Dian Bian Hu

Dian bian hu or kuali side porridge is the most Foochow of Foochow delicacies.

Many people say that the best dian bian hu is found in Fuzhou City where it all began.

The story goes like this : During the Ming Dynasty, the Fuzhou coastal area was often under attack by pirates (purportedly from Japan as they were described as short people). Many troops were deployed by the Ming Emperor to fight against them.

One famous general  Qi Jiguang was tasked to lead a troop to fight against the pirates. Qi was well respected and every where he went in Fuzhou people would give him a lot of food.

One day after he and his troop left, another troop came and the people of Fuzhou had no more prepared food left. The cooks quickly thought of something and they came up with a special recipe. They made a rice paste quickly and cooked it at the side of the kuali while a soup made up of shredded meat, dried oysters, onions, dried lilies,black fungus, dried shrimp and dried scallop  was boiling in the kuali. When the paste was cooked they scrapped the paste into the soup. Thus began a new recipe called Dian Bian Hu.