Fujian Fo Tiao Qiang (Buddha Jumps Over the Wall)

Fuzhou, Fujian Province — created during the Qing Dynasty for official banquets; the dish embodies Fujianese culinary luxury

Fo tiao qiang: Fuzhou's legendary imperial-banquet soup, so aromatic that even a vegetarian Buddha would jump over a wall to eat it. Abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, shark's fin (traditionally), dried scallops, pork knuckle, chicken, ham, and 30+ other ingredients slow-simmered for days in a sealed ceramic pot. The epitome of Chinese luxury banquet cooking.

• French pot-au-feu (French multi-ingredient braised meat soup)
• French cassoulet (slow-cooked multi-ingredient casserole)
• Spanish cocido madrileño (slow-cooked mixed meat stew)

Deep, complex, multi-layered — decades of culinary tradition compressed into a single pot; impossibly rich