Which came first? The haggis or 松仁小肚?

I came across a remarkably similar food item to the Scottish haggis known as the 松仁小肚 on my honeymoon in Beijing, China.

The first question that popped into my head was, which came first? The haggis or 松仁小肚? If you know me and my hubby well enough, you will know that the first thing we always try to nonsensically do is to link everything to Admiral Cheng Ho.

Now everyone knows that the famed eunuch Cheng Ho went down several times to Asia. But did you know that he was possibly the first human to discover America years before Christopher Columbus? So I am not surprised that he would also have landed on the shores of Scotland and England, so I am pretty certain that he would have introduced 松仁小肚 to the dang ang mohs who have since made haggis their national dish.

NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha! The truth is, while haggis was already enjoyed by the English prior to the 18th century, 松仁小肚 was a recent invention by some chinese factory and is only 80 years old. So this little invention is not attributible to Cheng Ho.

All the same, the similarities are remarkable... they both use an animal's stomach for a sack and both are round in shape and stuffed with a variety of items. They are even cooked similarly, i.e. boiled and then cut open for enjoyment..

The difference is, no one has ever written a poem for the 松仁小肚 while Sir Robert Burns' Ode to the Haggis is recited every year on January 25th before being split open and enjoyed with a dram (whisky) or two!