Zhuangyuan Dou
状元豆
Nanjing Zhuangyuan Dou (Scholar's Beans) is a sweet, slow-simmered dessert from the ancient examination halls of Jiangsu's capital: dried broad beans soaked for 24 hours, then stewed with rock sugar, osmanthus and tangerine peel until they collapse into a fragrant, amber porridge that tastes like patience rewarded.
南京状元豆是江苏省会古贡院传来的甜汤：干蚕豆浸足24小时，再与冰糖、桂花、陈皮慢炖至豆身塌缩，化作一盅香糯的琥珀粥，味道是被奖赏的耐心。
The name honors the "zhuangyuan" — the top scholar in imperial exams held at Nanjing's Jiangnan Gongyuan, the largest examination complex in imperial China; legend says a mother simmered these beans for her son's pre-exam breakfast, and when he won first place, the dish became a symbol of scholarly success and maternal devotion.
名字致敬“状元”——在江宁贡院举行的科举殿试魁首，江宁贡院是中国古代最大的科举考场；相传一位母亲为儿子考前熬此豆，儿子高中后，这道菜便成了学业有成与母爱的象征。
Cooks begin at midnight: beans are blanched, rinsed, then returned to a purple-sand pot with Qinhuai river water, rock sugar and aromatics; the fire is kept at a trembling whisper for six hours, so the skins stay intact while the interiors melt into velvet — a texture locals call "silk wrapped in paper".
师傅午夜开工：豆先焯水、冲洗，再入紫砂锅与秦淮河水、冰糖、香料同炖；火力保持微颤六小时，使豆皮完整而内芯化为绒缎——老南京称此口感为“纸包丝”。
Served in small blue-and-white bowls at room temperature, the first spoonful carries the perfume of autumn osmanthus, the depth of long-cooked beans, and a faint citrus lift from the Xinhui tangerine peel; each bite is a wish for perseverance, sweetness, and the quiet triumph of slow fire over hard seed.
室温青花瓷小碗上桌，第一勺携来秋日桂花香、久煮豆的深邃与新会陈皮的微酸；每一口都是对坚持、甜蜜与文火战胜硬壳的静默胜利的祝愿。
Today, Zhuangyuan Dou is sold near the restored Jiangnan Gongyuan on the Qinhuai River and at school gates across Nanjing; buy a cup for a student and you offer more than dessert — you hand them 600 years of accumulated hope, wrapped in sugar and the belief that every hard seed can be softened with enough time and care.
如今状元豆在售于秦淮河畔修复的江宁贡院周边及南京各校门；给学生买一杯，递上的不仅是甜品，更是六百年累积的希望，裹在糖中，以及“每颗硬壳都可用足够时间与细心软化”的信念。
（备注：资料源自网络，仅供学习交流，侵权即删）
