Tai'an Snacks and Local Delicacies

Tai'an lies in the heartland of ancient Qi and Lu regions. Its culinary culture belongs to Shandong Cuisine, one of China’s Four Major Culinary Schools.

Since successive dynasties held imperial worship ceremonies and mountain-crowning rituals on Mount Tai, a sacrificial food culture has taken shape and been passed down from generation to generation up to the present day.

Tai’an cuisine was influenced by Jinan cuisine from the north and Confucius Family Cuisine from the south. It also absorbed elements of Buddhism, Taoism and Islamic culture to varying degrees. The result is a splendid culinary system with rich content and profound heritage that integrates diverse cultural traditions.

In addition, Tai’an food culture bears distinct traces of Mount Tai culture. Local mountain produce forms the main ingredients of Tai’an specialties. Taoist and Buddhist vegetarian traditions further enriched local recipes, endowing Tai’an dishes with simplicity and great diversity.

Rooted in Mount Tai’s natural produce and the vegetarian culture of Buddhism and Taoism, Tai’an’s culinary highlights include the Mount Tai Tofu Feast, medicinal herbal banquets, wild vegetable feasts, and dishes featuring red-scale fish from the mountain streams.

Cultural integration has nurtured a great variety of popular snacks. The most well-known ones include: Tai’an Jianbing pancakes, fried cakes (sold near Dai Temple), Zhao’s crispy crackers (near Dai Temple), Ding’s fried spiral buns (on Tongtian Street), sweet millet congee in front of Yaocan Pavilion, Shen’s braised donkey meat (West Pass), Old Li’s glutinous rice zongzi (North Pass), Liu’s boiled dumplings (Tongtian Street), and wontons on East Taiwei Street in front of Dai Temple.

The Chinese toon tree yields tender aromatic young shoots fit for eating. In the Qing Dynasty, picking and eating toon buds in spring was called "tasting spring", a ritual to welcome the new season. Zhonggong on the outskirts of Jinan produces abundant toon trees. Every spring when new shoots sprout, locals start their annual "tasting spring". Farmers pluck purplish or light green tender sprouts and sell them at markets. Food lovers rush to buy them home to savour the flavour of early spring.

There are numerous ways to cook toon sprouts. The most renowned dish in Jinan is Toon Sprout Tossed with Tofu. Wash the fresh sprouts, salt and knead them lightly, and leave them to pickle overnight. Chop the pickled toon finely, dice steamed soft tofu, toss them together with refined salt and sesame oil, and the dish is ready to serve.

Another popular recipe is Deep-fried Toon Fish. Clean the tender sprouts and drain thoroughly. Season with salt and knead evenly. Dip each whole sprout in batter and deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crisp. The whole fried sprout looks just like a small fish, hence the folk name "toon fish".

This dish takes its name from the famous scenic spot "Dragon Pool Waterfall" on Mount Tai. After rain breaks and the sky clears, mist shrouds Black Dragon Pool, and two waterfalls plunge down like flying jade dragons. It ranks among the Eight Great Sights of Mount Tai. Red-scale fish are a rare endemic treasure of Mount Tai, once reserved exclusively for emperors. According to legend, these fish are golden dragons from the Jade Emperor’s court who descended to the mortal world to serve the God of Mount Tai and the Goddess Bixia.

The Tofu Feast originated when ancient emperors observed strict vegetarian diets to purify body and mind during mountain-crowning rituals on Mount Tai. After centuries of refinement by local chefs, it has become a unique gem within Shandong Cuisine, offering more than 150 different tofu dishes for grand banquets.

Famous tofu dishes include Supreme Tofu, Eight Immortals Gathering at the Jade Pool, Buddha’s Hand Tofu, Ginseng Tofu, Hibiscus Tofu and Lotus Tofu, each perfectly crafted in colour, aroma, taste and shape.

The fried dough sticks sold at street porridge stalls in old Tai’an were quite different from today’s version. Cooks pinched the two ends of four dough strips and deep-fried them into olive-shaped rings. Together with fried dough twists and sesame fritters, they were cooked thoroughly in peanut oil, resulting in an exceptionally crisp and fragrant snack.

The porridge was made by milling millet into paste, sifting out impurities and mixing it with rice. Before eating, diners would add soft stewed salted soybeans floating on top, like tiny golden pearls. Paired with crispy fried dough rings or fritters, it made a hearty and tasty meal.

Sa is a thick soup brewed with wheat flour, buckwheat and chicken, beef or mutton stock. Before serving, add tender stewed beef or mutton offal, chopped green onions, ginger powder, ground pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. The soup has a rich flavour despite its light consistency. It dispels cold, invigorates the stomach, boosts physical strength and prevents colds.

This hearty snack is cooked with millet flour, cowpeas, spinach, vermicelli and tofu strips, seasoned with pepper. It is kept hot in a clay vat heated by chaff fire and covered with a quilt. Vendors serve it hot all day long. There is a local two-part allegorical saying in Tai’an: Sweet millet porridge at the Pavilion Gate — ready to serve right away.