The intricacies of Huaiyang's famed pencai dish

Pencai, which translates as 'dish in a bowl', is a popular Chinese dish that originates from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Since its invention, the dish has come to typify the cuisine of South China.

The dish requires masterful cooking and it is especially important that the various ingredients are carefully layered so that the dish maintains a harmonious balance of taste and texture.

Pencai includes a wide range of ingredients. [Photo/yznews.com.cn]

Typically, radishes are placed as the bottom layer on account of the root vegetable's ability to withstand long periods of cooking. Radishes also wonderfully absorb the succulent juices of meat and seafood.

The layer of radishes is usually topped by braised pork belly, which allows the fatty juices to run to the bottom of the bowl. Next comes tofu followed by roast duck or steamed chicken, which adds to both the flavor and texture of the dish. Although vegetarians are unlikely to be attracted to the dish, there is a middling layer of vegetables, such as thick slices of yam or taro. These two are chosen for the excellent way they complement meat. The Pencai is then layered by alternating meat, seafood, and vegetables.

One of the advantages of pencai is its flexibility. Dishes can include expensive ingredients such as dried oysters, prawns, fish, crab, and meatballs, but can also be very economical.

Pencai is also popular in Huaiyang cuisine, a cooking style indigenous to the south Yangtze River Delta region that constitutes one of China's eight major cooking styles. The Huaiyang version of pencai also has the characteristic of layering meat and vegetables, but what makes it distinct are the addition of danjiao, a type of egg dumpling, and fish balls.

Fresh danjiao is a distinctive addition to the Huaiyang style pencai. [Photo/yznews.com.cn]

Danjiao are dumplings wrapped with an egg skin. The egg is beaten, placed on a hot ladle, and then filled as the final stages of the cooking takes place.

Fish balls are equally laborious to make. The filleted meat of the freshest fish is scraped, minced, and beaten together until it forms a light, white cloud. The fish balls are then dropped into boiling water, left to cook, and then added to the pencai.

A delicious looking example of a bowl of Yangzhou's famed pencai. [Photo provided to China Daily]

If you happen to be in the south Yangtze River Delta region be sure to find yourself a dish of pencai, you certainly won't regret the decision!