鹌鹑原是一种野生禽类，古称鹌、鸨母等。其体形酷似鸡雏，头小尾秃，地栖性强，为杂食性候鸟。“要食飞禽首推鹌鹑。”鹌鹑肉鲜美可口，系野味之珍，且含有丰富的蛋白质、脂肪和矿物质。营养价值甚高。同时，鹌鹑还可药用，《本草纲目》认为其有“补五脏，益中续气，实筋骨，耐寒暑，消结热”之功效，为养生之佳品。
      
    鹌鹑踪迹几乎遍及全国，商城县北、中部丘陵地的杂草、灌丛、竹园中多有此禽。捕鹑者惯于夏季夜晚张网设伏，网内置母鹑为引诱捕公鹑，活卖于市场。洒肆饭馆买下活鹑后置于笼内，随时备用。商城对于鹌鹑的烹制方法较多，尤以“葱烤鹌鹑”驰名南北。
      
   特点：骨酥、肉嫩，鹑味飘香。
      
    商城烹鹑技艺历史悠久，盛于清代。其时，商城籍京官甚多，且有官居高位者，遂将宫廷御膳烹法传入商城，与商城传统作法熔于一炉并有所创新，自成一体。目前，商城尚有数名老厨师可操刀献艺。青年厨师经老辈传授亦可掌勺，传统烹鹑技艺后继有人。


 

 Bake Quail with Shallots

    Quail is a wild bird, which is also called bawd. It is extremely like little chook, which depends on the land to a great degree and is a migratory bird. Someone has ever said that if we want to eat birds, quail is the best. Its meet is very delicious and contains rich protein, fat and mineral substance and other nutrition. Besides, it also can be put into medicine. According to the work Compendium of Materia Medica, the meet can nourish our organs, supple spirit, strengthen physique, endure cold as well as eliminate heat. Thus, it is truly a good choice for preserving our health.
      
    We can find quails in almost everywhere in our country, while most can be found in Shangcheng County. Hunters always catch them in summer nights, putting female quails in the net to temp male quails and then sell them to restaurants. In Shangcheng, there are many ways to cook quails, among them the most famous way is baking quail with shallots. Its biggest quality is crisp, delicate and fragrant.
      
    Bake Quail with Shallots has a very long history and is highly welcomed in Qing Dynasty. At that time, there were many officials in the capital, who came from Shangcheng County, brought the skill from the Imperial Palace to their hometown and combined it with traditional skill in Shangcheng so that the making skill was very different from other places. Nowadays, there are still many cooks who grasp this secret making skill and can spread it to next generation.