Hard rock cafes have been sprouting up all across China as home chefs roll out their own versions of the trendiest dish on their social media now – stir-fried pebbles.
Said to have originated hundreds of years ago in the central Hubei province, this spicy snack has purportedly been revived by a street-food hawker at a Changsha night market.
In multiple social media videos posted earlier in June that have racked up millions of views, he is seen frying granite nuggets on a hotplate, adding chilli oil, garlic cloves, perilla leaves and rosemary – each addition peppered with poetic musings in Mandarin, such as “with every drizzle of chilli, a taste of liveliness and emotion”.
A serving goes for around 18 yuan (S$3.40).
Answering a customer’s queries, the hawker says the dish is a local delicacy in Hubei, adding that it is widely enjoyed by as many people as there are drinkers in the province, where its residents are said to enjoy imbibing “from morning to night”.
Dubbed the “world’s hardest dish” on social media, it has also been referred to as “suodiu”, Mandarin for suck and throw – the correct way, as some have pointed out, to savour the pebbles while keeping one’s teeth intact.
Rocking up to the trend, others have shared videos of how they whip up other dishes such as omelettes or claypot stews with pebbles as accompaniment. Some claim the rocks elevate the gustatory qualities of the eggs or vegetables they are cooked with.
Three generations can cook with the same rocks, declares one such cook, echoing quips from other fans of the dish that the reusable ingredient certainly has a green factor.
According to a television programme on China’s CCTV, the culinary tradition can be traced back to Enshi county in Hubei. An official from the Enshi Catering Association said the pebbles would be picked from freshwater rivers, washed and fried with various condiments to make a snack to go with drinks.
Another Enshi native said the pebbles had appetising qualities, and some seafarers would fry them up as a snack best tasted with the tips of their tongues to savour the “hint of fish and shrimp” flavours.
One commentator cited by Chinese content creator None of Your Business School compared suodiu to how some destitute people in the past resorted to eating tree bark, remarking that the pebbles can be a throwback to the hardships of yesteryear that today’s young people might find difficulty relating to.
The sentiment was captured by a Chinese YouTuber known as Little Brother Xiang.
Slurping on the pebbles during a “mukbang”, or binge-eating video, he said: “Eating this world’s hardest dish, I am floating on a boat, on days of material lack. Why does this feel so lonely?”
Others find the idea too much to stomach, with some saying the rocks remind them of those commonly seen at the bottom of a pond or sticking out of a reflexology path. A netizen on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu voiced scepticism about hygiene practices surrounding the dish, commenting that a customer popping a pebble into his mouth might see a street vendor picking up “ingredients” off the street at that very moment.
Another said it could be palatable only as an end-of-the-month dish, when wallets are lighter before payday.
