Hubei Cuisine Series -- Local Flavor Chapter

Author: Pan Dongchao, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Compared to other culinary systems, Hubei cuisine possesses its own distinctive characteristics. Hubei cuisine is primarily based on aquatic products, with fish dishes being the main focus. It features rich sauces, glossy thickenings, fragrant and slightly spicy flavors, emphasis on natural colors, a wide variety of dishes, numerous banquet styles, and proficiency in cooking methods such as steaming, braising, deep-frying, roasting, and stir-frying. In folk cuisine, braised soups, steamed dishes, meat cakes, fish balls, and rice-based snacks are the mainstays, embodying the seven virtues of being smooth, tender, fresh, mellow, fragrant, tender, and satisfying. It is both economical and practical. While preserving the flavors of the Chu region, Hubei cuisine has been innovative and bold in its exploration, adapting to the trends of the times and evolving rapidly. The history of Hubei cuisine spans 2,800 years. Its predecessor was Chu cuisine and Jing cuisine. Over a long period of evolution, Hubei cuisine has developed into a major culinary system centered around the Jianghan Plain, including several branches such as Jingnan, Xiangyun, Ezhou, and Hanmian. Compared to other culinary systems, Hubei cuisine has its own distinctive characteristics. Hubei cuisine is primarily based on aquatic products, with fish dishes being the main focus. It features rich sauces, glossy thickenings, fragrant and slightly spicy flavors, emphasis on natural colors, a wide variety of dishes, numerous banquet styles, and proficiency in cooking methods such as steaming, braising, deep-frying, roasting, and stir-frying. In folk cuisine, braised soups, steamed dishes, meat cakes, fish balls, and rice-based snacks are the mainstays, embodying the seven virtues of being smooth, tender, fresh, mellow, fragrant, tender, and satisfying. It is both economical and practical. While preserving the flavors of the Chu region, Hubei cuisine has been innovative and bold in its exploration, adapting to the trends of the times and evolving rapidly. We hope that through the publication of this book, we can raise the banner of Hubei cuisine, enabling it to spread across the nation like the Wuchang fish. After the fragrance of steamed dishes and braised soups has reached all corners of the land, Hubei cuisine can systematically advance nationwide, contributing its modest efforts to the global dissemination of the profound and rich culinary culture of China.