Anhui cuisine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Anhui cuisine |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 安徽菜 | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Hui cuisine | |||||||
| Chinese | 徽菜 | ||||||
|
|||||||
Anhui cuisine, also called Hui cuisine, is a famous cooking style from China. It is one of the Eight Great Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine. This type of cooking comes from the Huangshan area in southern Anhui Province.
Cooking Styles and Ingredients
Anhui cuisine is special because it uses many wild plants and herbs. These come from both the land and the sea. The chefs often use simple ways to cook.
- Braising (cooking slowly in liquid) and stewing (cooking in liquid for a long time) are very common methods.
- Frying food is not used as much in Anhui cooking compared to other Chinese styles.
Anhui cuisine has three main styles. These are from the Yangtze River region, the Huai River region, and the southern Anhui region. Anhui Province has many wild fields and forests. This means that the wild herbs used in its dishes are easy to find.
Tofu is a very important food in Anhui cuisine. People in China believe that tofu was first made by a prince named Liu An. He lived during the Han dynasty and was from Shou County, which is known as the "hometown of tofu."
There's also a fun legend about stinky tofu. It says that a scholar from Anhui, named Wang Zhihe, created it. He failed an important test to become a government official. So, he started selling stinky tofu in Beijing to make money. Anhui is also where hairy tofu comes from. It's a popular snack there.
Famous Anhui Dishes
Here are some well-known dishes from Anhui cuisine:
| English Name | Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Pinyin | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bagongshan stinky tofu | 八公山臭豆腐 | 八公山臭豆腐 | bāgōngshān chòu dòufǔ | This snack is also called "four seasons tofu." It's a traditional food from Huainan, Anhui. |
| Egg dumplings | 農家蛋餃 | 农家蛋饺 | nóngjiā dàn jiǎo | These dumplings are often made in the countryside. They use thin sheets of egg instead of flour for the wrapper. The filling is usually pork. To make them, beaten eggs are cooked in a ladle to form a wrapper. Then, the pork filling is added, and the dumpling is steamed. It's often eaten with soy sauce. |
| Li Hongzhang chop suey | 李鴻章雜碎 | 李鸿章杂碎 | Lǐ Hóngzhāng zásuì | This popular dish is named after Li Hongzhang. He was a very important leader from Anhui Province during the Qing dynasty. This soup is a bit salty and a bit sweet. It has many ingredients like sea cucumber, fish, squid, bamboo, dried bean curd, chicken, ham, and different vegetables. |
| Luzhou roast duck | 廬州烤鴨 | 庐州烤鸭 | Lúzhōu kǎoyā | This famous duck dish comes from Hefei. It became well-known when it was given as a special gift to the emperor's court. While not as famous worldwide as Peking duck, Luzhou roast duck has won awards in China. |
| Potato cellophane noodles | 紅薯粉絲 | 红薯粉丝 | hóngshǔ fěnsī | These are thin, clear noodles made from sweet potato starch. |
| Sanhe shrimp paste | 三河蝦糊 | 三河虾糊 | sānhé xiāhú | This dish started in Sanhe, Feixi County, but you can find it in Hefei now. It's made mainly with rice flour and small white shrimp from the area. The shrimp are stir-fried with leeks and soy sauce. Then, rice flour mixed with water is added. The dish is brown and tastes nicely salty. You eat it with a spoon. |
| Steamed stone frog | 清蒸石蛙 | 清蒸石蛙 | Qīngzhēng shí wā | This dish is known to be full of protein and other good nutrients. |
| Wushan imperial goose | 吳山貢鵝 | 吴山贡鹅 | wúshān gòng'é | The history of Wushan imperial goose goes back to the Tang dynasty. This dish has a light color and tastes fragrant and salty. |
See also
In Spanish: Gastronomía de Anhui para niños
