中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

Fuzhou Antailou x Yangzhou Fuchun Teahouse: Chinese Time-Honored Brand Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Festival (Photo by Shi Meixiang)

This year, A Bite of Fuzhou launched the A Dual-City Tale of Fujian Cuisine program. The first episode focuses on the exchange between Wenzhou’s Ou cuisine and Fujian cuisine. In this episode, we witness the ultimate showdown between two “Chinese Time-Honored Brands”—Fujian Cuisine and Huaiyang Cuisine.

A Feast of Flavors from Two Cities

In celebration of Juchunyuan’s 160th anniversary, Antailou, a time-honored Fuzhou brand under its management, invited Yangzhou’s Fuchun Teahouse to the city from June 13 to 17, offering a “dual-city” feast that highlighted both Fujian cuisine and Huaiyang dim sum. With a history of 140 years, Fuchun Teahouse is a true representative of Huaiyang dim sum, and its tea and dim sum-making skills are recognized as part of China’s national intangible cultural heritage.

The Three-Diced Steamed Bun is the signature pastry of Yangzhou’s Fuchun Teahouse, renowned as “The Best in the World.” Legend has it that during Emperor Qianlong’s southern tour, a Yangzhou chef created the Five-Diced Steamed Bun to meet the emperor’s exacting request for a dish that was “nourishing without being too rich, flavorful without being overwhelming, fragrant without being greasy, fluffy without being tough, and tender without being mushy.” After tasting it and being greatly pleased, Emperor Qianlong inscribed the words “The Best in the World.” Due to its high cost, the recipe was later adapted by the people, resulting in the Three-Diced Steamed Bun (steamed buns with small diced cubes of chicken, pork, and bamboo shoots). The folds of the bun, typically 28 to 32 in number, resemble the shape of “water chestnuts” or “carp mouths,” and its intricate craftsmanship is reminiscent of the precision of jade carving, making it a true work of art in the world of pastries.

The Thousand-Layer Oil Cake and Steamed Pork Rice Wraps are renowned as the “Two Culinary Wonders of Yangzhou.” The Thousand-Layer Oil Cake was first created during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty and was once an imperial court delicacy. The Steamed Pork Rice Wraps, as noted in the Notes of Yangzhou Pleasure-Boat, had already become a popular treat at prestigious banquets during the Ming and Qing dynasties. One sweet and one savory, these two delicacies complement each other in both appearance and flavor, much like the concept of “yin and yang” in cuisine, symbolizing the Yangzhou people’s pursuit of balance and harmony in their aesthetic values.

Along with the signature dishes, Huaiyang classics like Wensi Tofu, Crab Meat with Large Meatballs, and Crab Meat with Dried Bean Curd Shreds also made an appearance, each one a masterpiece for the palate.

In recent years, the time-honored Fuzhou Antailou has been actively exploring local Fuzhou snacks, introducing over 200 new products, and establishing a cultural landmark for “Fujian-style Morning Dim Sum.” Intangible cultural heritage snacks such as fish balls, pork wontons, pot edge paste, taro paste, and white glutinous rice balls have been given new life here. At the event, Antailou’s renowned chefs presented classic Fujian dishes, including Stuffed Lychee Pork, Sauteed Sliced Neptunea Cumingi in Rice Wine Sauce, and Sticky Rice with Crab and Eight Treasures, with the supreme Fujian delicacy, Fotiaoqiang, making a stunning appearance, adding a rich Fuzhou flavor to this culinary feast.

The Banquet of Salt Merchants

This Chinese Time-Honored Brand Intangible Cultural Heritage Food Festival is far more than just a simple “platter” of cuisines. The connection between Fujian and Huaiyang cuisines runs deeper than we ever imagined.

According to Liu Lishen, author of A History of Fujian Cuisine, Yangzhou has long been a vital hub on the Grand Canal, serving as a key point for the north-south grain transportation, while Fuzhou was the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. Since the Tang Dynasty, goods such as tea, salt, and seafood from Fujian were shipped by sea to Yangzhou, where they were then transferred via the canal to the Central Plains.

Through this exchange, the prosperous salt merchants of Yangzhou and their family chefs, leveraging trade connections, often blended flavors from various regions, fostering a mutual exchange of ingredients and culinary techniques. For instance, Yangzhou’s Thousand-Layer Oil Cake and Fujian’s Nine-Layer Rice Cake exhibit a striking similarity in their layered craftsmanship. The Thousand-Layer Oil Cake is famed for its delicate technique of 64 alternating layers of sugar and oil, while the Nine-Layer Rice Cake achieves its distinctive layered texture through nine rounds of steaming and layering rice paste.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the introduction of Champa rice from Fujian to the Jianghuai region indirectly influenced the rice-based culinary traditions, including those of Yangzhou. Later, during the Qing Dynasty, when the Fujian native Yi Bingshou served as the prefect of Yangzhou, he transformed the traditional scallion oil fried rice by incorporating ingredients typical of Fujian cuisine, such as shrimp, ham, and dried scallops. This creation, known as Mixed Egg Fried Rice, was recorded in his work The Collected Works of Liuchun Cottage. This innovation transformed Yangzhou fried rice from a simple street food into an elegant dish fit for gentry banquets, with some servings now fetching as much as 598 yuan. The descendants of Yi Bingshou further popularized the dish, bringing it to Hong Kong, Macao, and beyond. Through the exchange of Champa rice and the influence of key historical figures, Fujian and Huaiyang cuisines sparked a cross-regional culinary cultural exchange, which also indirectly contributed to the global spread of Yangzhou fried rice.

The Network of Fujian Cuisine Continues to Expand

Yang Jie, Chairman of Fuzhou Juchunyuan Group, announced that the group will continue to foster culinary exchanges and build partnerships with time-honored brands from China’s eight major cuisines. By blending different methods of using ingredients and seasonings, Juchunyuan plans to create unique dishes through dish recommendations, chef exchanges, and themed events like the Time-Honored Brand Food Festival.

As one of China’s eight major cuisines, Fujian cuisine has developed its open and inclusive characteristics, shaped by influences such as the Maritime Silk Road and migration. Today, the exchange between Fujian cuisine and other culinary traditions has evolved from passively absorbing external influences to actively pursuing collaboration and innovation, with Fujian cuisine’s network continually expanding.

Exchange fosters the complementing of skills. A dual-city banquet brought together 15 chefs from Antailou and Fuchun Teahouse, using intangible cultural heritage techniques to create a deep and meticulous exchange, where the Fuzhou cuisine’s Zuizao (a culinary method of using red yeast rice wine) and rich, mellow flavors collided with the delicate, tender freshness of Yangzhou cuisine.

Collaboration expands the reach of ingredients. Fujian’s unique mountain and sea delicacies, such as Hongzao (red glutinous wine lees), sipunculid worms, and Zhanggang clams, were once confined by regional limits. Today, through partnerships with other cuisines, these local ingredients are being incorporated into a wide range of culinary traditions.

Partnerships create opportunities for mutual success. Mr. Xu Yinghong, Party Secretary and General Manager of Yangzhou Fuchun Catering Service Group, as well as Executive Vice President of the Yangzhou Cuisine and Catering Industry Association, explained that the growth of Juchunyuan Group is multifaceted, much like a banyan tree with deep roots in Fujian. Looking ahead, the two companies will join forces to explore even more possibilities for shared success.

Dialogue drives cultural exchange. Today, the cultural influence of Fujian cuisine has gone beyond the realm of “nostalgia of overseas Chinese for their hometown.” Its core philosophy, “Mountains and seas in balance, soups for nourishment, and alignment with the seasons,” has transformed into a universal language in modern dining, particularly in an age that emphasizes healthy eating.