Treasures, Pen Cai.

Pen Cai originated back in the days when Mongol troops invaded Song China. The villagers kept the emperor safe and decided to gather there best dishes into a basin for him. Then, the first pen cai ( vegetables in a basin) was created
Nowadays Pen Cai is very popular in Asia, usually prepared for Chinese New Year. The basin( now usually a clay pot or wooden pot) is lavished with great ingredients such as braised shark fin with abalone. Skills are required to stack each ingredient above one another. Poultry are placed on the top, showing birds returning to their home nests, in which are digging for treasure. Closer to the bottom of the pot, there are flavorsome broth, as all the juices mixes in harmony with each other.