AROUND the world, hundreds of foods and drinks have been named after the people who invented them or inspired their creation.

Think of béchamel sauce, eggs Benedict, chateaubriand steak, beef Wellington and beef stroganoff. Even the world “sandwich” came from a titled Englishman. At the bar, there are the Rob Roy and Shirley Temple cocktails.

Caesar salad is credited to restaurateur Caesar Cardini, and carpaccio was created in 1950 by Giuseppe Cipriani and named in honor of the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio.

In Chinese cuisine, most dishes take their names from ingredients and the method of cooking.

The traditional dish fan qie chao dan (番茄炒蛋) is an example. The four characters translate into “tomato,” “scramble” or “stir-fry” and “egg.” A straightforward account of what you are eating.

Some dishes do have figurative names. Fo tiao qiang, or “Buddha jumps over the wall,” got its name from the flavor of cooking dozens of ingredients, including sea cucumber, abalone, chicken, pigeon and ham. The dish is said to be so intense that it would have Buddha abandoning meditation and jumping over the wall.

Dongpo pork and the other Dongpo dishes (东坡肉)

Su Shi (1037-1101), one of the most celebrated Chinese poets in history, was also a renowned gastronome who is credited with creating dishes that have been passed down through generations.

The pseudonym of the poet was Dongpo Jushi; hence, he’s also known as Su Dongpo.

Dongpo pork is the most famous dish he inspired. It’s a signature of Hangzhou cuisine, though Su himself hailed from Sichuan Province.

Legend has it that Su was serving a term as mayor of Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, when the Yellow River flooded, putting the lives of local residents at risk. He rallied the population and saved the city.

As thanks, local residents butchered pigs and lambs and carried wines to the mayor’s office. Su accepted the gifts and instructed his chefs to cook the meats in delicious dishes to be served to the public. Hence, the name Huizeng pork, which means “to give in return.”

When Su was dispatched to Huangzhou in Hubei Province in 1080, he planted crops on wasteland and created the pseudonym Dongpo Jushi. He wrote about cooking classic braised pork in soy sauce in “Poem of Eating Pork.”

Su was appointed mayor of Hangzhou in 1089. When a severe rainstorm caused Taihu Lake to overflow, flooding farmland in the region, Su led the population through the difficult times and organized workers to restore West Lake to normal.

When locals learned Su’s favorite dish was pork, they brought meat and wines as gifts. Su repeated what he did in Xuzhou, ordering braised pork belly squares to be fed to workers, who named the dish Dongpo pork.

The collagen-rich dish uses a prime, thick cut of pork belly with equal amounts of fat and lean meat. It is braised in soy sauce and yellow wine before being steamed to soften the meat to a jelly-like texture.

Other dishes associated with the poet include Dongpo pancake, braised Dongpo pork knuckles, Dongpo celery and turtledove stir-fry, and mei cai kou rou (pork belly meat steamed with dried potherb mustard).

Kung Pao chicken (宫保鸡丁)

Pronounced gong bao ji ding in Chinese, this classic Sichuan cuisine dish was named after Ding Baozhen (1820-86), who held the official title of “gong bao” (宫保) during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). Legend has it that he often served this spicy chicken dish to guests.

Key ingredients of the dish include diced chicken cubes, dried chilies, peanuts, Sichuan peppercorns and carrots.

Cao Cao chicken (曹操鸡)

Cao Cao, a Chinese warlord in the Three Kingdoms period, also had a dish named after him.

Legend has it that when Cao stationed troops in what is today the Hefei region of Anhui Province, he fell ill from overwork. For his treatment, a doctor ordered chicken made with various herbs, which helped Cao to recover.

The recipe fries honey-glazed chicken in hot oil, and then stews the fowl in a pot filled with condiments and herbs. The meat becomes so soft that it falls off the bones.

Cao Cao chicken has evolved over the years. In Hefei nowadays, the chicken are cooked with 18 condiments and spices, including distilled white liquor, shitake mushroom, Sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon.

Taibai duck (太白鸭)

Taibai duck is a traditional dish in Sichuan cuisine. It originated with Tang Dynasty (618–907) poet Li Bai, whose courtesy name was Taibai.

In year 742, Li received orders from Emperor Xuanzong to work in the Hanlin Academy, an academic and administrative institution.

Legend says Li was well respected by academy officers but undervalued by politicians. Critics such as imperial consort Yang Guifei slandered him in front of the emperor.

To defend his name and hold onto his position, Li cooked a delicious duck dish from Sichuan and offered it to the emperor. Xuanzong was so mesmerized by the duck steamed with yellow rice wine and goji berries that he left Li’s appointment intact.

Mapo doufu (麻婆豆腐)

One of the top five dishes in Sichuan cuisine, Mapo doufu (or tofu) is a spicy dish perfect with steamed rice.

The name Mapo translates into “old lady with a pockmarked face.” The creation of the dish is attributed to a woman with blemished skin who operated the Chen Xingsheng Restaurant in the Qing Dynasty.

The intense flavor of Mapo doufu derives from Sichuan peppercorns, minced pork, dried chilies and the famous fermented soy beans sauce from Pixian County.

Wang Zhihe stinky tofu (王致和臭豆腐)

Stinky tofu is a food that people either love or hate.

Though there are many variations across China, the origin of the dish dates back to Qing Dynasty, when a man named Wang Zhihe forgot about fresh tofu he had stored in a jar and later found it had turned a greenish-grey color and developed a distinctive taste.

Wang Zhihe stinky tofu is mostly served as a spread for pancakes and steamed buns. It has a soft texture much like cheese and can be found in most supermarkets.

General Tso’s chicken (左宗棠鸡)

In American-Chinese cuisine, this classic dish on menus was named after Zuo Zongtang, or Tso Tsung-t’ang (1812–85), a military leader in late Qing Dynasty. The deep-fried chicken in a sweet and spicy sauce was neither created nor eaten by its namesake. It originated in Hunan cuisine.