Fuzhou Meat Swallows (福州肉燕, Fuzhou Rou Yan), also known as “Taiping Yan,” is a traditional snack from Fuzhou, Fujian Province, part of the Fuzhou cuisine under the Fujian culinary tradition.
The dish originated in Pucheng County, Fujian, and later became popular in Fuzhou. Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, a retired imperial censor from Pucheng, tired of regular mountain delicacies, had his chef create something new. The chef used lean pork from the pig’s leg, pounded it into a fine paste, mixed it with sweet potato starch, rolled it out into paper-thin sheets, and cut it into small squares. These were then filled with minced meat and cooked into a soup. The censor, impressed by the dish, named it “Meat Swallows” (Rouyan) due to its resemblance to a flying swallow. Over time, the dish was also prepared with duck eggs, symbolizing peace due to the homophones in the Fuzhou dialect, earning it the name “Taiping Yan” (Peace Swallow). This delicacy became an essential part of Fuzhou celebrations and gatherings.
Main Ingredients and Preparation
Main Ingredients
- Meat Swallow Wrapper: Made from finely pounded pork leg meat mixed with sweet potato starch, the wrapper is thin, smooth, and fragrant.
- Filling: Usually made from finely seasoned minced pork, offering a tender and flavorful taste.
Preparation Process
- Ingredient Selection: Fresh pork leg meat is chosen for the wrapper, along with high-quality sweet potato starch.
- Meat Cleaning: The pork is carefully cleaned of tendons and bones, and grouped by texture.
- Pounding the Meat: The pork is pounded into a paste using a wooden mallet, with sticky rice paste and plant alkali added for consistency. The meat is turned repeatedly until it becomes gelatinous.
- Making the Wrapper: The gelatinous meat paste is spread on a board, sprinkled with starch, and gently rolled out into thin sheets to form the meat swallow wrapper.
- Drying: The fresh meat wrappers are cut into strips, rolled, and hung to dry in a ventilated space, becoming dry meat swallows.
- Filling: The dry wrappers are cut to size, filled with meat, and shaped into swallows.
- Cooking: The meat swallows can either be steamed or boiled in hot water.
Flavor Characteristics
Fuzhou Meat Swallows are renowned for their paper-thin, translucent wrapper, which is soft yet resilient. The flavorful, juicy filling blends perfectly with the wrapper, creating a unique and satisfying taste. The dish releases a rich, meaty aroma, enhancing its appeal and making it a must-try specialty.
