The tripe must be from a yellow ox, cleaned with lime water or alkaline water, then cut into strips and briefly stir-fried in vegetable oil. Add water, konjac, and various seasonings, then stew everything together. The tripe should be stewed until tender and soft, not tough on the teeth, while the konjac must be thoroughly cooked to absorb the essence of the broth. Once done, add spicy oil and fried chili peppers before serving...
Firewood-smoked cured meat is one of the most beloved traditional foods among the people of Huaihua. It is usually smoked. Around the 26th or 27th of the 12th lunar month, every household slaughters a New Year’s pig to prepare for the holidays, and any leftover meat from the festivities is then smoked over a firewood stove. After several months, it becomes the famous firewood-smoked cured meat. It originated in the Song Dynasty and flourished in modern times…
Mountain Vegetables ( Yuanling)…
Yuanling Shailan (Yuanling) is a traditional specialty food from Yuanling, Hunan, the birthplace of China’s traditional dragon boat culture. With a history of over 300 years dating back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Shailan is made from high-quality fresh pork hind leg. The meat is trimmed, sliced, and marinated with natural seasonings such as salt, cooking wine, sugar, and Sichuan peppercorn...
The Woven Bamboo Basket is a specialty handcrafted product from Yuanling. It is made entirely from Phyllostachys pubescens bamboo without any metal components. The basket has an oval shape and is woven from three hoop rings and over two hundred bamboo strips. The three hoops are cleverly arranged vertically, joining smoothly and fitting naturally. The bamboo strips are uniformly sized and spaced at an appropriate density, with intervals of about 1 centimeter. The basket is delicate, elegant, and durable. All materials used in making the Woven Bamboo Basket are boiled at high temperatures, making them mold-resistant and insect-proof, thus ensuring they are very clean and hygienic for holding food.
A traditional food from Yuanling County. Legend has it that its production began in the mid-Ming Dynasty, boasting a history of over 500 years. Made primarily from locally produced sesame seeds, along with maltose, coarse grape flower sugar, peanut oil, and wheat flour, it is meticulously refined. It features a fragrant, sweet, and crispy taste, is highly nutritious, and offers benefits such as moistening the lungs and aiding digestion. The current annual production has reached…
Xupu Zongzi uses a wide variety of ingredients, with glutinous rice as the main component, along with mung beans, red beans, corn, wheat, millet, dried yam rice, and more. Locals in Xupu commonly refer to it as "mixed grain sticky rice cake." Legume ingredients require no processing, while wheat, corn, millet, and dried yam rice all need to be ground into granules before being mixed into the glutinous rice. …
Spicy beef jerky is a traditional food with local characteristics in Yuanling, boasting nearly 1,000 years of production and processing history. To develop this traditional local food, enterprises within the jurisdiction of Yuanling Town have collaborated with relevant food research institutions, combining modern food processing techniques with traditional craftsmanship to produce spicy beef jerky that is...
A famous local snack in Yuanling, made with the region’s premium thin rice noodles and served with tender, flavorful braised pig’s trotters. Spicy, savory, and refreshing, these noodles typically cost 3 to 5 yuan per bowl, are very generous in portion, and can be found at various restaurants and street stalls. …
The "Dahuiping Black Pig" has been awarded a "National Geographical Indication Certification Trademark" certificate by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. A certificate issued by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for the "National Geographical Indication Certification Trademark" has "flown" to Xiangxi Animal Husbandry Company, prompting enthusiastic celebrations among the local people of Yuanling, the place of origin. This marks that the "Dahuiping Black Pig," carefully cultivated and managed by generations, has officially gained national recognition...
Yuanling Daqu (Yuanling)...
Every late spring to early summer, during the rice planting season, is when the blackberries (wupanzi) ripen. The downside is that the trees they grow on are thorny, and getting pricked—and even bleeding—is common. But once they’re ripe and big enough, they’re incredibly sweet. These wild fruits grow fast: they bloom in spring and are ready by early summer. In the morning they’re still yellow…
In the rural areas of Yuanling County, this delicacy is abundant, especially in the shrublands of Tongcheping, Fengxiangping, and the mountainous borders of Huochang Township, where wild bee hives are most commonly found. However, harvesting these hives can be very dangerous. A slight disturbance may provoke the adult bees to swarm and sting. A single sting is extremely painful, and multiple stings can even be fatal. Bee pupae are highly nutritious, with a deliciously crispy and tender flavor, making them a truly natural gourmet treat. In recent years, in western Hunan regions such as Huaihua, Jishou, and Zhangjiajie, bee pupae have been sold for as much as 400 yuan per kilogram, becoming another specialty local product gifted among friends and family in the mountainous areas.
Making glutinous rice cakes is an essential food for the people of Yuanling during Spring Festival, when erecting the ridge beam of a new house, offering thanks to the grain god in the tenth lunar month, giving gifts to children at New Year, weddings, and funeral ceremonies. It is especially prominent during the Spring Festival, with the saying “On the 28th, we make the cakes.” As the Spring Festival approaches, at the end of the lunar December, every household makes glutinous rice cakes. According to local chronicles: …
Dengzhanwo: A breakfast item and everyday snack for people in Yuanling. It can be found everywhere in Yuanling markets. The preparation involves first grinding glutinous rice into a batter, which is then spread as a base layer in a specially designed dengzhanwo utensil. A mixture of fillings—such as yellow chili peppers, tofu, dried shrimp, pickled vegetables, shredded pork, shredded radish—is added on top, followed by another layer of batter to cover. …
Wuqiangxi Fish gets its name from the scenic and picturesque Wuqiangxi Reservoir area where it is raised. This region boasts high forest coverage, excellent water quality, great depth, and vast waters. The “Wuqiangxi Fish” produced here features delicious, tender meat that is highly nutritious, rich in essential amino acids and trace elements needed by the human body—especially higher levels of selenium, zinc, and other trace elements...
Yuanling chestnuts are a specialty of Yuanling County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province. The hilly and mountainous areas of Yuanling are rich in chestnut production, making it a traditional major chestnut-producing county with a renowned reputation across China. Among them, “Yuan You No. 1” is considered a premium variety of chestnuts. Yuanling is located in the middle reaches of the Yuan River, on the southeastern edge of the Wuling Mountain Range, and is one of the key chestnut-producing counties in Hunan. The gray...
Yuanling Cured Meat is a specialty of Yuanling County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province. Known as Yuanling Smoked Meat outside of Hunan, this cured meat boasts a spicy, salty, and savory flavor that is both delicious and highly favored by consumers. The people of Yuanling have a unique tradition of curing meat over a two-year period. Every year, as the Lunar New Year approaches, after butchering the New Year’s pig, they cut the pork into chunks weighing three to five pounds, …
The HeLong Rice Meal is typically served during major festivals or various celebratory occasions. The dining tables, chairs, bowls, chopsticks, and dishes are all collected from every household in the village. The tables are then joined together to form one long table, and the collected dishes are arranged on it. Bowls and chopsticks are set out, and chairs are placed on both sides of the long table. The dishes of the HeLong Rice Meal mainly include sour fish, sour meat…
The Dong people have a particular fondness for marinated home-style dishes, among which marinated sour fish is considered a delicacy in "Dong cuisine." The marinating process for sour fish is divided into barrel fermentation and jar fermentation. Both methods are similar: fresh grass carp or carp are cleaned, split open, and gutted, then salted for three to four days to allow the salt to penetrate the entire fish. After salting, they are placed in large...