Dragon Bytes
Did you know about medieval recipes?
Yuan and Ming Dynasty household encyclopaedias included a number of Jurchen recipes. Most of these were rather plain compared with sophisticated cuisine of central China. The Jurchen favoured gruels, stews and soups, it seems. Here is a Jurchen recipe from the Chu-chia pi-yung shih-lei ch'uan-chi (apparently a Yuan work, but the oldest extant copy being of Ming age):

Steamed Mutton mei-t'u

Take a whole sheep, scald and clean and remove head, feet, intestines etc., cut up into manageable pieces. Prepare small specimens of earth-pepper [Geum japonicum Thunb., Chinese ti-chao, a northern seasoning), with wine and vinegar, pour over the meat and let soak for two hours or more. Put into empty metal pot, build a fire with fuel wood sticks and seal the lid with clay. Light the fire but let it not come too close. Wait until well cooked. To be served in bowls with original juice separately. (Franke 1975:175)

Reference