Cut the kneaded dough into equal portions. After cutting, brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Once that’s done, wet your hands a bit and stick the “Guokui” onto the pan in various ways. Look, these Guokui are being baked by the furnace fire. Lean in closer, and you can smell the rich aroma of sesame wafting from inside—truly delightful. In just a few minutes, they’re ready to come off the pan. Now those gray...
Bundled Hoof is a braised cold dish, meticulously crafted and visually appealing. It has a tender, sweet texture with a rich gelatinous elasticity, making it especially enjoyable when chewed slowly and perfect as an accompaniment to alcohol. The preparation involves scraping and cleaning a pig’s trotter, removing the hoof cap and the fleshy part of the trotter, then carefully scraping the surface clean with a blade. The upper knee meat is removed, leaving only the knee joint attached to a piece of pig skin. Next, one hand firmly holds the peeled pig skin and pulls it downward while the other uses a pointed knife to gradually cut around the lower knee bone down to the hoof base, removing the lower knee meat and scraping off the fat. This leaves the four small bones at the tip of the hoof and a complete piece of pig skin, forming a cylindrical shape for later use. Then, the skin at the pig’s belly and tail is scraped and cleaned. The pork tendon, pork skin jelly, and lean pork are all cut into 4 cm long, 1 cm wide, and 0.3 cm thick slices. The soaked dried mushrooms are sliced into coarse shreds, the dried shrimp are soaked in water to soften and then drained. The dried bream is deep-fried until crispy, then taken out and ground into powder. All these ingredients are placed together in a basin, mixed with kaoliang wine, sugar, salt, and MSG, and stirred into a filling mixture, which is then marinated for one hour. The marinated filling is then stuffed into the cylindrical pig skin, packed tightly toward the hoof base, and a sewing needle is used to prick small holes from the outside in to allow trapped air to escape, ensuring the filling is compact and firm. Once the pig skin is fully stuffed, the opening is sewn shut tightly. The stuffed pig skin is then wrapped in clean gauze to maintain its shape, and four bamboo strips of the same length are placed around it. The whole bundle is then tightly secured with hemp rope, forming the raw Bundled Hoof.
The “Tianmen Three Steamed Dishes” are said to have a history of nearly two thousand years. Originally, farmers living on the Jianghan Plain, facing constant famines and frequent wars, had little to eat. To fill their stomachs, they would grind a small amount of grain into powder and mix it with wild vegetables to make a paste for sustenance. Later, they began steaming wild vegetables (such as shepherd’s purse) or homegrown vegetables (like chrysanthemum greens, Chinese cabbage, and radishes) mixed with grain powder and seasonings in bamboo steamers or steam pots...
Family/Genus: An annual herbaceous plant of the Amaranthaceae family, genus Amaranthus. Also known as: green aromatic amaranth, red amaranth, wild thorny amaranth, rice amaranth, drought-resistant amaranth, apricot amaranth, waterweed, shimmering amaranth, corn amaranth, etc. Harvest season: Abundant from June to October. A member of the Amaranthaceae family, genus Amaranthus, it is an annual herbaceous plant. Properties and meridians: Cool in nature, slightly sweet in taste; enters the lung and large intestine meridians. Efficacy and indications: Clears...
An annual vining plant. The fruit is sweet, rich in sugar and starch, and also contains small amounts of protein, minerals, and other vitamins. It is mainly consumed fresh but can also be made into dried fruit, preserves, juice, jam, and pickled products. The melon has a well-developed root system, with the main root extending more than 1 meter deep and lateral roots spreading 2 to 3 meters in diameter, though the regenerative capacity of the roots…
The ricefield eel (Monopterus albus) belongs to the order Synbranchiformes, family Synbranchidae, and genus Monopterus. It is also known as the yellow eel, shan yu, luo yu, or snake fish. The order Synbranchiformes comprises about 15 species of slender, eel-like fish. Unlike true eels of the order Anguilliformes...
The traditional signature rice noodle soup from Huangtan, Tianmen, has a pretty good flavor. Since opening, business has been consistently strong, mainly serving traditional Huangtan rice noodles from Tianmen. The authentic rice noodle soup is made by simmering eel. The toppings are crispy fried eel shreds. The youtiao (Chinese fried dough sticks) here are thick and big, fried in crystal-clear oil, and taste amazing when mixed into the rice noodle soup. The rice noodles...
The sugar-centered century eggs produced by Hubei Tianmen Mayang Egg Factory are of high quality, with nearly one million eggs exported annually. The surface of the eggs is brown and translucent, featuring a pine-flower pattern, while the yolk is round and soft yet holds its shape. These century eggs are not only visually appealing but also delicious. They are known to help relieve summer and autumn heat, aid digestion, and provide nourishment in winter and spring. (…
In September 2011, the China Cuisine Association, the most authoritative culinary authority in China, issued Announcement No. 11 (2011), awarding Qianjiang Braised Crayfish the title of “China’s Famous Dish.” On May 28, 2012, at the 3rd China Hubei Qianjiang Crayfish Festival, Lu Yong…
Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative: Traditional Liquor Brewing in Qianjiang. The traditional liquor brewing technique refers to the methods of producing brewed and compounded liquors in Qianjiang City, represented by Hubei Yuanyuanqing Liquor Industry Co., Ltd. Starting from small local workshops, Yuanyuanqing Liquor Industry has developed over a century of history, incorporating a variety of brewing skills deeply rooted in folk traditions...
Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative: Qianjiang Traditional Soy Sauce Making The origins of soy sauce production in Qianjiang cannot be definitively traced, but the 1990 edition of the "Qianjiang County Annals" (Volume 16) records: “In the late Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, at Guanxiangmen in Qianjiang’s urban area, Wu Changmao’s Soy Sauce Workshop opened under its well-established brand name, selling fermented mustard pickles, fermented ham, fermented beef, and Sichuan peppercorn fermented tofu...”
Located in the Jianghan Plain region of Hubei Province, adjacent to the Yangtze River, the area features soil and climate particularly suitable for cotton cultivation, and Tianmen is even nationally renowned as a cotton-producing hub. With the continuous development of the cotton-growing industry came the flourishing of local cotton textile handicrafts. On the other hand, Tianmen had already extensively cultivated indigo plants, which provided a local source of dye for producing blue calico...
Tiantian Bundled Trotter is a specialty dish from Tianmen City, Hubei Province. It is a marinated cold dish, meticulously prepared and visually appealing, with a tender, sweet texture and rich gelatinous elasticity. It tastes especially good when chewed slowly and pairs excellently with alcohol. The preparation of Tiantian Bundled Trotter involves scraping and cleaning the pig’s trotter, removing the hoof cap and fleshy parts of the trotter, then carefully scraping the surface clean with a blade. The upper knee meat is removed...
Located in the heart of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, on the banks of the Han River, Zhanggang Town in Tianmen City has been cultivating cauliflower since the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, 170 years ago. Today, all 37 villages in the town have a perennial planting area of 100,000 mu, making it China’s largest town for large-scale cauliflower cultivation. Zhanggang cauliflower is as white as jade, with a sweet, glutinous flavor and delicate texture...
Taro rings, also known as pagoda vegetables or called Gānlùzǐ (sweet dew root), are alternatively named Cǎoshícán (herb stone silkworm). They are vigorous perennial rhizome plants. The underground rhizomes are spiral-shaped, with tender, fibrous-free texture, and produce small red or purple flowers. The plant contains stachydrine, betaine, and stachyose. The rhizomes are rich in protein, fat...
Guokui was originally a delicacy from Shaanxi. After being adapted and passed down by the people of Tianmen, it has now become an indispensable part of the city’s breakfast scene. “Guokui sells the best—if you come after 10 a.m., you’ll find every breakfast shop sold out.” Ingredients for Tianmen Guokui: sesame, chopped scallions, pork lard, fermented dough,…
A signature breakfast dish—Huangtan rice noodles, featuring a thick, savory broth, fine and tender noodles, and a delicious taste. Paired with a deep-fried dough stick, it’s a classic combination. The dish originates from Huangtan Town in Tianmen. Huangtan rice noodles, as the name suggests, come from Huangtan Town and are known for their fresh broth, rich flavor, and smooth, palatable texture. Mr. Wang, a resident of Sunwan Neighborhood Committee, told reporters: “In Tianmen, if you want to eat Huangtan rice noodles...
Golden Dragon Stirring the Sea – Ingredients: mackerel, rice noodles, custard powder, fine salt, balsamic vinegar, monosodium glutamate, scallions, ginger, garlic, chicken broth, salad oil. Preparation: Make crosswise cuts on the mackerel, marinate briefly with salt, cooking wine, and ginger, then mix with rice flour and custard powder to achieve a golden color. Arrange on a plate, steam in a steamer basket for 15 minutes, then place carved dragon head and tail decorations on top, thicken with clear starch sauce, and drizzle with hot oil to finish.
Ingredients for Gousan Xiao Long Bao: millet, pork belly, white radish, ginger, refined salt, sweet bean sauce, seafood sauce, straw mushrooms, scallions, monosodium glutamate, pepper. Method: Steam the millet until fully cooked, then knead it into a dough to be used as the wrapper. Dice the pork belly and white radish, then mix with sweet bean sauce, seafood sauce, diced straw mushrooms, shredded ginger, monosodium glutamate, pepper, chopped scallions, and salt...
Ingredients for Steamed Loach with Rice Flour from Fozu Mountain: loach, fine salt, rice flour, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, lard, scallions, pepper. Method: Remove the head and internal organs of the loach, cut into connected segments. Mix the rice flour with salt and minced ginger. Coat both sides of the loach segments with the rice flour, place in a bowl, and steam for 20 minutes. Remove, then sprinkle with mashed garlic, pepper, and chopped scallions,…