Suodiu

Suodiu

　　Suodiu

　　“Suodiu” is a little-known secret dish of the Rongmei Tusi, originating in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties from the imaginative ideas of the Tujia ancestors. “Suodiu” involves placing small stones seasoned with spices into the mouth to be sucked and savored before being spit out and discarded—illustrating just how unique it is.

　　Legend has it that Tian Tuwang had tasted all the delicacies under heaven and felt there was nothing more delicious left in the world, yet he always craved something rare and exquisite. So he put up a notice, offering a handsome reward for anyone in the populace who could present him with an unusual dish—with one condition: it had to be something he had never eaten before, or the person would be executed. With such a great reward at stake, many brave souls stepped forward. Chefs from all over believed the Tusi had definitely never tasted their creations. In the end, however, every single one of them was executed by the Tusi. After that, no one dared to offer any dishes anymore.

　　There was a Tujia hunter surnamed Tian who lived south of the Longxi River (Lou Shui). He was a renowned archer around the Rongmei area—hardworking, brave, and very handsome. But due to poverty, he was still unmarried in his mid-twenties. One day, while hunting in the mountains north of the river, he suddenly heard a series of terrified screams. Following the sound, he found a young mountain girl standing dazed on the edge of a steep cliff. Not far away, a fierce tiger crouched low, growling softly, ready to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. Quick as lightning, the young man shot several arrows “whoosh—whoosh” at the tiger’s neck. In no time, the tiger collapsed motionless on the ground.

　　The mountain girl was known far and wide as a great beauty—smart, skilled, and an excellent cook. Seeing the young man’s youth, handsomeness, and extraordinary skills, and how he had saved her in this moment of danger, she grew fond of him and offered to marry him in gratitude.

　　The next day, the young hunter brought gifts to the girl’s home to propose. Her father, a man who despised the poor and adored the rich, saw the hunter’s poverty and made things very difficult for him. He said to the young man, “My daughter is the most beautiful girl within a hundred li. Many wealthy merchants have asked for her hand, but I refused them all. If you want to marry my daughter, you must bring 100 taels of gold before you can take her away.” The hunter was penniless and could not think of any way to get the money, growing more and more anxious.

　　One day, while selling wild chickens he had hunted at the market, the hunter noticed the Tusi’s “seeking dishes” notice and his eyes lit up. If he could get the Tusi’s reward money, wouldn’t that be enough to build the bridge? He quickly told the mountain girl about his idea and asked for her help. The clever girl thought hard at home for three days and nights. After repeated cooking and testing, she finally created a delicious dish that the Tusi had definitely never eaten. Early the next morning, the hunter rushed to the Pingshan Tusi Manor and presented the dish. The Tusi took one look and saw that the dish used stones as its main ingredient—something he had truly never eaten before. After tasting it, he found the flavor extraordinary, bursting with numbing, spicy, sweet, and savory notes, and couldn’t stop praising it. Impressed by the dish’s unique taste and creativity, the Tusi gave it a highly fitting name—“Suodiu”—and rewarded the hunter with a thousand taels of gold. The hunter and the mountain girl gave 100 taels to her father, then used the rest of the reward to build a beautiful bridge over the Longxi River for people on both sides to cross. Later generations, passing over the bridge, admired the intelligence and kindness of the hunter and the girl. To commemorate them, they named the bridge the “Husband-and-Wife Bridge.”

　　In truth, making this dish is very simple: carefully selected smooth, clean, uniformly shaped small green pebbles (about the size of chestnut kernels) are gathered from the beaches along the Longxi River. These are washed several times with clean water, slightly drained, then mixed with salt and various spices, and deep-fried in cooking oil. Once removed from the wok and cooled to the right temperature, they are plated and served—thus creating this unique dish—“Suodiu.” Eating it is also simple: use chopsticks to pick up the fried pebbles and place them in your mouth to suck. The smooth, round pebbles glide around the mouth, dancing on the tip of the tongue, lightly brushing the inner cheeks, occasionally making a soft clicking sound against the teeth. The flavors of the spices fill the entire mouth, refreshing and uniquely delicious. After sucking, the pebbles are discarded, yet you can still feel their lingering fragrance and subtle aftertaste in your mouth, leaving you with much to ponder.

　　This dish was once exclusive to the Rongmei Tusi and was among the favorite dishes of successive tusi rulers. Because it was never passed down to the public, it remained little known. It is said that one of the secrets to the long lives of the tusi was their regular consumption of this dish. Looking at it now, there may well be some scientific reasoning behind it. Though people only sucked the flavors of the seasonings in the “Suodiu” and then discarded the small green stones, these stones came from the area around Shuijiao Chanxi in Hefeng County. Modern science has long proven that the soil, rocks, and plants in Hefeng are rich in selenium. As the tusi sucked on the stones, they also absorbed a certain amount of selenium. Selenium is a component of glutathione peroxidase, which catalyzes the reduction of toxic peroxides into harmless hydroxyl compounds, thereby protecting biological membranes and providing anti-aging benefits. It can also neutralize the toxicity of harmful heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, enhance immune function, boost disease resistance, and even help prevent and treat cancer. At the same time, by eating “Suodiu,” the tusi could enjoy the pleasures of fine dining culture without consuming excessive calories that could lead to nutritional excess—and thus avoid diseases caused by overnutrition, such as high blood lipids and hypertension. These two reasons may well be the secrets to the long lives of the successive tusi kings.