Yandu Ancient Town | A Yi County Delicacy You've Probably Never Tried
Winter is a season made for eating.
As the year draws to a close and the cold sets in, the chill in the air and the cozy atmosphere combine to send signals of craving from both your mind and your stomach. Restaurants become hubs of warmth and activity, their enticing aromas and lively buzz guiding your steps, pulling you in before you even realize it.
And deciding what to eat is something worth pondering carefully. Every city has its own regional specialties – dishes that locals may take for granted but that feel wonderfully novel to visitors. Today, let's talk about what surprising foods you'll find in the small historic town of Yi County, tucked away in the north.
At first mention, the name alone might not conjure up thoughts of deliciousness, and even when it's placed on the table – a dark, unassuming plate of it – it might not spark your appetite.
But as a local specialty, there's a reason for its fame. Pick up a thin slice, and the magic of time-steaming makes it melt instantly in your mouth, releasing a burst of savory pig’s blood that fills your senses. It's a completely different experience from eating pig’s blood on its own.
Legend has it that this dish dates back to the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. It is made by mixing pig’s blood into cornmeal, then adding coriander, scallions, and garlic before steaming it into a cake-like form.
History doesn't just fill books and shape art – it also carries on the pleasures of the palate. The Western Qing Tombs in Yi County are a masterpiece of imperial Qing Dynasty architecture, one of the most outstanding representations of tomb-building art from China's two-thousand-year history.
And the nearby village of Fenghuangtai – or Phoenix Terrace – has walked through time alongside the tombs. Today, it has become a well-known Manchu ethnic village.
Here, there is a dish that earned a nod of approval from Emperor Qianlong himself: the palace elbow, also called 'fortune and longevity elbow' or 'braised elbow'.
'The skin glows red, salty and fragrant at the bite; rich without being greasy, lean but not dry, the meat doesn’t stick to your lips – it’s deeply savory and mellow.' This is the reputation that Yi County elbow has earned. Visitors from out of town can try it at restaurants near the Western Qing Tombs or at the Xuheng Hotel in Yandu Ancient Town.
Yi County is home to many Manchu people, and naturally, many Manchu dishes. Besides the palace elbow, there’s another delicacy that once appeared on the grand 'Manchu-Han Imperial Feast' – steamed deer tail.
This dish was created during the Qing Dynasty and was ranked among the 'Eight Treasures' alongside bear paw and camel hump, making it a centerpiece of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast. However, it’s not actually made from real deer tail. Instead, pork liver is finely chopped, marinated with peanut butter, sesame paste, and other seasonings, then stuffed into pig intestines.
The preparation is complex, and there’s even a proper way to eat it: at a table of eight people, exactly nine slices must be cut – one slice is placed under the serving platter as a presentation piece.
In a city that has walked out of history, even the food bears the marks of time. How many of these three Yi County specialties have you tried?
