What delicious food can you find in Putian?

Putian boasts a great variety of tasty and affordable local snacks, including Xitianwei Wonton, Guobian Paste, Xinghua Rice Noodles, Stuffed Tofu Balls, Oyster Cakes and Chicken Rolls. These delicacies can be found everywhere along city streets.

In recent years, numerous restaurants, hotels and food plazas have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain. Food stalls have gathered along the northern section of Xueyuan Road, northern Licheng Road and East Road in downtown Putian, attracting crowds of diners and forming bustling food streets.

Putian small pan-fried buns are famous for their thin wrappers and juicy, rich fillings. The filling is mixed with diced lean pork, dried shrimps, minced shiitake mushrooms, shredded radish and chopped green onions. First, wrap walnut-sized fillings with thin fried egg sheets, then seal them with fermented dough, pinching the top into chrysanthemum petal shapes. Fry the buns in hot peanut oil on a flat pan for around 10 minutes.

Freshly cooked buns turn golden brown, sizzling hot and releasing an inviting fragrance that greatly stimulates appetite. Nowadays, bun shops are ubiquitous in nearly every downtown area.

It looks similar to thick stewed noodles, yet the noodles stay firm without turning mushy. You can taste their chewiness amid the tender texture. The soup carries a strong fresh seafood flavor with plenty of toppings. Braised noodles are a staple dish for entertaining guests and an indispensable main course at banquets in Putian.

Putian is most renowned for its lychees. Lychee pork, a classic local dish, is made by cutting lean pork into lychee-sized chunks and scoring the surface to form a cracked shell pattern. After deep-frying, the red meat closely resembles real lychees. The pork is then simmered in multi-spiced brine until fully flavored. When plating, arrange fresh lychees around the meat as decoration. Diners can hardly tell the difference between fruit and meat, and the dish is incredibly mouth-watering. This dish is available in most ordinary snack bars.

The nine-layer rice cake is a distinctive local snack made from nine layers of rice batter in different colors. It features an elegant layered appearance with a smooth, delicate texture. Crisp and mildly sweet, it is perfect for children and the elderly, unique to the Puxian region. You can easily find this cake at roadside stalls.