Zhangzhou Zhaoan Maozaizhou

it is said that during the Qing dynasty, there was a wealthy family in Zhao' an city, named Chen Xiucai. Four generations lived under one roof, and the grandmother ruled the family. The food and drink of the whole family of 2 people, old and young, were handled by Yang, the wife of Chen Youde, the eldest grandson. Yang abides by the "three obedience and four virtues" and the rules of a large family, and works all day long. After three meals to serve the elders and men at home, he eats leftovers. Chen Youde saw it in his eyes and felt pain in his heart, so he had a plan. He often hides some fresh fish, shrimp and fresh meat. After everyone has finished eating, he mixes these fresh ingredients with leftovers and cooks them into porridge for Yang. One day, Chen Youde was caught by his grandmother while mixing rice and fresh ingredients. He used his quick wits to lie that he stirred the porridge for cats, dealt with grandma's questioning and concealed the truth.

Soon, Chen Xiucai separated. After Chen Youde started his own business, Yang's body needed to be nourished, so he mentioned delicious cat porridge, and Chen Youde readily agreed. Every time he cooks porridge, he personally goes to the market to buy fresh ingredients carefully, taking three or four pieces of snapper, three or four pieces of dried shrimp, three or four pieces of chicken breast, three or four pieces of fish, a small amount of refined pork and a little winter vegetables, carefully blending them with soy sauce and pouring them into a small pot of bone soup; Then, pour the white rice prepared in advance and mix well, sprinkle with yan and sui, and serve it to Yang while it is hot. Yang thanked her husband for his kindness and often praised Chen Youde's skill in cooking cat porridge in front of his neighbors, so this authentic cat porridge spread.

After being developed and popularized by chefs, the cat porridge has become a famous snack with unique flavor in Zhao 'an. Nowadays, the cat porridge not only maintains its original flavor, but also has some innovations. It combines the clear and moist soup, the tender porridge rice and the crisp and soft auxiliary materials, and it smells sweet, refreshing and delicious. The cooking method of cat porridge is constantly innovating, and now it is cooked in a single pot and a bowl, which is quick and fierce. In the past, small air stoves were used to burn charcoal, but now liquefied gas stoves are used, with more firepower and better effect. When cooking, first put a scoop of water in a small pot, put a spoonful of steamed rice and put it on a gas stove with full firepower. Then, put a proper amount of delicious shrimp, mullet, squid, sliced meat, zhen, fu and fish fillets in a small dish, add a little soy sauce, salt, monosodium glutamate and pepper, and knead them with the five fingers of the washed right hand, which looks like a cat catching food. After the water in the pot is boiled, add the auxiliary materials and cook, then sprinkle with fried garlic and turnips. A big bowl of steaming and fragrant cat porridge is appetizing. The stalls selling cat porridge are all placed in the streets at night, lit a lamp and sold at 2 or 3 in the morning. The stalls are like a vigil cat.

Since the reform and opening up, people have plenty of pockets, and there are many people who like to eat the folk food of cat porridge. So the cat porridge went out of the county gate, went south to Guangdong, and went north to Zhangzhou, and the business was very popular. Now Zhaoan has not only experienced cooks of cat porridge, but also a large number of new artists. Many overseas Chinese, Taiwan compatriots and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao, whose ancestral homes are in southern Fujian, have returned to Sangzi, and they love to eat the cat porridge in this county, in order to taste the unique flavor of the cat porridge and feel the deep nostalgia. Excerpted from

Local Textbooks for Sixth Grade Primary Schools in Fujian Province:

According to incomplete statistics, there are several legends and records of cat porridge. We take the local textbooks for sixth grade primary schools in Fujian Province as a model and strive to achieve standardization. Of course, folklore is a legend after all, and how to scientifically research it remains to be seen in the future. For example, some scholars wrote that cat porridge can be traced back to the end of the Yuan Dynasty. When Zhu Yuanzhang passed Zhao 'an, there was no place to eat because of the war. Wu Er, a general of the Ming Dynasty, used cat porridge to entertain Zhu Yuanzhang, who later became Ming Taizu. Zhu Yuanzhang praised the food after eating it, and extemporaneously shouted out the golden words of "the best porridge in the world"!

cat porridge