Zhoupu 粥譜

Zhoupu 粥譜 is a book specialising in the preparation of congee. It was written during the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Huang Yunhu 黃雲鵠 (1819-1898), courtesy name Xiangyun 翔雲, from Qichun 蘄春, Hubei. He obtained the jinshi degree in 1853 and was tea-and-salt commissioner (chayandao 茶鹽道) and provincial surveillance commissioner (anchashi 按察使) of Sichuan. In his later years, he served as director of the Zunjing Academy 尊經書院 (see academies) in Nanjing, and of other educational institutions in southern China. He wrote many poems and prose essays.

His book on congee consists of the Zhoupu proper, and a supplement called Guang zhoupu 廣粥譜, which focuses on the preparation of satiable congee in times of famine. The Zhoupu itself deals with a wide array of topics around rice congee, quotes from literature, and gives advice on when to eat congee, and when not. Huang enumerates more than 200 various ingredients like grains, vegetables, mushrooms, gourds, fruits, or other parts of plants and herbs. He adds medical effects for these preparations and gives detailed instructions for the preparation of some of them.

Part of the text is quotes from older texts like Zunsheng bajian 遵生八箋 or Bencao gangmu 本草綱目. Others show the influence of the regional cuisine from Sichuan or Hubei. The book was printed in 1881.