There are names of certain Chinese dishes that practically beg for their backstories: forbidden rice, beggar’s chicken, “ants climbing a wall” — that one’s ground meat, mixed with glass noodles.
These dishes do, in fact, have backstories, and they come from Chinese folklore.
Now, there’s a new cookbook that shares these stories with illustrations, comic book-style, along with their recipes.
It’s called “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and Other Curiously Named Classic Chinese Dishes.”
The author, Ying Chang Compestine, discussed the book with The World’s host Carolyn Beeler.
Carolyn Beeler: First the title. I have never had this dish known as “Buddha jumps over the wall.” What is it? And what’s the story behind it?
Ying Chang Compestine: Well, the legend is, a traveling scholar, one day, stopped outside the temple to cook lunch for himself. So, he made a stew of meat, seafood and various spices. And the aroma [floated] over the monastery wall. One of the small hungry monks, [couldn’t] help himself. Despite his vegetarian vow, he jumped over the wall and asked the scholar to share the meal with him. So, the joke is, even a Buddha would jump over the wall to eat it. That just shows how delicious this dish is.
It’s so good, he ignores his vow of vegetarianism to get at some of that stew.
Yes, basically it’s a stew. You can put whatever you like. There’s a vegetarian version just with tofu. Or you can put in meat or seafood. The key is the spices and the time you take to cook the meal, so all the flavor can enrich together.
And what got you so interested in the names and the legends behind some of these Chinese dishes.
Well, I always loved food and children. And this is my 27th book. I wrote picture books for children, and I wrote cookbooks for adults before. So, when I was thinking about my next project, I just thought, well, I want to combine my two passions together. And then that reminded me, you know, of when I eat at a restaurant with friends, they always ask me, “What does this name mean?” I said, well, I should just write a book to combine my two passions — the picture book, illustrations and the food together to create this graphic novel cookbook for all ages. (The illustrations for this book were done by Vivian Truong.)
So, you write in this book that you learned the stories behind the names of these dishes from your grandmother. What are your strongest memories of helping her in the kitchen when you were growing up in Wuhan, China?
I have two elder brothers. So, when I was young, I loved to follow my grandmother in the kitchen. Not because I wanted to help, but because I want to get to the food before my brothers did. So, also, I loved to hear her stories; so she’d often tell me the stories behind the dishes she’d make.
And also, just tell me the folktale stories she remembered. And those are the fun memories of my childhood. I [grew] up in Wuhan during the Chinese culture revolution. During that time, food was rationed and the book was banned. So, for me to follow her in the kitchen, not only [would] I get to eat before my brothers, I also kind of got hungry for the stories that I would not be able to get otherwise, because we were forced to read all the propaganda stories at school.
And also, just tell me the folktale stories she remembered. And those are the fun memories of my childhood. I [grew] up in Wuhan during the Chinese culture revolution. During that time, food was rationed and the book was banned. So, for me to follow her in the kitchen, not only [would] I get to eat before my brothers, I also kind of got hungry for the stories that I would not be able to get otherwise, because we were forced to read all the propaganda stories at school.
So, you include your family in this book. Your upbringing in Wuhan, China. What kind of feelings did that surface for you as you revisited that time and place?
It was a very difficult time, a very challenging time. At that time, I didn’t know how hard it was until I look back. But I think that experience made me who I am today. I think the hardship really taught me to be strong, to be persistent.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
From “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and Other Curiously Named Classic Chinese Dishes: A Graphic Cookbook” — 26 Recipes & Stories by Ying Chang Compestine, © 2025. Illustrated by Vivian Truong. Published by Chronicle Books.
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