Temple Head Pineapple Chicken

Temple Head Pineapple Chicken

　　   The pineapple chicken from Huangpu is a traditional handicraft associated with the annual Boluo Festival. Legend has it that when Daxi Sikong, an envoy from the Western Regions who came to pay tribute, passed away, people heard the crowing of a rooster. They followed the sound and found Daxi Sikong, mistakenly believing that the rooster was a “divine chicken.”

   Huangpu also has a signature dish called “pineapple chicken.” There is a legend related to Daxi Sikong surrounding this dish. It is said that during the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan era, envoys from India’s Bolo region were sent to China as tribute bearers. Among them was an envoy named Daxi Sikong. After worshipping the South Sea God, he planted a pair of pineapple trees on either side of the temple. These were peculiar trees that bore a fruit similar to figs, commonly known as jackfruit, and referred to in Buddhist texts as “udumbara.” It is said that these two trees were still sprouting by the Qing Dynasty and had grown to dozens of spans in circumference.

   The beautiful scenery made him linger, and by the time the long-traveling Daxi Sikong finally hurried to the riverbank, the fleet had already set sail. Daxi Sikong stood dumbstruck before the temple, gazing at the fleet gradually disappearing on the horizon, until tears unconsciously rolled down his cheeks.

   When the villagers saw a foreigner standing motionless on the shore for such a long time and learned the story, they took him back to their village to stay. But Daxi Sikong was heartsick with homesickness, and the villagers felt sorry for him, wondering how they could get him to eat. A skilled villager’s wife cooked a dish for Daxi Sikong using chicken and another local specialty from his homeland—pineapple. When Daxi Sikong tried it, he found the taste strikingly similar to that of his home country. Moreover, the flavor, tangy with a hint of sweetness, was very appetizing, easing his homesickness. And so, the dish “pineapple chicken” was passed down through generations.