Fermented Mung Bean Pulp Porridge 粉浆饭

Fermented Mung Bean Pulp Porridge (粉浆饭) is a sour, savoury millet porridge from Anyang (安阳) in Henan. Its base is fenjiang (粉浆), the liquid left over after mung beans have been used to make sheet jelly and starch noodles. With fried blood cake (炸血糕) and pizha (皮渣), it makes up what people in Anyang call the city's 'three treasures' (安阳三大宝).

Ingredients

A 2024 report on the Anyang city government portal lists the leftover mung-bean liquid, millet, soybeans, peanuts, Chinese cabbage and lard, with sesame oil and coriander added before the pot comes off the heat. A 2014 Hong Kong Commercial Daily note describes it more broadly as a salted thin porridge made from soured soy milk or from the sour liquid of fermented wheat bran, usually with green vegetables added; it also mentions a browned-scallion sauce poured over the porridge once it comes off the heat.

How it is made

The sour liquid is brought to the boil before the millet goes in; peanuts and soybeans are added as well. Everything is simmered into a porridge with the cabbage and fat, then finished with sesame oil and a scattering of chopped coriander.

Flavour and texture

The taste is sour, fragrant, sweet and smooth all at once, and it is known for whetting the appetite. It is a much-loved traditional dish around the old city of Anyang and a common porridge on the city's tables. The Hong Kong Commercial Daily recalls it as a dish that fed people through years of hunger and one they kept eating once times were better.