Yicheng Pan Eel

Yicheng Pan Eel

　　When it comes to food, one cannot fail to mention Yicheng Pan Eel, which was originally an indispensable delicacy at the banquets of the King of Chu.

　　Yicheng Pan Eel features tender meat and a delicious flavor, offering a crispy and tasty bite that is unforgettable. Its nutritional value far surpasses that of eel that has been gutted, stir-fried, or stewed. It was once a “royal dish” specially prepared for the King of Chu. The cooking method is also quite elaborate, starting with selecting live eels of suitable size—generally around half a liang (25 grams) each—and placing them in a basin filled with clean water along with a small amount of vegetable oil. This allows the eels to expel impurities from their bodies. After two hours, they are removed, then placed in boiling water to be killed and rid of their outer mucus. They are then dry-fried with seasonings such as star anise and scallions until the eels curl up and the dish becomes fragrant and richly colored. Thus, an authentic “Yicheng Pan Eel” is complete.

　　Eating Yicheng Pan Eel requires both courage and skill. Looking at those coiled eels, with their slightly upturned pointed mouths, it’s not easy to know where to start. Many who dare to eat it but don’t know how often end up swallowing the whole thing from head to tail, which draws laughter. Skilled eaters, however, tackle it with bold, sweeping movements, like commanding armies, making the experience quite entertaining. The proper way to eat it is to first clamp the eel’s head firmly with chopsticks, gently bite and break the spine without letting go, then use the chopsticks to tear it open forcefully and eat it. Next, bite through the throat to tear off the lower layer and eat that, before discarding the head and intestines. In this way, a single pan eel is “defeated.” There’s even a little rhyme for the process: Firmly clamp the head, bite the spine in two, tear down with force, discard the guts and head.

　　Nowadays, as soon as visitors arrive in Yicheng, whether at hotels, restaurants, or ordinary homes, they can enjoy the “royal treatment” and savor Yicheng Pan Eel. Many outsiders not only get to taste pan eel in Yicheng but also learn how to cook it. One Australian friend, after trying pan eel in Yicheng, happily said, “I must learn how to cook pan eel so I can make a plate for my family back home and let them enjoy a royal feast too!”

　　Yicheng boasts a rich variety of cuisine, and among them, Pan Eel can be considered the most time-honored. There are two popular stories about the origin of Pan Eel.

　　 One story says that Yicheng Pan Eel originated in the suburbs near the ancient capital of the Chu Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. One day, the King of Chu, Cheng, on a whim, visited the home of a villager named Zhen San. Zhen San and his wife were both delighted and nervous—what could they serve the king around noon? The larger eels caught in the ditch the previous day had already been eaten, leaving only a half-bucket of small ones. In a moment of desperation, Zhen San’s wife accidentally tossed the uncleaned small eels into the hot oil. Seeing this, Zhen San simply added generous amounts of chili, star anise, ginger, and scallions and stir-fried them vigorously. To everyone’s surprise, the small eels curled up neatly, turning golden, crispy, and richly aromatic. Anxiously, Zhen San served the eels to the King of Chu, who was overjoyed after tasting them and asked what dish it was. While Zhen San hesitated to answer, one of the accompanying royal physicians exclaimed, “It looks like coiled serpent patterns (Pán Huǐ Wén)!” (In Chu culture, snakes, eels, and earthworms were regarded as small dragons without feet, often used as decorative motifs on bronze ware, referred to as coiled serpent patterns). Seizing the moment, Zhen San replied cleverly, “Your Majesty has honored my humble home with your presence. I specially prepared this dish resembling coiled serpent patterns, but it has no name yet. May I ask Your Majesty to bestow a name upon it?” As the king picked up the chopsticks and a cup, he named it “Coiled Dragon Eel” and even took Zhen San to the palace to cook “Coiled Dragon Eel” exclusively. Later, out of respect for the word “dragon,” it was renamed Pan Eel.

　　 Another story claims that Pan Eel originated with the military garrisons in Yicheng. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Yicheng was a key military outpost. In the Qing dynasty, there were two levels of stationed troops: the Wuchang Guard and the Xiangyang Guard. Historical records of Yicheng County noted that the local population at the time was “seven parts soldiers, three parts civilians.” To build strength and fortify their bones during training, soldiers would often cook eels whole—without gutting them—by pan-frying them in a pot, eating them whole. This was called eating “blood-tube eel.” When the practice spread to civilians, people began making Pan Eel from small eels like cowpeas. Later, to make it easier to eat, a few rhymes were summed up: “Chopsticks clamp the throat, bite the spine in two, slowly tear downward. Discard the guts and head.”

　　 As Pan Eel grew in popularity, so did its fame. Hubei Television and China Central Television came to film documentaries and promotional videos about it. Consequently, Yicheng Pan Eel stepped out of Yicheng and spread across the nation.