Sanxiaguo (Three-Pot Stew)
Sanxiaguo (Three-Pot Stew). Anyone visiting Zhangjiajie always asks, "What specialty food does Zhangjiajie have?" The host smiles lightly and points: "Isn't that it!" It's a row of ordinary storefronts with irregularly hung signs, all reading "So-and-So Sanxiaguo." At the entrance, several coal stoves of various sizes hold pots; inside the shops...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
Three-Down Pot
Anyone traveling to Zhangjiajie always asks: "What distinctive food does Zhangjiajie have?" The host gives a gentle smile and points casually: "Isn't that it right there!"
That is a row of ordinary storefronts, with various signs hung irregularly, all bearing the words "So-and-So Three-Down Pot." At the doorway, several coal stoves of different sizes hold pots and jars; inside the shop are a few low round tables with holes cut in the center, stoves set in the holes, and iron woks (or clay pots) placed on top. One sees steam rising and the pots boiling vigorously, the aroma tantalizing half the street. Three or five people, no particular number, each settle onto small wooden armchairs around a table, some eating meat, some buying wine. They eat and add more, add more and eat again—numbing, spicy, and piping hot. One after another they eat until their heads are streaming with sweat and they are hissing and gasping, yet their mouths still will not stop. They will not rest until they have devoured every last bit down to the bottom of the pot.
This is the famous Tujia "Three-Down Pot." This "Three-Down Pot" can be found throughout the streets and alleys, and can truly be called a scenic sight.
Guests are puzzled—why is it called "Three-Down Pot"?
Legend has it that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates (wokou) invaded China's southeastern coast, burning, killing, and plundering without restraint. But the imperial court was corrupt, coastal defenses were neglected, and the government troops were cowardly. Whenever they encountered the pirates, they fled in defeat. At this critical moment of national crisis, Minister Zhang Jing memorialized the throne requesting the urgent conscription of the Xiangxi Tusi from Huguang to pacify the pirates. The Jiajing Emperor approved, and immediately sent Imperial Commissioner Hu Zongxian to Xiangxi to muster troops. The various Tusi of Xiangxi, putting the greater good first, set aside old grievances (in the early Hongwu period of the Ming, Emperor Taizu suppressed the Qin Hou rebel army and bloodily massacred the Tujia people, creating enmity with them). Maogang Tusi King Qin Yaozhi and his son Qin Chengkun both volunteered for battle. It happened to be the Lunar New Year at the time, but military orders are as weighty as mountains, and the departure could not be delayed. Qin Yaozhi issued the order: "Cut chunk meat, steam rice in wooden steamers, drink from big bowls, cook pork, tofu, and radish in one pot—celebrate the New Year one day early!"
The next day—New Year's Eve—three thousand Tujia soldiers bade farewell to their fellow villagers and marched to the front with solemn resolve. Later, after more than three years of bloody battle, they finally drove the Japanese pirates out of mainland China. The Tusi of western Hunan and Hubei were commended by the emperor for their outstanding military achievements.
Afterward, the Tujia people passed down the Tusi's pre-departure meal of "pork, tofu, and radish cooked in one pot" as a custom for entertaining guests, and it developed into a uniquely distinctive Tujia famous dish, anciently called "combined dish," also known as "Three-Down Pot." Today's "Three-Down Pot" has richer contents and more surprising seasonings. Pig trotters, pork offal, beef tripe, beef offal, mutton, lamb trotters, dog meat, chicken, duck, fish, game, and more—one can choose any three to stew in one pot, and there are also four-down or five-down versions. Various fresh seasonal vegetables or aged dried vegetables and pickled sour vegetables are also prepared to be added to the pot at any time. The making of "Three-Down Pot" is quite refined, generally with numbing, spicy, and hot as the dominant flavors, but each chef has his own secret technique, so the taste varies. Outsiders find it very difficult to produce the authentic flavor of "Three-Down Pot."
Some say, isn't this just the same old hot pot found everywhere?
I say no.
If you truly do not want your trip to Zhangjiajie to be in vain, I suggest you taste the "Three-Down Pot" for yourself.