In April 2025, a team of Chinese students successfully recreated a rice dish using a 2,000-year-old recipe, offering insights into the culinary practices of the Western Han Dynasty [2, 7, 14]. The project, undertaken by students from Hunan University and the Chinese Agricultural University in Beijing, centered around the 'Shi Fang' manuscript, an ancient text discovered in a tomb in Hunan province [2, 3].
The 'Shi Fang' manuscript provided details on preparing various ingredients, including rice, during the Han Dynasty [3, 8, 14]. The students collaborated with master chef He Juxian to refine the cooking process [3]. They selected a non-glutinous rice variety similar to that used in the Han era [2, 4, 14].
The team soaked the rice for half an hour, steamed it for 20 minutes, cooled it, and then steamed it again with water for an additional 15 minutes [2, 3, 4]. The resulting rice was described as 'loose yet elastic' with a 'pleasing texture and notably lower sugar content' compared to modern rice [2, 14]. Peter Brian Ditmanson, an American professor at Yuelu Academy, described the recreated dish as 'comfort food' [2, 3, 9].