What are the Eight Great Bowls of Beijing

The Eight Great Bowls of Beijing are: Big Bowl of Chicken, Big Bowl of Yellow Fish, Big Bowl of Elbow, Big Bowl of Meatballs, Big Bowl of Rice Vermicelli, Big Bowl of Buckle Meat, Big Bowl of Loose Meat and Big Bowl of Spare Ribs.

The Eight Great Bowls of Old Beijing are Big Bowl of Three Yellow Chicken, Big Bowl of Yellow Fish, Big Bowl of Elbow, Big Bowl of Dumplings, Big Bowl of Rice Vermicelli, Big Bowl of Buckle Meat, Big Bowl of Loose Meat and Big Bowl of Spare Ribs.

The so-called "eight bowls" originated from the traditional banquet, traditional weddings and funerals, and even social days, all need to gather and eat. This is the same important folk festival with the village singing opera, due to the venue, tables and chairs, the number is not enough, so we have to take with the food, eat that way. The content of the table, to big fish and meat and other usually rare things, the requirements to do fast, for the top, the portion is enough, the flavor is basically the same, mainly steamed and boiled, with coarse porcelain bowl, to show that the amount of full.

Today's Beijing's eight bowls are roughly of two types, basic and high-end. The so-called basic style is made entirely of pork, and this type of bowl is nicknamed "Pork Eight". There are buckle meat, meatballs, split bone meat, techniques to steam, stew, stew mainly. High-end models of the eight bowls, in addition to the basic models of pork added to the chicken and fish such as ingredients, that is, "cherry meatballs buckle chicken, braised elbows carp". The so-called upscale model is much richer than the basic model.

The origin of the "eight bowls" is a mythological story. According to the legend, the eight immortals crossed the sea and angered the Dragon King, and after a long battle, they were so hungry that they went their separate ways to find food to satisfy their hunger. Cao Guoyu a person tirelessly, traveled to a village farmhouse, the smell of food, do not feel mouth-watering. Only to see the four-way table eight people around the seat, so take away eight kinds of attractive dishes and leave a message: uncle for the immortals to borrow food 8 bowls, will be sure to repay. Afterwards, people change the square table for the table of eight immortals for the auspicious celebration, sitting eight guests, eating eight dishes, and has been handed down to this day.

In folklore, the old Beijing "eight bowls", originating from the banquet, is an ordinary and affordable dishes. It is the chicken, duck, fish and meat through eight carefully cooked into the color and flavor of the best, with a traditional porcelain bowl on the table food. Traditional weddings and funerals, and even social days, etc., are required to gather and eat, which is equally important with the singing of opera folk celebrations, due to the venue, tables, chairs, chopsticks and other insufficient number of bowls and chopsticks, we have to take the "come to eat as you go, eat and go" approach.

"Eight bowls" is not necessarily eight bowls, but the main dish eight bowls, cold dishes, staples do not count, and sometimes another small dishes in the name of increased fried vegetables, the first batch of more than the guests, the addition of dishes is common, just "eight" there are "four flat eight stable", people still maintain the name.

The old Beijing "eight bowls" is popular in the folk, but it was also once a delicacy in the Imperial Palace. According to legend, the Empress Dowager Cixi fled the road to meet the people's family wedding, tasted the folk "eight bowls". After returning to Beijing, the Imperial Household Catering according to the folk practice of cooking, banquets for the civil and military.