Snake Banquet

Snake Banquet

　　Wuyishan is known as the kingdom of snakes. The Wuyi Snake Banquet, which primarily features snake as its main ingredient, offers excellent nourishing benefits for yin and vitality.

　　 The preparation of the Snake Banquet varies according to the species of snake, using different cooking methods such as steaming, baking, pan-frying, deep-frying, stir-frying, simmering, and stewing. These are paired with a variety of seasonings to create a range of Cantonese and Sichuan-style delicacies. It is considered a high-end treat when welcoming guests and is truly an outstanding health food for the body. The highest quality dishes in the Snake Banquet use freshly slaughtered snakes prepared on the spot. The fresh snake blood and gallbladder can be made into rare delicacies such as fresh snake blood wine and fresh snake gallbladder wine—truly exceptional brews for the banquet. Live snakes can be processed into over a hundred different dishes using their skin, meat, bones, and internal organs, combined with various seasonings. These are artfully arranged by master chefs into various patterns to form a rich and delicious full snake banquet. According to traditional Chinese customs, the best time to enjoy snake dishes is during autumn and winter. As the saying goes, “When the autumn wind rises, the three snakes grow fat—timely nourishment is key,” and “If you don’t nourish yourself in autumn and winter, your life will age faster.” Therefore, many families and industry associations in southern China, Hong Kong, and Macau have the habit of joining or organizing food and travel tours to Wuzhou in autumn to enjoy the Snake Banquet for its health benefits.