Henan Cuisine

Henan Cuisine

　　Henan cuisine is one of China’s important culinary styles. The flavors of Henan dishes are rich in local character and traditional cooking skills, while also drawing on the best of other cuisines. Its flavor characteristics are: a broad selection of ingredients with strict standards; appropriate ingredient combinations and exquisite knife work; attention to broth preparation and proper heat control; a balanced blend of five tastes with saltiness as the main note; a well-measured mix of sweet and salty, acidity without being overly sharp; flavors that are fresh and tender, textures that are soft and tender without being heavy; elegant colors and shapes, simple and unadorned.

　　In Zhengzhou, you can sample dishes from all over Henan. Henan cuisine has many particularities in cooking. For example, when selecting ingredients, there are sayings such as: “Choose carp that are a foot long, and crucian carp that are eight inches,” “Chicken tastes best when the grains are ripe, fish when they are ten [inches],” and “Eel like whip handles and turtle like horse hooves are best eaten in March and April.”

　　“The singing of an opera lies in its tones, the making of a dish lies in its broth.” This is a local saying in Henan that highlights the great importance placed on broth-making. In Henan, broths are categorized into first broth, white broth, rough broth, and clear broth. A clear broth shows its bottom, a thick broth is milky white, the flavors are pure and mellow, and the richness lingers on the lips.

　　Henan cuisine employs more than 50 different cooking methods. Techniques such as braising, stewing, deep-frying, velveting, quick-frying, stir-frying, and blanching each have their unique characteristics. Dishes like Kaifeng’s “Sweet and Sour Braised Yellow River Carp with Baked Noodles,” Luoyang’s “Peony Swallow Vegetable,” Anyang’s “Stir-Fried Three Non-Stick,” and southern Henan’s “Osmanthus Shredded Pork Skin” are historic local specialties that remain widely renowned and are praised by both Chinese and international gourmets.