A banquet soup of abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, scallops, meats and mushrooms, sealed in a jar with rice wine and simmered for hours.
What makes it buddha jumps over the wall
Many luxuries in one pot: abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, dried scallops, often more.
Each ingredient soaked, blanched or fried on its own first.
Sealed in a jar with stock and Shaoxing wine and simmered very slowly, so nothing boils away.
Where it comes from
Usually credited to a Fuzhou restaurant kitchen in the late Qing dynasty. The name is said to come from a line of verse: the smell was so good that even a meditating monk would leap the wall to get at it. The stories differ on who wrote it.
It's the most famous dish in Fujian and one of the most expensive in China — a festival or banquet soup, made days ahead, each luxury prepared separately before they go into the jar together.
How it varies
Restaurant version
Served in small individual jars, often with shark's fin left out today.