Hyacinth bean rice is served at a restaurant in Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

Autumn is not complete without a pot of hyacinth bean rice in Nantong. For locals, the dish is not a grand feast but a comforting home-cooked meal that marks the season.

As the autumn harvest begins, hyacinth bean vines climb walls and fences in the countryside. Purple flowers give way to plump, thick pods. Picked at dawn and stripped of their strings, the beans quickly make their way to city markets, where piles of purple and green pods tempt shoppers to take some home.

The best version uses Nantong's local hyacinth bean, prized for its thin skin and thick flesh. Slow cooking makes it tender and sweet, a texture that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. There is no standard recipe; families often start with diced pork belly, and then add dried shrimp or small taro for extra flavor.

Traditionally, the dish was simmered in an iron pot over a wood-fired stove, leaving a golden, crispy crust at the bottom that children fought over. Today, rice cookers and clay pots can recreate the same old taste.

Pork belly is rendered slowly, then seasoned with scallion and ginger. Hyacinth beans are stir-fried in the pork fat before rice and a little less water than usual is added. After simmering, every grain is glossy, the beans absorb the meat juices, and the pork is rich but not greasy.

For many Nantong natives, the aroma recalls childhood and home. A bowl of this simple dish, often eaten without elaborate side dishes, carries the warmth of autumn and the taste of belonging.