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As the saying goes, "food is the first necessity of the people". To live in this world, people must eat grains. Due to different taste preferences and concepts, Chinese people have developed all kinds of strange habits in "eating".

Premier Zhou’s chef, Mr. An Zhenchang, once revealed Premier Zhou’s daily meals to his niece Zhou Bingyi.

From Mr. An Zhenchang's description, we can see the most down-to-earth and real side of Premier Zhou who was busy with many things...

Three meals a day fixed combination

Premier Zhou’s dietary preferences can be divided into before and after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

When Premier Zhou followed Chairman Mao to fight for the country, his daily diet was very simple. He ate whatever the soldiers ate.

Sorghum rice, steamed corn bread, corn porridge, millet porridge... he always enjoyed eating these coarse grains.

When conditions were slightly better, Premier Zhou could eat stir-fried dishes. However, these dishes contained almost no meat, but seasonal vegetables, such as white radish, winter melon, cabbage, etc. Premier Zhou could only eat meat when the troops were not short of supplies.

After the founding of New China, Premier Zhou's diet improved greatly. He no longer had to eat coarse grains and could choose the dishes he liked. In addition, he had a special chef to cook for him.

An Zhenchang mentioned above was transferred from the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People to Premier Zhou's side.

According to An Zhenchang's recollection, Premier Zhou had a fixed plan for what to eat and how to eat for three meals a day. The chefs usually cooked according to Premier Zhou's preferences within this general framework.

Normally, Premier Zhou's breakfast consisted of soy milk and oatmeal. The remaining item was either buttered bread, fried ham, or fried eggs. He would take turns eating these three foods, without much variety.

Premier Zhou's personal physician Zhang Zuoliang was very puzzled when he looked at Premier Zhou's unchanging breakfast: Wouldn't he get tired of eating the same things every day?

Zhang Zuoliang really couldn't understand it and couldn't help asking: "Prime Minister, why is your breakfast always the same?"

Premier Zhou smiled and said in a nonchalant tone: "When I was at the Whampoa Military Academy, I had breakfast with Chiang Kai-shek every day, that's it."

What I mean is that this is a habit that cannot be changed, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with it.

However, although Premier Zhou said it was a habit, it was impossible for the chefs to let him eat these things every day. He was not a monk who had no desires, right?

Therefore, the chef would change the taste for Premier Zhou every once in a while and make some sweet and non-greasy snacks to sweeten his mouth, such as radish cake, shepherd's purse cake, glutinous rice and lotus root.

Premier Zhou ate all the "newcomers" on the table. There were many kinds of dim sum, and he ate whatever the chef prepared.

From this perspective, Premier Zhou's breakfast was quite rich. However, due to his busy work, he could not eat breakfast on time every day.

When the People's Republic of China was first established, there were so many things to do. The lights in Chairman Mao's office were on all night, as was Premier Zhou's office.

After working all night, Premier Zhou usually slept until noon and missed breakfast.

According to An Zhenchang's recollection, the time when Premier Zhou got up to have breakfast was usually the time when Deng Yingchao had lunch. The couple could never get together and ate separately.

After finishing his "breakfast" at noon, Premier Zhou went out to work again. He would not be back for "lunch" until around 5 or 6 in the evening, which coincided with Deng Yingchao's dinner.

Although this situation was helpless, everyone was happy to see it happen. After all, Premier Zhou and Deng Yingchao were busy with work and rarely saw each other, so it was great to be able to eat at the same table.

However, it is rare that every meal can be caught up, especially lunch and dinner.

Five or six o'clock was Premier Zhou's "regular lunch time." In unusual circumstances, such as when he had a meeting, this time would be postponed to eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

Because there were so many things to do, Premier Zhou ate very quickly. After finishing his meal, he would rush to work.

The chefs knew that Premier Zhou's time was precious, so they steamed the rice and cleaned the ingredients before he came back. As soon as Premier Zhou came back, the kitchen started cooking.

As usual, Premier Zhou's lunch was rice and stir-fried vegetables. The rice here was not the rice we imagine, but a "mixed grain rice" mixed with millet, sorghum rice or red beans.

Many old Red Army soldiers who had come through blood and gunfire liked to eat mixed grain rice to remind themselves not to forget their roots, and Premier Zhou was the same.

In addition to the mixed grain rice, Premier Zhou's table usually had two home-cooked dishes, one meat and one vegetable, plus a soup, very simple.

There is no fixed style for these two dishes, they are usually prepared according to Premier Zhou’s preferences.

According to An Zhenchang, Premier Zhou’s favorite meat dishes were lion’s head meat, braised pork with pickled mustard greens, and eyebrow meatballs.

Don't steam the lion's head, braise it, so it goes well with rice. Chop the meat into minced meat, add some shepherd's purse, mushrooms or other seasonal vegetables, and then pinch it into two balls, each the size of a fist, and stew them in a pot. Premier Zhou could eat a whole or one and a half in one go.

The braised pork with preserved vegetables was also a favorite of Premier Zhou. The pork belly with alternating fat and lean meat and the preserved vegetables were so appetizing that Premier Zhou couldn't help but put down his chopsticks every time.

However, the country's conditions were not good in that era, and supplies were in short supply. Even the central leaders had limited living budgets and could not eat lavish meals every day.

Premier Zhou could only eat braised pork with pickled mustard greens every now and then to satisfy his craving.

Eyebrow meatballs, this dish may be unfamiliar to everyone. Simply put, it is meatballs that are fried and then stewed with other ingredients. The other ingredients here generally refer to sea cucumbers, so it is also a rare guest on the dinner table. Premier Zhou could only eat it once in a while.

Of course, Premier Zhou not only liked to eat these three dishes, he also liked to eat fish. Braised fish, steamed fish, grilled fish, Premier Zhou liked them all and loved fish deeply.

In terms of vegetarian dishes, Premier Zhou’s favorites were stir-fried loofah and stir-fried broad beans with snow vegetables.

The stir-fried loofah here is stir-fried with walnut kernels. As for the stir-fried snow vegetable with broad beans, there is no need to explain it, it is still a classic home-cooked dish.

Premier Zhou also had clear preferences when it came to soups. He liked crucian carp soup, shredded radish soup, and dried shredded pork soup, and he drank them all up every time.

In general, Premier Zhou's taste is lighter, which is completely different from Chairman Mao's. After all, Chairman Mao is from Hunan and has a stronger taste, while Premier Zhou is from Jiangsu and prefers Huaiyang cuisine.

Premier Zhou usually had dinner in the late night. If it was early, it was 11 or 12 o'clock, and if it was late, it was 2 or 3 o'clock. It was common for him to miss dinner.

Generally speaking, dinner was mainly noodles. The kitchen would make noodles, wontons, or a few small buns for Premier Zhou.

The buns are filled with meat, and Premier Zhou would ask the chef to add some shepherd's purse or winter bamboo shoots in them to make them fresh, fragrant, non-greasy and with a richer taste.

This is Premier Zhou's original way of eating. From this perspective, Premier Zhou is also a senior gourmet!

Because Premier Zhou was very busy and his diet was very irregular, the kitchen was afraid that he would starve, so they tried every means to prepare delicious food for Premier Zhou to take with him before he went out.

Premier Zhou always carried roasted peanuts and walnuts in a small box. When he was hungry, he would take out a few to eat. Sometimes, the chef would make some porridge for Premier Zhou and put it in a porcelain pot. Premier Zhou would drink it like tea.

Premier Zhou worked all night at home, and he also had a midnight snack. Steamed egg custard, stewed lotus seeds and white fungus, and almond tea were all cooked and placed in the refrigerator. Whenever Premier Zhou was hungry, the staff on duty would heat up the food in the refrigerator and bring it to Premier Zhou.

In short, we should do everything we can to prevent Premier Zhou from going hungry.

Later, in his later years, Premier Zhou was hospitalized due to illness and could no longer eat his favorite meals as he wished.

In order to facilitate chewing and digestion, Premier Zhou only ate porridge or soft dishes while in hospital, and rarely ate meat.

For Premier Zhou, who loves eating meat, this might be a bit uncomfortable.

In fact, from Premier Zhou's attitude towards food, we can see that he enjoyed the process of "eating". However, in front of the country and the people, his personal preferences were really insignificant. Therefore, even if he liked to eat meat, he would not buy too much, and would only buy three taels or half a catty each time.

This is another eating habit ingrained in Premier Zhou: frugality.

Frugality in diet

Premier Zhou was famous for his frugality, even to the point that ordinary people could not understand.

During his 26 years as Prime Minister of the Republic, he only had three pairs of leather shoes, the soles of which were replaced several times, and his clothes, shoes and hats were patched again and again.

Premier Zhou's most patched piece of clothing was a pajamas, which had 73 patches. Some of the patches were made with handkerchiefs, some with small towels and gauze. He didn't stick to the fabric, he just used whatever fabric was available.

There was also a towel with a jaw-dropping 53 patches on it.

This spirit of diligence and thrift was also brought to the dinner table by Premier Zhou.

Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the product of hard work? In Premier Zhou's eating habits, the first principle was not to waste a single grain of rice.

When eating, if rice grains fell on the table, Premier Zhou would pick them up with chopsticks and eat them.

According to the recollections of one of Premier Zhou's bodyguards, even when he was injured and had difficulty moving, Premier Zhou still maintained the habit of "picking up rice grains".

Once, Premier Zhou's arm was seriously injured and he could not move it at will. Under such circumstances, things that he could usually do by just stretching out chopsticks became as difficult as climbing to heaven.

When he had rice grains on his hands or when rice grains fell on the table while eating, Premier Zhou had to mobilize his whole body, move around, and use a lot of effort to get the rice grains into his mouth.

After the set of movements, Premier Zhou was panting slightly, and a thin layer of sweat was oozing out of his forehead. But even so, he was still unwilling to waste even a grain of rice.

Premier Zhou had another habit when eating. After each meal, he would pick up a piece of vegetable leaf and wipe it in the bowl until all the oil, soup and rice in the bowl were wiped clean.

Then he rolled up the leaves and ate them. He also washed down the remaining soup in the plate with boiling water and drank it. The meal was over.

Sometimes, due to various reasons, there would be leftovers, so Premier Zhou and Deng Yingchao would collect the leftovers and continue eating them at the next meal. There was no such thing as throwing away unfinished food.

It can be said that Premier Zhou's frugality in eating was far better than 99% of the Chinese people. This precious quality was not only present at the dinner table of Premier Zhou's family, but also permeated every aspect of Premier Zhou's work and life.

March 5, 1943 was Premier Zhou’s 45th birthday. In order to celebrate the birthday of the leader, several comrades from the Eighth Route Army Office added a few more dishes to Premier Zhou’s dinner.

Premier Zhou looked at the extra dishes on the table, frowned, and said in a reproachful tone: "The war situation at the front is tense.

How can we be so extravagant when the rear is short of food and clothing? "

The comrades in the office looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, someone quietly reminded them, "Today is your 45th birthday."

Premier Zhou was in a daze for a moment and said nothing. He had the dishes brought down and distributed to everyone.

On the other hand, other comrades also prepared fruits and snacks for Premier Zhou, waiting for him to finish his meal so that they could hold a small birthday celebration for him. In the end, everyone waited and waited, but Premier Zhou never showed up.

After a long time, Premier Zhou finally arrived. However, he did not come to participate in the ceremony, but to inform everyone to give all the fruits and snacks to the soldiers on night duty, as he did not need them.

On this day, the 45-year-old birthday boy only ate a bowl of noodles without eggs.

This was not the first time that Premier Zhou treated himself harshly in terms of diet.

During the three difficult years, Premier Zhou felt sorry for the people who were starving, so he tightened his belt and shared the hardships with the people. He did not eat pork, eggs, or rice, but only whole grains every day.

The chef once advised Premier Zhou not to eat coarse grains every day. After all, the Premier was old and worked day and night, so he needed to eat and drink well and replenish nutrition. Moreover, Premier Zhou did not eat much, so he would not burden the country and the people.

Premier Zhou rejected the chef's kind suggestion. He said meaningfully: "No, you must eat it. By eating it, you will not forget the past and the people!"

Premier Zhou's words are very profound. He said it and did it.

In 1961, Premier Zhou and Deng Yingchao held a New Year's Eve banquet in the West Flower Hall, inviting relatives, staff and their families in Beijing. Everyone brought their families and sat at three large tables.

At about 8:00 p.m., the banquet officially began. Under the expectant gaze of the crowd, the staff served tonight's "dish": a large pot of meat buns and a large pot of millet porridge.

Faced with the guests' puzzled looks, Deng Yingchao and Premier Zhou looked at each other and explained with a smile that the reason they invited everyone to eat millet porridge was because the Chinese revolution was fought with millet and rifles.

A large pot of meat buns is a reminder for everyone not to forget the kindness of the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao. After all, if it were not for the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao leading the masses to overthrow the "three mountains", none of us here would be able to eat the delicious meat buns.

As soon as Deng Yingchao finished speaking, thunderous applause broke out at the scene. Although the dishes of this New Year's Eve banquet were simple, they were of great significance. It once again demonstrated Premier Zhou's fine character of diligence and thrift, as well as his precious original intention of not forgetting his mission.

Some people might think that as the Prime Minister of a country, it is indeed a bit shabby to eat such a "poor" daily diet. Some people even told Premier Zhou that his excessive frugality was not good.

Premier Zhou was resolute in his attitude towards these "crazy words" and did not think he had done anything wrong. He believed that it was necessary to cherish food and suppress the bad habits of extravagance and waste.

"Our country is still poor and backward... What I do is not just my business, it shows what I advocate," said Premier Zhou.

His words were sonorous and powerful: "Should we encourage frugality among the 600 to 700 million people, or should we pursue enjoyment regardless of the national conditions? I am more concerned about the latter."

So, you see, our beloved Premier Zhou was thinking about the country and the people even when it came to eating, and he was practicing the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly.

Today, Premier Zhou has been gone for 48 years, but his voice, appearance and smile still remain in the hearts of every Chinese.

His noble character of devoting himself to the country and the people, and his fine style of integrity, diligence and thrift have influenced generations of people.

He will always be a good prime minister for the people.

Information reference:

China Communist Party News Network - Diligence and thrift are eternal virtues

China Communist Party News Network - [Interview transcript] Zhou Bingde recalls how Zhou Enlai practiced frugality in his life and explains 11 family rules

People's Daily Online - Revisiting those stories of thrift and diligence

Hubei Daily - Hubei Daily Forum | A clear view of national conditions can be seen in every grain of rice and every dish

China Communist Party News Network - Zhou Enlai's family dining table and eating habits - Interview with An Zhenchang, chef of Xihua Hall

Zhou Enlai Memorial Website - Zhou Enlai's eating habits: light taste, likes to drink crucian carp soup

People's Daily Online - Zhou Enlai's New Year's Eve dinner in 1961: millet porridge and big steamed buns

The Paper - Learn the 100-year history of the Party every day ‖ Wipe the bottom of the bowl with a piece of vegetable leaf