofu, is then lifted and pressed diagonally to seal. …
Deep-fried Snow Potatoes (Fried Taro Pockets): Also known as "Fried Taro Pockets," this dish has been served at banquets since the late Qing and early Republican period. In 1941, when international friend Rewi Alley visited Changting, over a hundred members of the Industrial Cooperatives held a grand welcoming banquet at the "South-Central Travel Agency" in Thunder Rock Park. The Fried Taro Pockets dish was highly praised by Alley. In 1984…
Wontons (or dumplings), historically recorded as a common food in China over 2,000 years ago, are commonly known as "bian shi" in Changting. The "bian shi" of Changting are made with extremely thin wrappers enclosing a filling. The filling is about the size of a pinky finger, surrounded by the thin wrapper, and comes in a variety of flavors. The filling can be made from minced pork, beef, chicken, fish, or shrimp, among other meats, but...
Dou Tang Li is a traditional hot soup snack from Changting, available in varieties such as pork Dou Tang, fish Dou Tang, and chicken Dou Tang. In the Changting dialect, "Dou Tang Li" means "serving meat soup." (Feature) The soup is hot, the meat tender, and the flavor fragrant and delicious.…
The *Yongle Encyclopedia* from the Ming Dynasty records “chestnuts” among the tribute items of Tingzhou Prefecture. Sandy shores along the Ting River are covered with many chestnut trees. Both chestnuts and hairy chestnuts are specialties of Changting. They were bestsellers in coastal trading ports during the Qing Dynasty, and by the early years of the Republic of China, the product had been exported overseas to great acclaim. As an autumn delicacy, the Changting Chestnut Cake is made entirely from freshly harvested, ripe chestnuts (dried chestnuts from other regions cannot be used), giving it an exceptionally delicious taste that ranks it as a seasonal delicacy on banquet menus.