Four-Joy Meatballs, Winner of Life
It is said that Four-Joy Meatballs were first developed in Tang Dynasty. One year, the imperial court held the imperial examination that attracted many students from all country to take part in, among whom there was the subsequently renowned Zhang Jiuling, "First Man from the South of the Five Ridges". To everyone's surprise, the poorly dressed Zhang took the first place in the examination and later became the son-in-law of the Emperor. Usually, people are in high spirits when involved in happy events, yet he suffered deeply in his mind since the rampant flood in his hometown drove his parents to flee to other places without any news. It happened that prior to the wedding day, Zhang got the news about his parents and sent the servants to pick them up to the Capital. On the wedding ceremony, the chef who understood the feelings of Zhang tacitly cooked specifically four big meatballs, and explained to Zhang who asked about its implied meaning. "It is named ‘Four Consummation'.
The first consummation is your achievement of the first place in the imperial examination, the second for your wedding, the third for you to become the Emperor's son-in-law, and the last for your reunion with your family. " Upon this answer, Zhang Jiuling had a great laugh and said, "Just call it ‘Four-Joy Meatballs'".
Since then, the Four-Joy Meatballs were passed down from generation to generation until current days.
Though it seems an easy task to cook this dish with only four big meatballs and some simple ingredients, it requires lots of attention and elaboration at each step in the cooking process. Soak the chopped green onions in a large spoon of warm water for ten minutes, and then filter out the green onions with only the water kept for later use, a process ensuring that no green onions would turn dark in the frying pot and affect its good appearance and taste. This exquisite process well illustrates how detailed and fine the cooking processes are.
First, add some greasy ingredients into the meat stuffing, and it is better to prepare the meat stuffing manually, not only because it is easy to prepare with hands, but also because the stuffing would be chewy yet not greasy. Then the addition of some condiments, such as, soybean sauce and cooking wine, would make the flavor even more richful. In order to retain the shape of the meatballs after being fried, it is required to repeatedly beat the meat stuffing up and down so that the meatballs would taste good, juicy, tender but not greasy, with an attractive appearance. The meticulousness is demonstrated in each part of the life, and also in the processes of cooking delicious food. It confirms again the famous saying that nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it.