Chinese · regional cuisine
Fujian (Min)
The coastal cooking of Fujian province: soups and broths, seafood, red yeast rice and red wine lees, and a lighter, slightly sweet-sour palate that travelled with Hokkien emigrants to Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
Flavour character: Light, umami-rich and often soupy; sweet-sour notes; the red colour and winey aroma of hongqu (red yeast rice) and red wine lees; fish sauce in Fuzhou cooking.
History
Fujian's mountainous coast pushed its people towards the sea, and Hokkien (Minnan) and Teochew emigrants from the 16th century onwards settled in Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Dishes such as oyster omelette, popiah spring rolls, braised pork and Hokkien noodles therefore appear across the region in local forms. Fuzhou's elaborate Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup is the cuisine's most famous banquet dish, attributed to the late Qing dynasty.
Commonly told; not firmly documented
Geography and influences
A rugged south-eastern coast facing Taiwan, with mountains inland: seafood, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tea (oolong) and rice.
- Maritime trade from Quanzhou
- Hokkien diaspora across Southeast Asia
- Hakka communities in the mountains
Regional variations
- Fuzhou
- Soups, fish sauce, red wine lees and sweet-sour dishes.
- Minnan (Xiamen, Quanzhou)
- Oyster omelettes, popiah and peanut-rich snacks; closest to Taiwanese cooking.
- Western Fujian
- Hakka mountain cooking with preserved vegetables and stuffed tofu.
Festive and seasonal food
- Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at New Year banquets
- Popiah at Qingming in southern Fujian
Signature dishes
Not on the site yet: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (fotiaoqiang), Fuzhou fish balls, Lychee pork, Red-wine-lees chicken, Popiah (runbing), Ginger duck
Sichuan · 50 min · 224 kcal
