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The culinary dishes of Min, the traditional name for Fujian Province, are one of the eight most famous cuisines of China. It incorporates traditional Chinese cooking skills with its own characteristics. Xiamen food is highly representative of Min cuisine, specializing in seafood and using steaming, stir-frying and deep-frying to make the food taste fresh, light, crispy and a little spicy. In 1993, a team of Xiamen chefs came to Beijing to attend the Third National Cooking Competition, and won the top group title, as well as 35 other gold, silver and bronze medals. Their performance was highly praised by their colleagues and cooking experts.
Xiamen cuisine's most famous seafood dishes highlight red crabs, local squids, and yellow croakers. These were regarded as traditional flavors as early as the Qing Dynasty.
"Wall-Jump Buddha" is a traditional Xiamen dish prepared with over 30 ingredients, including shark's fin, sea cucumber, chicken breast, pig's trotters, abalone, mushrooms and pigeon eggs, and many other flavorings. The ingredients are carefully selected and skillfully prepared. The specific cooking process is very strict. The ingredients and condiments are first put into a Shaoxing wine jar, which is sealed with a lid. The jar is placed in boiling water and then its contents are left to stew. The ingredients mix together to form a special flavor, while each retains part of its own fragrance. It is said that the food is so delicious that even Buddha was tempted by it and jumped over a wall to taste it.
If you are a vegetarian, you can try the non-meat food prepared by the Vegetarian Restaurant in the Nanputuo Temple. Vegetable oil, flour, beans and bean products, vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits are the main ingredients. Each course has its own flavor and adheres strictly to Buddhist dietary strictures.
Tonic food has a long history in China. The Ancient Imitation Tonic Food Restaurant in the Lujiang Hotel in Xiamen uses traditional Chinese medicines as condiments to cook the foods, though they do not taste bitter like medicine. As the seasons change, the condiments are also altered to improve the health condition of diners. The ingredients are carefully selected, skillfully cut and cooked, arranged into beautiful shapes to let the diners enjoy both the good taste and refined appearance of the dish.
That's Manli on her first day traveling in Xiamen. On next week's On the Road, she will take us to find more attractions in this city. And now we have come to the end of this edition of China Horizons. Hope you enjoyed it. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. You can send us a letter via post to: English Service, China Radio International, Beijing, China, postal code 100040, or you can send us an e-mail at horizons@cri.com.cn. You can also visit our website at www.crienglish.com and listen to our show online. I'm Wang Lu. Thanks for being with us and goodbye for now!
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Producer: Liu Bing 
