Huizhou Cuisine

The Huizhou Cuisine is one of the eight cuisines in China. It has a short name of Hui Cuisine， but specifically the “Hui” should refer to Huizhou instead of Anhui. The area of Huizhou covers today’s Huangshan， Jixi of Anhui and Wuyuan County in Jiangxi. This area is in the intersected area of two climates， which has brought this place abundant rain and mild temperature. Therefore， the Huizhou area is known for its variety of plants and animals， which provide enough materials for the Huizhou Cuisine.

The Huizhou Cuisine started in the Tang and Song Dynasties and got its name in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the period of Republic of China， the Huizhou Cuisine continued its development and the trend was not stopped in the People’s Republic of China.

The formation of Huizhou Cuisine was not only the result of the geographical location and the climate. It is also related with the culture and customs in this area.

The Huizhou Cuisine originated from the ancient Huizhou（today’s She County， Huangshan City， Anhui Province）， a wellestablished city at the foot of Yellow Mountain. This city， along with the nearby Tunxi Town， produced a lot of good tea， ink， inkstone and so on. Thus they became a prosperous and populated city with a lot of residents and numerous residents from every part of the country. The gathering of people brought more ingredients and dishes to Huizhou， finally leading to the rise of Huizhou cuisine. People in ancient Huizhou would like to hold banquets in different holidays， which also boosted the development of Huizhou Cuisine.

The Huizhou Cuisine gives priority to the simmering， steaming and braising while the methods of frying and stir-frying are less frequently used. The Huizhou Cuisine is known for braising “red” food. The “red” mainly comes from the sauce it used. The soy sauce is made of soy beans with the original flavor of beans reserved. In the past time， people made dishes of Huizhou Cuisine with the self-made rap oil and used the firewood as the source of heat. The temperature of the fire is an important factor for the taste of the dishes. Different dishes need to be heated at different temperature. The simmering needs the mild fire from charcoal； the braising needs the intense fire from firewood； and the steaming needs the small fire from the wood blocks. The traditional Huizhou Cuisine attached more importance to the oil used for cooking， the color of food and the fire used to heat the food than any other cuisines in China.

When the Huizhou Cuisine was spread to the country， its original features were retained. The color， the use of oil and the subtle change of fire are the key elements to make the food sweet or salty， tender or tough， loose or firm. People in Huizhou would like to use the ham in their dishes， and making hams is almost a common skill for every family in Huizhou. Nowadays， the ham from Jinhua， Zhejiang seems to be more reputed but actually the ham of Jinhua actually came from Huizhou. In the other word， the essence of ham could be found in Huizhou as well.

In the present day， the technological improvement has made it easier to control the temperature of fire when cooking the dishes of Huizhou Cuisine. But still， the proper use of fire for different dishes is an important skill for anyone that wants to make delicious Huizhou dishes. Right now， there are 20 major cooking methods of dishes of Huizhou Cuisine， which can be further divided into the more than 50 segmented cooking methods. Almost all of them have their own requirements of the temperature of fire and the duration of heating， which pose high requirements for the cook.

Huizhou Cuisine is known for its use of wild herbs， from both the land and the sea， and simple methods of preparation. Braising and stewing are common cooking techniques. It mainly consists of three styles： the Yangtze River region， Huai River region， and southern Anhui region. Anhui has ample uncultivated fields and forests， so the wild herbs used in the region’s cuisine are readily available.

Typical Dishes

1. Li Hongzhang Hodge-Podge

A popular dish named after Li Hongzhang， a prominent statesman in the Qing Dynasty who was from Anhui. The dish， a complex soup， is somewhat salty with a taste of sweetness. Many ingredients are used in the soup but the most common ones include sea cucumber， fish， squid， bamboo， dry bean curd， chicken， ham， and assorted vegetables.

2. Sanhe Shrimp Paste

A regional dish that originated in Sanhe， but can now be found in Hefei. The dish’s main components are rice flour and a regional species of small white shrimp. The shrimp are stir fried with leeks and soy sauce， while the rice flour is soaked in water and later added to the shrimp. The dish is brown in color and tastes pleasantly salty. It is eaten with a spoon.

3. Wushan Imperial Goose

These dumplings， usually associated with rural cooking， use thin sheets of egg instead of flour for the wrapping. Egg dumplings traditionally use pork as a filling. In preparation， a ladle is lightly coated with oil and heated， well beaten eggs are spooned into the ladle and cooked until the mixture forms a dumpling wrapper. The pork filling is then spooned into the egg wrapping and the entire dumpling steamed. It is often served with soy sauce.

4. Bagongshan Stinky Tofu

Stinky tofu is a form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is a snack that is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands or as a side dish in lunch bars rather than in restaurants. Fresh tofu is marinated in prepared brine for only a day or two， especially for fried or boiled cooking purpose. The process only adds odor to the marinated tofu instead of letting it ferment completely.

Though the stinky tofu is very common in China， the Bagongshan Stinky Tofu is known for its spiciness. In Huizhou， the deliciousness of stinky tofu mainly depends on its spiciness. The spicier it is， the more it suits the local favor.

5. Luzhou Roast Duck

A popular dish from Hefei which first gained recognition when it was offered as tribute to the imperial court. While not as well known internationally as Peking Duck， Luzhou Roast Duck has won awards and distinction within China.