It is said that at Empress Dowager Cixi's sixtieth birthday banquet, the Imperial Kitchen chefs showcased their skills by presenting various birthday dishes. A chef from Lu Dong with the surname Zhao prepared this dish. After steaming, boiling, cooking, frying, and stewing, he extracted all the fat from the pork belly, rendering it rich but not greasy, and even frequent consumption wouldn't lead to weight gain.
Besides pork belly, the ingredients included red dates, chestnuts, and lotus seeds, symbolizing early prosperity, making it well-loved by Empress Dowager Cixi and her concubines, who spontaneously named it "Blessed Pork."
"So it's a palace dish! No wonder I've never heard of it."
Du Guangning scratched his head and asked, "What kind of dish is this stir-fried mixed vegetable?"
"Stir-fried mixed vegetable is also a traditional specialty dish in Beijing, made by stir-frying chive sprout, shredded meat, glass noodles, bean sprouts, and tender spinach together."
