Eating in Kunshan - Wanshanti
December 7, 2013 11:33:23 Source: Data sorting Click:

When it comes to Zhouzhuang, the "first water town in China", people are not only intoxicated with the beautiful water town scenery and rich simple folk customs, but also perhaps the most impressive is the "ten thousand three hooves".

In Zhouzhuang, there are a variety of shops that sell "hooves" as their main business. In all hotels and restaurants, Wansanwu is absolutely an indispensable main dish.

When talking about "ten thousand three hooves", the local people talked about it with relish. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor in the early Ming Dynasty, so the whole country avoided talking about pigs. Once Zhu Yuanzhang visited Shen Wansan's house, and Shen Wansan entertained Zhu Yuanzhang with a pig's hoof. Zhu Yuanzhang saw this and deliberately embarrassed Shen Wansan. He asked him how to eat it, because it was the whole hoof, and it was not cut. If he used a knife, Zhu Yuanzhang could justifiably commit a crime (meaning to kill a pig), but Shen Wansan had a brainwave and pulled a thin bone out of his hoof, The problem of Zhu Yuanzhang was solved by cutting meat into bones. This way of eating has been passed down to today. Then Zhu Yuanzhang asked Shen Wansan what the name of this dish was. Shen Wansan thought it could not be called pig's hoof, so he patted his thigh and said, "This is Wansan's hoof, so Wansan's hoof got its name.".

For thousands of years, the merchants who have made "Wansanchi" have all been manual workshops, and the materials used for "Wansanchi" are very exquisite. The selected thin and fat pig hind legs are used as raw materials, the mixed ingredients are added, and the water is put into a large casserole. After a day and night of simmering or steaming, the heat has to go through several times of flourishing and several times of writing, mainly a gentle fire. The cooked whole Wansanchi is steaming hot, red in color, full in appearance, fragrant, crisp, fat and not greasy. After hundreds of years of spread, it has become the main dish of Zhouzhuang people's New Year and wedding feast, which means reunion, and is also the best dish for guests.

In addition, according to the food customs of Zhouzhuang, a water town, Zhouzhuang has successively developed Wansan vegetable soap, Wansan wild duck, Wansanzha meat, sauce ribs, fat beans and other products, and launched "eight thousand pieces" set dishes, "nine sub plates" tea and other foods, which together can form several tables of feast.