Buddha Jumps Over the Wall 佛跳牆 (fó tiaò qiáng) or 福壽全 (fú shòu quán) is one of the most famous of Chinese exquisite dishes from Fujian province. What an interesting name, huh? There’s a story, of course!
During the late Qing Dynasty, an official in Fuzhou invited the Chief Secretary of Fujian, Zhoulian, to his house for dinner. Zhoulian was very impressed with one dish called Luck and Longevity 福壽全 (fú shòu quán). It was a stew mainly containing chicken, duck, pork tendon and then cooked in Shaoxing wine.
When Zhoulian returned home, he asked his chef to replicate this dish but replaced some of the ingredients. He included abalone, shark tail skin, pork tendon, dried scallops, shark’s fin, fish maw, sea cucumber, quail eggs and all braised in a flavourful chicken broth. It was a big improvement over the original and became Zhoulian’s signature dish when he had guests.
His chef later quit and opened up a restaurant where he served this dish. The name, 福壽全 (fú shòu quán) when said in the Fuzhou dialect sounds like 佛跳牆 (fó tiaò qiáng) in Mandarin. (I haven’t been able to verify this yet though.) Thereafter, the dish became known as 佛跳牆 (fó tiaò qiáng) which literally translates to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
This is just one of many stories about Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Most people believe that this stew is so aromatic that even Buddha would jump over a wall to have some!
My Easy Buddha Jumps Over the Wall 簡易佛跳牆 recipe incorporates most of the main ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, conch meat, dried scallops and dried shitake mushrooms. I used the very basic economical options so you don’t have to break the bank making this very auspicious dish. Since the original name for this dish is Luck and Longevity 福壽全, it is a traditional Chinese New Year food. I think it would be a perfect dish to make your parents and grandparents.
If you’re able to splurge on some of these ingredients, you can buy a can of abalone and use the sauce in the can for braising. All the other components can be upgraded as well. I used frozen farmed abalone, sea cucumber and conch meat because their wild counterparts are both expensive and getting scarce. I substituted the shark’s fin with mung bean vermicelli which I enjoy a lot more. The vermicelli soaks up the braising liquid and tastes amazing!
Looking to try some more impressive and auspicious dishes? Try my Braised Lion’s Head 紅燒獅子頭 or my Fried Prawn Balls 百花釀蝦球.
Easy Buddha Jumps Over the Wall 簡易佛跳牆
Ingredients
- 1 pkg Frozen abalone (5 pieces)
- 1 pkg Frozen sea cucumber (4 pieces)
- 1 pkg Frozen conch meat (2 pieces)
- 30 g Dried sand blasted fish maw
- 4 Dried scallops
- 8 Dried shitake mushrooms
- 2 bunches Mung bean vermicelli (60 g)
- 3 stalks Baby Shanghai bok choy
- 1 L Chicken broth
- 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp Abalone sauce (if you’re using canned abalone, you can use the sauce in the can)
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Salt (since chicken broth and abalone sauce all come in variable salt content, you should determine the amount of salt you add. I used 1 tsp)
Instructions
- Night before: defrost frozen abalone, sea cucumbers and conch meat in the fridge. Clean and soak dried shitake mushrooms and dried scallops in water
Do not use too much water to soak. One cup for the mushrooms and ½ cup for the scallops. We will be using the water for braising so we don’t want it too diluted - 1 or 2 hours before cooking: soak fish maw. If you have other types of fish maw besides sand blasted, you’ll need to process it as per packaging before cooking
- Clean abalone by removing it from the shell and remove organs. Rinse with water and scrape off any debris with a spoon or dull knife
- Clean the conch meat by rinsing in water and scrape off any debris with a spoon or dull knife
- Slice the soaked fish maw into smaller pieces.
I cut mine to match the size of the abalone 
- Cut the stems off the shitake mushrooms
- Add the abalone, whole conch meat, fish maw, dried scallops, shitake mushrooms and all the soaking liquid from the scallops and shitake into a pot
- Add 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 3 tbsp abalone sauce and 2 tbsp oyster sauce. Mix well
- Pour chicken broth into the pot until it covers all the ingredients. Set the broth aside
- Cover the pot with a lid. Bring the contents to a boil and then turn the heat down to low
- Braise for 3 hours. Check and stir every 30 minutes. If the fluid evaporates and doesn’t cover the contents, add chicken broth until everything is just covered
- Soak 2 bunches of mung bean vermicelli
- Wash 3 or 4 stalks of Shanghai bok choy. Cut them in half, lengthwise I used
Shanghai bok choy for its nice jade colour. You can use any vegetable you like 
- After braising for 2½ hours: Bring 1-2 litres of water to a boil in a separate pot to blanche bok choy and sea cucumber (separately)
- Fish out the conch meat and let cool. Set aside
- Put the sea cucumbers into the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes or follow the instructions on the package
- Take the sea cucumbers out of the water and let cool. Do not discard the water
- Bring the water to a boil again
- Blanche the bok choy in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove the bok choy from the pot and arrange them around the edge of the serving plate. Do not discard the water
- Bring the water back to a boil. Add the vermicelli. Cook for 2 minutes
- Pour the vermicelli into a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside
- Slice the conch meat length-wise and return them to the braising pot
- Cut the sea cucumber into smaller pieces and put them in the braising pot for the remaining time. Frozen sea cucumbers need only be braised for 10-15 minutes.
- After braising for the full 3 hours remove all the ingredients in the pot except for the sauce
- When the sauce simmers, add the vermicelli and mix it into the sauce. Turn heat to medium-high. Let it soak and heat up for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the vermicelli and put it on the bottom of the serving plate, without the sauce.
- Put all the other ingredients on top of the vermicelli. Arrange them in any way you like
- The leftover sauce should be fairly thick. If it’s not thick, you can make a slurry with 1-2 tsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp water. Mix well and pour it into the sauce. Mix until the sauce has thickened
- Pour the sauce on top of all the ingredients
- Serve
Leave a Reply