鵪鶉原是一種野生禽類，古稱鵪、鴇母等。其體形酷似雞雛，頭小尾禿，地棲性強，為雜食性候鳥。“要食飛禽首推鵪鶉。”鵪鶉肉鮮美可口，系野味之珍，且含有豐富的蛋白質、脂肪和礦物質。營養價值甚高。同時，鵪鶉還可藥用，《本草綱目》認為其有“補五臟，益中續氣，實筋骨，耐寒暑，消結熱”之功效，為養生之佳品。
      
    鵪鶉蹤跡幾乎遍及全國，商城縣北、中部丘陵地的雜草、灌叢、竹園中多有此禽。捕鶉者慣于夏季夜晚張網設伏，網內置母鶉為引誘捕公鶉，活賣于市場。灑肆飯館買下活鶉后置于籠內，隨時備用。商城對于鵪鶉的烹制方法較多，尤以“蔥烤鵪鶉”馳名南北。
      
   特點：骨酥、肉嫩，鶉味飄香。
      
    商城烹鶉技藝歷史悠久，盛于清代。其時，商城籍京官甚多，且有官居高位者，遂將宮廷御膳烹法傳入商城，與商城傳統作法熔于一爐并有所創新，自成一體。目前，商城尚有數名老廚師可操刀獻藝。青年廚師經老輩傳授亦可掌勺，傳統烹鶉技藝后繼有人。


 

 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.