Three-Dice Buns

Last updated 2026-11-08 — Three-Dice Buns are a famous snack from Yangzhou, known for their fluffy fermented dough and exquisitely prepared filling. The Qing Dynasty writer Yuan Mei wrote in his book "Suiyuan Shidan" ("Recipes from the Sui Garden"): “The fermented dough of Yangzhou is the best — press it with your hand and it doesn’t rise more than half an inch, but when released, it bounces back high.” The flour used for fermentation is “white as snow,” resulting in soft yet elastic dough that doesn’t stick to the teeth. The Fuchun Teahouse has maintained this traditional fermentation technique. The filling of Yangzhou’s Three-Dice Buns is made from diced chicken, pork, and bamboo shoots, hence the name “Three-Dice.” The chicken dice are selected from old hens, which are both tender and flavorful; the pork dice come from streaky pork belly with a moderate amount of fat. The chicken, pork, and bamboo shoot dices are combined in a 1:2:1 ratio. The chicken dices are large, the pork ones medium-sized, and the bamboo shoot dices small, each distinct in size. The trio is also referred to as the “three delicacies,” blending together deliciously. A few buns in the morning can keep one full until lunch. Legend has it that when the Japanese Emperor once tasted Yangzhou Three-Dice Buns flown in from Yangzhou to Tokyo, he praised them as the finest in the world. Yangzhou’s “Five-Dice Buns” are an innovative twist on the classic Three-Dice Buns, using diced ginseng, chicken, pork, bamboo shoots, and shrimp for the filling. It is said that during one of his tours to Yangzhou, Emperor Qianlong remarked on how imperial breakfasts should embody five principles: “nourishing but not overly supplementing, delicious but not excessively rich, oily but not greasy, crispy but not hard, and tender but not mushy.” Yangzhou’s oiliness is mild and not greasy; winter bamboo shoots are crisp but not tough; and shrimp is tender but not soft. When these five flavors are combined, they deliver nourishment, freshness, aroma, crispness, and tenderness. Reducing the quantity of any ingredient slightly helps to achieve the “five not-excesses.” Chefs then followed Chef Ding’s recipe to prepare a filling from diced ginseng, chicken, pork, bamboo shoots, and shrimp, making the buns. When Qianlong tried them, he asked the name of the buns, to which an attendant replied they were called “Five-Sentence Buns.” Later, locals, realizing the filling contained five types of diced ingredients and that the originating chef’s surname was Ding, started calling them “Five-Dice Buns.”