Huizhou cuisine, originally referring to Huizhou cuisine, now refers to Anhui cuisine. It is the general name of Wannan cuisine, Wanjiang cuisine, Hefei cuisine, Huainan cuisine, and North Anhui cuisine represented by southern Anhui cuisine. Among them, the southern Anhui flavor is represented by Huizhou local cuisine, which is the mainstream and origin of Huizhou cuisine. Anhui cuisine uses Anhui specialties as its main raw materials and uses traditional folk cooking techniques to absorb the skills of other cuisines to prepare local dishes that are mainly salty and delicious. Anhui cuisine has a rich cultural heritage and is one of the eight famous cuisines in the country.
Its main flavor characteristics are mainly salty and fresh, highlight the original flavor, pay attention to firepower, and pay attention to food supplements. In terms of cooking methods, the main techniques are roasting, stewing, braising, steaming, and smoking. The main dishes include banquet dishes, five GUI, eight dishes, ten bowls, nine bowls, six bowls, eight bowls and twelve dishes, six pots, and popular dishes. The main famous banquets include Bagongshan Tofu Banquet, Bao Gong Banquet, Hongwu Banquet, etc.
Huizhou cuisine originated from ancient Huizhou in the Southern Song Dynasty. It was originally a local flavor of the Huizhou mountainous area. Later, it gradually spread to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai, Hubei, and other places, and even affected the ancient capital of Xi’an in the northwest. It is unique in Chinese cuisine. Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Su cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Fujian cuisine, and Hunan cuisine are among the eight major cuisines in China.
Cuisine Features
Take material
The cooking method of Anhui cuisine is to take local ingredients and win with fresh. Heidi is rich in rare wild game and fresh poultry, and local materials are used to make the dishes outstanding and fresh. The second is to make good use of heat, and fire is unique. According to the texture characteristics of different raw materials and the flavor requirements of the finished dishes, they are cooked with high, medium, and low fires.
The third is to be adept at cooking and stewing, with suitable intensity. In addition to the techniques of sautéing, stir-frying, simmering, frying, braising, broiling, roasting, and braising, they are especially famous for their cooking, stewing, smoked and steamed dishes. The fourth is to pay attention to nature and maintain the body with food. The raw materials of Anhui cuisine are rich in resources, excellent in quality, inexhaustible and inexhaustible. Huizhou has a mild climate and moderate rainfall. It has four distinct seasons and abundant products. It is rich in tea, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fungus, chestnuts, yam, stone chickens, stone ears, turtles, eagle tortoises and other rare wild games, the famous “Qihong”, “Tunlv” is a well-known specialty of Huizhou.
Features
Anhui cuisine is good at cooking, stewing, and steaming, but less cooking and stir-frying, heavy oil, heavy color, and high firepower. Anhui cuisine inherits the tradition of the motherland with the same source of medicine and food and pays attention to food supplements, which is a major feature of Anhui cuisine.
Production Method
The cooking techniques of Anhui cuisine include knife work, heat, and operation techniques. The heavy firework of Anhui cuisine is a traditional fine tradition. Its uniqueness is concentrated on the kung fu dishes that are good at cooking, stewing, fumigating, and steaming. It is used in different dishes. Different fire control techniques are an important indicator of the level of achievement of Huibang chefs. It is also the basic method for Anhui cuisine to form a unique style of crisp, tender, fragrant and fresh. There are about 50 common cooking techniques in Anhui cuisine in more than 20 categories, among which the most The characteristics of the Hui style are roasted, stewed, and smoked.
Dishes introduction
Li Hongzhang hodgepodge（李鸿章大杂烩）
This is a world-famous dish, one of the most influential Chinese dishes overseas. According to legend, when Li Hongzhang visited Europe and America, he was not used to eating Western food every day, so the chef who accompanied him cooked local vegetables and meat in a pot according to Chinese methods, which was named “hodgepodge” by Li Hongzhang. Later, this dish became popular in Europe and America, and there were three or four hundred restaurants in New York City alone. After returning to China, it became popular throughout the country and was later called “Li Hongzhang hodgepodge”. This dish is ruddy and shiny, and it smells fragrant; it is delicious and tasty, and can be eaten with wine or rice. It is really a superb delicacy!
Stinky Mandarin Fish（臭鳜鱼）
This dish is famous all over the country because of the word “stinky”. It smells bad but tastes good. The pickled stinky mandarin fish is tender, smooth and refreshing. The unique cooking method gives it a strange aroma!
Fangla fish（方腊鱼）
Anyone who has read “Water Margin” should know that after Song Jiang was recruited, he fought against Fang La for the court, and most of the 108 heroes were killed or injured! Fang La, who was the leader of the peasant uprising with Song Jiang, was different from the fictional “Water Margin”. In real history, the two never fought each other. Fang La fish was invented by the people of Huizhou to commemorate the story of Fang La, a hero of the peasant uprising at that time, who “caught fish and shrimps and cleverly defeated the Song soldiers”. This dish has a unique shape and diverse flavors. It has three flavors in one dish. It tastes salty and fresh, slightly sour and sweet, and tastes unique!
Lotus Chicken（荷花鸡）
This is a famous Anhui dish, which is said to be loved by Bao Zheng, the iron-faced and impartial “Justice Bao” in history. It is collectively called “Four Lotus Vegetables” together with “Steamed Chicken in Lotus Leaf”, “Stir-fried Lotus Root with Flower Fragrance”, and “Three-color Fresh Lotus Soup”. Using vegetables to describe people, these dishes made with lotus also symbolize those gentlemen and sages who have noble and honest qualities and are like lotus flowers that are untainted by mud. Because it was loved by Bao Zheng, this dish gradually became a household name and was given a special meaning! The dishes made with the newly blooming lotus are not only beautiful, but also fragrant and attractive. They taste fresh and salty, the meat is tender and fresh, the petals smell fragrant, the fragrance is fragrant, the color looks elegant, and the shape is beautiful!
Bagongshan Tofu（八公山豆腐）
It was invented by Liu An, the “King of Huainan” of the Western Han Dynasty. Another legend says that Liu An learned the skill of making tofu after meeting eight immortals. Later generations called the tofu-making method that Liu An learned after meeting eight immortals “Bagongshan Tofu”. Because it is refined with Bagongshan spring water, the finished product is crystal clear, white like jade, tender like condensed fat, delicate in texture, refreshing and smooth. The finished dish is golden in color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and delicious! It is really a rare delicacy!
Knife board incense（刀板香）
This is one of the best-selling dishes in Anhui cuisine restaurants. Like all Anhui cuisine, Daobanxiang is also related to a historical celebrity. According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, the Minister of War Hu Zongxian passed by She County to visit his mentor. In order to entertain him, his mentor’s wife steamed the pickled pork and bamboo shoots on a cutting board, and served the sliced thin slices with the cutting board. Hu Zongxian’s appetite was whetted after eating it, and he finally named this dish “Daobanxiang”. Daobanxiang has salty and fresh meat, oily but not greasy, with fat and lean meat, and distinct layers. After eating it, the fragrance will linger on your lips and teeth!
Wu Wang Gong Goose（吴王贡鹅）
During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in the late Tang Dynasty, Yang Xingmi, the founder of the Wu Kingdom, was named the King of Wu by Emperor Zhaozong of Tang. He was honest and incorruptible, so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment. The people of his hometown were grateful for his kindness, so they used the local specialty “goose” and delicious condiments to make “braised goose” as tribute. The King of Wu was very pleased with it and said: “This braised goose is delicious and can be called a tribute.” The “King of Wu Tribute Goose” was named after this. Later, the secret recipe of the descendants of the King of Wu’s wife was improved, making the appearance more refreshing, the taste more fragrant, delicious and mellow, and endless aftertaste, making people always feel that they want more!
Pickled Pork Du Xian（腌笃鲜）
Legend has it that when Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Hangzhou, went to Hu Xueyan’s house for dinner, Hu Xueyan improved the “Xian Dun Xian” of his hometown by replacing bacon with ham and adding spring bamboo shoots. Zuo Zongtang liked it very much. Later, due to the incorrect pronunciation, “Xian Dun Xian” was pronounced as “Yan Du Xian”! Since then, “Yan Du Xian” has become a famous dish in Jiangnan! This dish has a salty and fresh taste, the soup is thick and white, the meat is crispy and fat, the bamboo shoots are fragrant and crispy, and the flavor is strong. It is really a good dish to go with rice!
Fish bites sheep（鱼咬羊）
It is said that Confucius was traveling around the countries and was so hungry that he cooked fish and mutton together. Unexpectedly, the fish did not taste fishy, and the mutton did not taste smelly, but tasted very delicious. It is said that the saint created the word “fresh”, which is a combination of the two words “fish” and “lamb”. The dish of “fish biting mutton” cooked with fish and mutton is also called “fresh stew”, which has been passed down to this day. This dish also has the function of medicinal food. Mandarin fish is rich in protein, and mutton replenishes blood and qi, warms the middle and kidneys, and has a good effect of strengthening the body.
Huizhou Yipin Hotpot（徽州一品锅）
As a “hot pot” delicacy, it is said that this dish was created by Yu, the wife of Bi Qiang, the “Four Ministers” of the Ming Dynasty. Because it was used to entertain the Jiajing Emperor who came to visit, the emperor named it “Yipin Pot” because of its delicious taste. As the finale of the Anhui cuisine restaurant, these dishes are cooked over a gentle fire, retaining the characteristics of the original flavor, with a reasonable combination of meat and vegetables, and a multi-layered taste. Each layer exudes a different fragrance, and the soup is rich in fragrance, which makes people’s appetite whet!
