What Delicious Food Can You Try on Lushan Mountain?

It is recommended to have breakfast and dinner in the town, while lunch can be taken near scenic spots or with packed food.

Many snack bars are located to the left of Huangshanghuang Supermarket at Henan Road Crossing.

The most famous local delicacies on Lushan are the "Three Stone Specialties": Stone frogs are frog-like creatures living among rock crevices. Stone ears are fungus similar to wood ear mushrooms growing on cliffs. Stone fish are tiny fish that dwell in rock cracks. Please note that some restaurants serve counterfeit products, so you need to distinguish carefully.

They inhabit caves on rocky cliffs of shaded mountain streams. Also known as red frogs or spiny-headed frogs, they are ochre in colour with small forelimbs and powerful hind legs. They get their name from their tender, plump meat that tastes as good as chicken. Stone frogs hide in stone caves by day and go out to forage at night. They look like ordinary frogs but are much bigger with rich, tender and delicious flesh. Most weigh 150 to 200 grams, and large ones can reach 500 grams. Easy to digest and highly nutritious, stone frogs are top-quality ingredients. Nearly all tourist restaurants on Lushan serve dishes made with stone frogs, and braised stone frogs are one of the mountain’s most celebrated dishes.

The fish are transparent and scaleless, generally 30 to 40 millimetres long, roughly the size of a rusty embroidery needle. Even after seven or eight years of growth, they will not grow longer than one inch, hence the nickname "rusty needle fish". They live year-round in mountain springs and waterfalls of Lushan and build nests in rock fissures. Their meat is tender and aromatic, earning them nationwide fame. Stone fish can be stir-fried, braised, stewed or soaked. Packed with nutrients, they are an excellent tonic for new mothers.

It belongs to the same family as black fungus. This wild lichen grows on remote steep cliffs. It is flat like a human ear and clings tightly to rocks, hence the name stone ear. It boasts extremely high nutritional value, rich in glycogen, gelatin, iron, phosphorus, calcium and various vitamins. It is a high-protein tonic that nourishes yin and moisturizes the lungs. Li Shizhen, the great pharmacologist of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Stone ears grow abundantly on Lushan. They look like ground lichens. Mountain monks pick and dry them to send to friends far away. After washing off sand and soil, they taste better than black fungus when cooked into dishes; they are truly fine delicacies." He also recorded its medicinal properties in detail: sweet and neutral in nature with no toxicity. Long-term consumption improves complexion and keeps it youthful, curbs hunger, reduces urination and defecation, sharpens eyesight and boosts vitality.

Clean the eggs and place them in a clay or ceramic bowl. Add seasonings, wrapping tea leaves in cloth to avoid sticking to the eggshells. Pour in water and boil over high heat. Crack the shells gently, then simmer on low heat until the eggs fully absorb the flavours. Leave the eggs soaking in the broth; the longer they stay, the tastier they become. Take them out whenever you want to eat.

This fried rice is ideal for autumn and winter. It is quite greasy and less popular in hot summer when people lose their appetite. Method: Steam the soaked glutinous rice thoroughly. Mix it with a little raw cooking oil and boiling water. Heat the wok, add the steamed rice and stir-fry slowly. Finally pour in prepared sauce for seasoning.

Cut tofu into even triangular slices of moderate size. Deep-fry them in oil until golden and crispy on the surface, then transfer them into soup with seasonings. Make sure the soup fully covers the tofu. Simmer until the tofu absorbs all the flavours.