Anhui cuisine, alternatively referred to as Hui cuisine, is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Huangshan region in southern Anhui Province.

Methods and ingredients

Anhui cuisine is known for its use of wild herbs, from both the land and the sea, and simple methods of preparation. Braising and

stewing A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, ...

are common cooking techniques. Frying and stir frying are used much less frequently in Anhui cuisine than in other Chinese culinary traditions. Anhui cuisine consists of three styles: the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

region,

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

region, and southern

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

region. Anhui has ample uncultivated fields and forests, so the wild herbs used in the region's cuisine are readily available. Anhui cuisine is heavily associated with

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

, with Chinese folklore crediting the creation of tofu to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

prince Liu An who hailed from Shou County (dubbed the "hometown of tofu"). According to Chinese legend, stinky tofu was created by Anhuinese scholar Wang Zhihe who sold his product in Beijing to make a living after failing the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

. Anhui is the home of hairy tofu where it is a popular snack.

Notable dishes in Anhui cuisine

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anhui Cuisine Regional cuisines of China Chinese cuisine

Methods and ingredients

Notable dishes in Anhui cuisine

See also

References