Once shaped by court rituals, China’s imperial cuisine lives on today

Beijing (AP) — Empress Dowager Cixi allegedly dreamed of a pastry during the final years of imperial China. The following morning, her chef was granted a silver ingot for creating the "dream pastry" she enjoyed at breakfast. This pastry, originally called "minced pork pancake," later became a staple of imperial cuisine. Fangshan Restaurant in Beijing, founded in 1925 by former Qing Dynasty chefs, specializes in preserving such dishes.

The restaurant's assistant general manager, Di Xin, notes that the term "Fangshan" literally means "imitating the imperial cuisine."

Chinese imperial cuisine encompasses the daily meals emperors ate and the feasts held by their courts. Rituals accompanied these meals, such as drinking milk tea at the start of Qing-dynasty banquets. Emperors would distribute wine or food to princes and officials, who would perform rites and pay respects before eating or drinking. Sacrificial rituals also took place, often involving meat offerings. In one such ritual, fatty pork was boiled without salt, and the recipient was considered to have received a great honor.

Traditional techniques like handcrafting pastries remain vital in keeping imperial cuisine alive. At Fangshan, these methods involve cooking by hand, without modern appliances like blenders or food processors. Ingredients are processed manually, such as pulverizing beans in sieves and shaping flours in copper pots. Despite modern convenience, this traditional approach preserves the delicate texture and flavor of imperial pastries.

Popular dishes include the pea flour cake and red bean roll, with over 200 cakes sold daily during peak seasons. While certain rare ingredients like bear paws are no longer used, the core spirit of each dish is preserved and adapted to modern tastes.