The table is laid out with over a dozen varieties of naturally grown vegetables—Dendrobium sprouts, romaine lettuce, notoginseng sprouts, purple lettuce, butter lettuce, and goji leaves... Served with freshly prepared free-range chicken soup, the tender green vegetable leaves are briefly blanched, releasing their natural sweetness and refreshing taste—truly a gift from nature. This Tongnan vegetable banquet draws food enthusiasts from over 100 kilometers away just for a taste!
Li Youfu, Executive President of the Chongqing Tongnan District Catering and Accommodation Industry Association, reveals the four highlights of the vegetable banquet: its freshness, uniqueness, diversity, and extraordinary medicinal value. Seasonal, all-natural organic vegetables are sourced from local vegetable farms. The Tongnan's vegetable banquet is the only one of its kind in China, rarely seen or tasted elsewhere. It features more than fifty vegetable varieties, with over ten seasonal selections available at any season, all traceable to their origin.
This vegetable banquet incorporates the traditional Chinese "food-as-medicine" philosophy, featuring various Chinese medicinal plants—all rich in nutritional elements and health benefits.
As Li explains, he dips the lettuce into the boiling free-range chicken soup, pulling it up after a mere three seconds. The leaves are coated with a shimmering layer of soup, releasing a herbal fragrance. A crisp bite releases a lingering sweet aftertaste.
"In addition to over 100 staple vegetables, such as radishes, chilies, eggplants, cucumbers, bitter melons, and cabbage, the banquet also features more than 20 fresh, naturally grown specialty vegetables, including dendrobium sprouts, saffron sprouts, notoginseng sprouts, and isatis sprouts."
According to Li, the soup base for the banquet is made entirely from free-range chicken. The fresh, sweet vegetables meet the rich, aromatic broth, complemented by a variety of home-style dishes. The banquet achieves a fusion of hotpot and traditional Chinese cuisine, blending both visual and culinary appeal. It is a wholesome, health-conscious feast enjoyed by all ages and available year-round.
Li believes that the vegetable banquet truly showcases the natural flavors of ingredients. "The highest level of cooking is to reveal the authentic natural flavors of ingredients to diners. When fresh vegetables are gently blanched in a rich, aromatic chicken soup, their natural sweetness and freshness are brought out even more vividly."
Dipping a variety of fresh vegetables into green chili sauce brings not only the lively spirit of hotpot, but also the nourishing warmth of medicinal cuisine. What's even more remarkable is the playful reinvention of the local lemon, which is transformed through molecular gastronomy into lemon-scented lucky fruit, a delicacy that melts in the mouth.
Li explains, "The vegetable banquet follows three principles: the soup defines the flavor, the ingredients shape the essence, and the seasonings set the style. The dipping sauce is made from locally grown green chili peppers, carefully prepared for vegetable banquets. Most vegetables are served blanched, while Western culinary elements are also incorporated. For instance, Tongnan lemons are reimagined through molecular gastronomy into a pre-meal dessert—lemon-scented lucky fruit, sweet, tangy, and silky smooth."
Tongnan is located in the heart of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone, with the Fu and Qiong rivers running through the area. Blessed with mild sunshine, humid air, and fertile soil, Tongnan serves as a true paradise for vegetable cultivation. The region has developed a well-organized layout, with three main production zones: a 200,000-mu staple vegetable area along the Fu River, a 100,000-mu high-quality vegetable zone in the Qiong River basin, and a 100,000-mu seasonal vegetable area in the low-lying hills. Moreover, the region has established 18 large-scale vegetable bases, each exceeding 10,000 mu.
As a result, Tongnan has become home to China's largest production base for Tongnan radishes. In 2024, Tongnan's total vegetable planting area reached 1.04 million mu, with a yield of 2.45 million tons and a total output value of 8.5 billion yuan. Among this, 2.1 million tons of vegetables were sold directly on the market, ranking first in Chongqing.
Reporter: Han Yi
Cameramen: Qian, Sammi
Editor: Qian
Translator: Cheng Yurui
English Editor: Darius
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