Celebrate Chinese New Year with Quanzhou's unique food! From 100-year-old braised beef ribs to creamy peanut soup and crispy oyster omelette, this city is bursting with flavours.
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00:00During Chinese New Year, there's a city full of mythical contrast, a city that's sacred
00:15and secular, of ancient rites and vibrant festivities.
00:26The swallowtail roots, the traditional flavors, the Hokkien heritage, and the breeze from
00:33the Taiwan street, all makes Quanzhou feel like home.
00:40But what leaves the deepest impression is its food and lovely people.
00:54Local locals cannot imagine a life without peanut soup.
01:02Peanut soup is usually served with an egg, rich and super creamy.
01:22Ah Liang, the stylish vendor with her New Year manicure, starts preparing at 4am every
01:27day.
01:32Along with the classic version, she's got one with taro too.
01:36In Hokkien dialect, peanut soup has a more rustic name.
01:43Ah Liang's husband, Ah Jiu, helps run their well-loved shop in Shenhu Town.
01:55Ah Liang learned to make peanut soup from her father before she got married.
02:13The peanuts simmer until the oil rests to the surface, soft but still holding their
02:19shape.
02:26One sip of this soup, and you'll forget any other kind of plonk-based milk.
02:32For Hokkien people, peanut soup can also be a dessert, and even a remedy for handovers.
02:49Quanzhou people are deeply attached to peanuts, perhaps because they reflect the humble, practical
02:54nature of Hokkien culture.
02:58Peanut flavors are everywhere.
03:00The sauce for braised noodles is peanut-based.
03:05Hokkien zong comes to life with peanut sauce.
03:12Even Quanzhou's barbecue might be the only barbecue with peanut sauce, adding a touch
03:17of southern delicacy.
03:24A room bing is a spring roll that's popular here.
03:27The first layer is peanut sugar.
03:29The rest of the fillings are up to the diner's preference.
03:37With limited farmland, Fujian relies on peanuts and sweet potatoes as key starch staples.
03:43Every local kitchen has sweet potato starch.
03:46It thickens the broth of miso soup.
03:53It also coats fried pork, a popular side to the soup.
04:06Ting Ting Miso Soup is a family-run business that opens the whole night.
04:30Every 7pm, her in-laws come to the store and prepare another snack that made the store
04:35famous.
04:37Fried oyster is a local snack that also uses sweet potato starch.
04:42Mixed with garlic chives and eggs, they are quickly fried until golden.
04:51Keeping the oysters juicy and tender, homemade pickled radish helps balance the greasiness.
04:59Fried oyster is also a beloved dish in Taiwan, a culinary link between Fujian and the region.
05:06This connection is also seen in ginger duck.
05:10Two ginger duck restaurants earned spots in the Michelin Guide this year.
05:14Zhong Ji is one of them.
05:23Aged ginger lines the bottom, followed by tender ducks.
05:31With only salt and simple spices, the duck is slow-cooked until it's soft, juicy and
05:37full of flavor.
05:48This is Mr. Huang, a beef house owner on Tumen Street, home to the Guan Di Temple, a mosque
05:56and a Confucian temple, all standing close together.
06:01This street reflects Quanzhou's history as one of the world's largest seaports during
06:06the Song and Yuan Dynasty, a melting pot of goods, people and cultures.
06:13Quanzhou's affection for beef is said to come from Muslim traders.
06:38In the late Qing Dynasty, many Fujian people of Grandpa Huang's generation went to South
06:43East Asia for work, but returned home when they earned enough money for new houses, bringing
06:49with them exotic spices for Quanzhou cuisine.
07:00Unlike Western steaks, Quanzhou's version boils the ribs first, then braises them in
07:06rich seasonings.
07:17Paired with salty rice and broth, the beef rib really captures the essence of Quanzhou's
07:22food culture.
07:31In the past, temples would offer porridge to the people during Chinese New Year.
07:37This tradition continues in Quanzhou as a warm wish for the year ahead.
07:44Lucky phrases are written on red paper, wishing for good fortune in the coming year.
07:53For Quanzhou people, New Year is more than a celebration.
07:57After the journey is far and wide, there's no greater joy than returning home to where
08:02it all began.