Royal Pot (Yi Pin Guo)

It is said that Royal Pot was created by Mrs. Yu, the wife of Bi Qiang who was Ministry of Justice, Works, Revenue and Personnel of Shitai County in Ming Dynasty. One day, the emperor suddenly came to the ministry’s house for dinner. Mrs. Yu prepared a feast of fat things and especially cooked a Hui style hot pot, and the emperor enjoyed this dish very much and called it Royal Pot after he learned it was cooked by Mrs. Yu herself.

The cooking of this dish is quite demanding. Dried bamboo shoots are put on the bottom of the pot, then flesh lumps are put on the second layer, fried bean curd on the third, pork balls on the fourth and bean threads are covered on the fifth dotted by spinach or dried lily flower. Then all this things are simmered in water with seasonings.

This dish is famous for its county flavor, and tastes thick and fresh.