The ingredients are laid out for making Bazhen Tang [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Bazhen Tang (commonly known as "Tounao") is a local, celebrated dish in Taiyuan that is known to be very beneficial for the health. It has been passed down in Taiyuan for more than 370 years since it was developed by Fu Shan, a famous doctor, in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). 

Fu Shan, who had noble medical ethics and superb medical skills, took it as his mission to improve the physical and mental health of the people. He organically combined the medicinal effects of food in traditional Chinese medicine and nutrition. 

Bazhen Tang is a kind of sticky soup made of eight kinds of Chinese herbal medicines and mutton, through a delicate and complex process. Regular consumption of the soup is said to help relieve muscles, nourish the heart and kidneys, replenish blood and invigorate the spleen and stomach. 

The process of making Bazhen Tang is complex. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

When making Bazhen Tang, the materials are selected carefully, the process is complicated and the method and skill requirements are very strict. 

Chunks of fat and tender high-quality lamb are chosen as the main ingredients and the mutton should undergo various processes -- including washing, adding various other ingredients, stewing and drying -- with the residual lamb soup and mutton oil left for later use. Various other ingredients are simmered, marinated, boiled, or steamed in strict accordance with the established process. 

To make Bazhen Tang, people must boil these ingredients in accordance with the time-honored recipe and proportions, adding yellow rice wine.