Dingzhuang Grand Dish — Hua Tuo’s Golden Needle

Dingzhuang Grand Dish — Hua Tuo’s Golden Needle

　　 Dingzhuang Grand Dish, a specialty of Huaiyin, was once said to be an imperial tribute and has long been famed as Hua Tuo’s Golden Needle. Commonly known as daylily or golden needle vegetable, it belongs to the Liliaceae family and is a perennial herbaceous plant. In ancient times, it was referred to as the “daylily flower,” and has been cultivated in China for over two thousand years. According to elders, long ago, an epidemic broke out in the areas of Sanzhuang and Dingszu, claiming many lives. The famous physician Hua Tuo came to treat the sick and taught locals to plant daylilies and consume their flower buds to prevent disease and strengthen the body. Later, Hua Tuo was executed in Xuchang. Because the daylily flower closely resembles the golden needles he used, people named it “golden needle vegetable” in his memory. Beyond its culinary value, the golden needle also offers certain medicinal benefits. According to Compendium of Materia Medica, its sprouts and flowers can treat “dark yellow urine” and “promote happiness, dispel worries, lighten the body, and improve vision.” These health benefits stem from the plant’s rich nutritional content, including high levels of carotene, riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, and ascorbic acid. Its dual value as food and medicine meets people's needs, and the premium-quality “Dingzhuang Grand Dish” is especially favored. There are many ways to cook daylilies. They are most commonly used in dried form. When cooking fresh golden needles, they must be blanched to remove the high levels of colchicine, which can oxidize into the more toxic colchiceine upon entering the human body, potentially causing nausea and diarrhea. Through processes such as distillation, drying, and smoking, the dried product no longer contains colchicine. Dried daylilies have long, neat stems, are dry and easy to store, and offer a distinctive flavor, making them available year-round. When cooking, they first need to be soaked in hot water: place a certain amount of dried golden needles in a ceramic or clay container, pour in enough hot water, rinse them clean, then proceed with cooking. In Huaiyin, locals enjoy pairing them with meat ingredients, resulting in rich and savory dishes that often appear at family banquets, such as “Braised Chicken with Golden Needles” and “Braised Pork with Golden Needles.” In the culinary world, there are countless famous dishes featuring daylilies — examples include “Golden Needles Spitting Jade,” where the main ingredient is golden needle with shrimp as a complement, “Phoenix Tail Golden Needles” where meat is the main element with golden needles as a side, and “Golden Needle Shark’s Fin” made entirely from golden needles. This particular dish uses top-grade golden needles of even length and thickness, which are soaked, washed, combed, coated in batter, and deep-fried. It is then combined with seasonal vegetables (pugua is preferred), shrimp, chicken breast, and ham, steamed, and finished with a drizzle of sauce. The final presentation resembles shark’s fin, with bright and appealing colors, a mellow and crisp-tender taste, and exceptional flavor and nutrition. (Huaiyin)

　　Hua Tuo (145–208)　　Hua Tuo (circa 145 AD – 208 AD), courtesy name Yuanhua, also known as Fu, was a native of Qiao County in Pei Commandery and a renowned physician of the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Hua Tuo, along with Dong Feng and Zhang Zhongjing, is known as one of the “Three Divine Physicians of the Jian’an Era.” In his youth, he traveled extensively to study medicine and practiced across Anhui, Henan, Shandong, and Jiangsu, dedicating himself to medical studies rather than pursuing an official career. He was a highly versatile doctor, particularly skilled in surgery and proficient in performing operations. He also had expertise in internal medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, and acupuncture. In his later years, he was imprisoned and tortured to death under suspicion from Cao Cao.

Hua Tuo is posthumously referred to as the “Sage of Surgery” and the “Father of Surgery.” He is widely remembered as the “Divine Physician Hua Tuo,” and also honored as “Hua Tuo Reborn...” More details