Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup

Nanjing people are fond of dishes made by ducks. Not only duck blood can be cooked, but also the entrails can be put into good use. Many storefronts in Nanjing are skilled in cooking these ingredients to their best taste, no matter the well-known "aftertaste" duck blood soup with rice noodle shops or the less well-known but well-rated ones. Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup are prepared with rice noodles, duck blood and duck liver, and stewed with duck soup stock. A plain bowl of rice noodle soup unexpectedly brings in it the taste of duck meat. Impressed by the tastes of soup, rice noodles and congealed duck blood, one cannot help but give a hearted sigh: these plain ingredients can make such a variety of delicious cuisine!

Actually behind this tasty soup there is a story about unintentional positive outcome. As the story goes, an underprivileged person once scarcely ate duck, and he valued the duck and entrails of the duck as treasure. Of course he would rather keep the duck blood than throw it away, therefore storing the blood in a small bowl. However, he was careless while cooling the rice noodles, dropping the bowl of blood into the cooking pot. He had no other options but to cook the rice noodles with duck blood. However, the result came beyond his expectations. He just made the first delicious Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup! The agreeable smell of soup lingered in the air for a long while, until many passers-by were attracted and stopped by to guess how this palatable soup was made.

A rich person from nearby heard of this anecdote and employed this poor man as the home cook dedicated to cooking Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup for him and his concubines. Thus this cuisine was passed down generation by generation until today, enabling us to enjoy such tasty food!

Dried Bean Curd Soup

When talking about the bean curd soup, another dish in ancient times was well worth mentioning. It was called "Nine Shred Soup". As recorded in the document, the Nine Shred Soup was frequently seen in banquets in Yangzhou during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. Two different ways of interpreting the dish name were offered. One was that the soup was made of nine ingredients as the dish name implied. Another was that the soup was made of over nine food ingredients because the number "nine" could be considered as the noblest numerous. For instance, the emperor (Jiuwuzhizun) was titled as the most powerful person under the sun.

The soup was initially made of shredded bean curd and some other ingredients which included shredded ham, bamboo shoots, mushroom, Calocybe gambosa, egg sheet, chicken, and silver fish. Sometimes, sea cucumber and dried razor clam and bird's nest were supplied in this soup to improve the flavor as a dish of high rank and quality taste.

The soup of Nine Shredded elements was very particular about the broth. In principle, it must be chicken soup to ensure the freshness and fragrance. Later on, the soup in this dish was gradually reduced in the feast. What came in place was the prominent Dried Bean Curd Soup.

Today, Dried Bean Curd Soup has already spread beyond Yangzhou. It has been reported that the chefs in Yangzhou brought the bean curd by air to Beijing during the two sessions (NPC&CPPCC) and made the soup for the representatives and won universal praise. Besides, nitiative has been taken to make it enter the interational market far to Japan, and to spread our Chinese food culture onto the international stage. More and more foreign friends admire Chinese culture through this dish.

Pork Meatball with Crab Roe

Water boiled Pork Meatball with Crab Roe can be dated back to Sui Dynasty. As cited in History as Mirror, Emperor Suiyang, together with his imperial concubines took a dragon boat and another thousand of ships to the South along the Grand Canal a thousand years ago. "Wherever he reached, the state and county within two hundred and fifty kilometers must present local delicacies." What Yangzhou had offered was pork meatball which was tender, fat but not greasy. The soup in it was clear and tasty.

The forming of fresh and tender flavor of pork meatball in Yangzhou is very complicated. Influenced by many factors, such as food materials, process method, condiments, and cooking skills, it formulates the unique flavor of Huaiyang cuisine at last. The major ingredients are pork and other seasonable condiments. Each variety has its own feature, no matter it is meat-centered or vegetable-centered.

Out of curiosity, many may ask that why can't they make the pork meatball at home as tasty as the restaurant does? The secret lies in the proportion of fat and lean meat. The best proportion is 7 to 3 or 6 to 4 and tiny adjustment can be tolerated according to individual taste. In addition, heating to the marmite must be slow and even. Otherwise, the lean meat might be overcooked due to a quick temperature rise and the muscle protein would shrink too much, which would result in tough and unpalatable taste. Complementary procedures taken one after another, tasty pork meatballs can be made at home and more fitful for you!

Nanjing Salted Duck

Cooking duck as a dish is a tradition in Nanjing. The earliest written proof was found in Wu Jun's History of Qi Kingdom in Six Dynasties. The story happened when the army of Liang Kingdom confronted the opposite army of North Qi. At the beginning, the food in the army of Liang was poor and soldiers could hardly fill their stomach, let alone fighting against the enemies. The Emperor Jianwen of Liang transported three thousand dan rice and one thousand ducks to the battle field. They wrapped the rice and duck meat with lotus leaves and distributed to all the soldiers. The soldiers were greatly encouraged and beat the enemy at once.

Since late Qing Dynasty, the most popular duck food has been roast duck and salted duck. On the national grand banquet when the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Nanjing osmanthus salted duck was served as a cold dish. Nanjing Salted Duck, Nan'an Pressed Salty Duck and Peking Roast Duck shared the honor of Chinese Three Famous Duck Cuisine.

Another name for salted duck is osmanthus duck in that when the osmanthus is in full bloom around the Mid-autumn Festival, the duck meat is in its best time for cooking. When the duck is cooked at this time of the year, it smells a profound flavor of osmanthus from the meat. The salted duck in Nanjing also occupies three "consummate features": smooth and snow-white skin, tender meat, and fat but not greasy.

Taro Sprout with Osmanthus Syrup

Taro Sprout with Osmanthus Syrup is a time-honored traditional dessert originated from Nanjing but enjoys reputation throughout the country. Together with Osmanthus Syrup Lotus, Plum Pudding, and Glutinous Rice Ball and Red Bean in Rice Wine, they are regarded as the four classical snacks in Nanjing that represent human kindness to the greatest extent.

Tiny and dedicate, taro sprout tastes sweet, tender and refreshing. The brown syrup soup will attract your attention at the first sight. The fragrance of osmanthus lingers in your mouth and tongue if you have a spoon of it.

This delicacy can be made at home as well. Please notice that the taro sprout must be fresh. Peel off the skin with rubber gloves after it is boiled to avoid the itch and uncomfortable feeling of our hands if we touch it directly. When done, osmanthus syrup and the taro sprout are put into a large pot to boil. Here is a tip for you. Remember to add little soda when they are boiling in order to make the color more attractive and achieve the balance in color, smell and taste. It can be a specialty no matter you are enjoying it all by yourself or to treat friends and relatives.

Spiced Beans

The Zhuangyuan Dou is also called Spiced Beans with a history of more than four hundred years. It was created by the folks and reached its perfection gradually with the efforts of many generations. The Spiced Beans is delicious for its cooking is rather exquisite. First of all, the soybeans must be neat and fully grown. And then wash them with clean water before putting them into the already prepared beef marinade. As we can see from it that the marinade is the key point. It is made of fresh beef and over ten kinds of natural ingredients with the essence of beef fully dissolved in the marinade.

When the soybeans are being boiled in the marinade, dried bamboo shoots, sugar, pepper and salt can be added. It is heated to 100C by big fire and then stewed for 5 to 6 hours by slow fire until the soup becomes thick, then turn off the switch. At this point, the kitchen will be full of soybean fragrance. If the soybeans are about to dish up in plate, you'd better place a red date on it. It makes the dish more colorful and attractive.

There is also a much-told story behind placing a red date in the plate. A scholar whose name was Qin Dashi lived in Nanjing during the reign of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. He was born in a poor family, but studied very hard and made full use of time to study. Seeing this, his mother felt greatly delighted. So she made soybeans and red rice gruel for him every day. Usually, his mother would put a red date in the gruel and named it "the red of Zhuangyuan" because at that time, when someone becomes Zhuangyuan, namely, the first place in the imperial examination, the hat awarded to him would be red on the top. In doing so, his mother encouraged his son to work even harder.

Qin Dashi was moved from bottom of his heart and studied even harder. He paid back his mother when he succeeded in the imperial examination. What we saw from the beans are the selfless heart of a mother and a filial soul of a son!

In the banquet to celebrate his success, delicacies of every kind were served. But the soybeans were indispensable. All the participants in the exam wished that the Zhuangyuan soybeans could bring them good luck in their future official career.

Auspicious Stewed Bean Curd

Nanjing is an ancient capital city with a long history. Citizens of Nanjing are immersed in the city's cultural deposits. They would like to and feel the need to taste and remember as well as enjoy the snacks culturally.

Setting the commonly seen stewed bean curd as an example, we take it for granted that it is simple. But it is surprisingly connected with Zhu yuanzhang, founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty when we look up for some information. According to the book, Zhu Yuanzhang enjoyed every delicious food with meat or fish after he took throne in Jinling (the former name of Nanjing) and finally he was bored with the delicacies of all kinds in the Palace. One day he disguised himself as a citizen and went out of the Palace. Witnessing the golden brown bean curd in a snack bar, he was in good appetite immediately.

The Emperor took out a silver ingot to buy one bowl of bean curd. The bar keeper thought he was a rich gentleman and wanted to make more money out of the Emperor. So he boiled the bean curd in the chicken soup and added small amount of soybean sprouts and some condiments. When the bean curd was boiled soft and fragrant, the bar keeper served the Emperor with great respect. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't say more words but praise the wonderful taste again and again.

Since then, bean curd was all the rage for a time and the story was told among people till today. The reason why it is called Auspicious Bean Curd is that people in Nanjing usually add soybean sprouts which resembles the shape of the auspicious jade. Having the dish, it will bring you good luck and auspiciousness.

Mixed Bean Curd Jelly

Speaking of bean curd jelly, we are all familiar with it. You can buy a bowl of hot bean curd jelly at any breakfast stall if you want. Despite of this, distinctive features still exist due to regional and cultural differences.

The ingenuity of Nanjing people can be seen just from the naming of the dish-Mixed Bean Curd Jelly. It not only has good implied meaning when read by Nanjing local accent, but also a reflection of hope and happiness in Mandarin. Seeing the dish name only, a picture extends in your mind and the whole world seems to be more rich and colorful.

When having the mixed bean curd jelly, you can add some condiments in accordance with your flavor and seasonal changes after you boil it in the hot water for a very short moment. Even some small dishes full of innovation are at your hand, such as sour long bean, chopped peanuts. A sip of hot bean curd jelly would make you feel pleasant and agreeable.