Henan Cuisine
The Henan, or Honan, cookery style of central China, also known as Yu cuisine, is one of the oldest culinary traditions in China. The Yu cuisine originated in the Shang dynasty. Cooking utensils from the early Neolithic period have been found in Henan province, as well as frescos from the Han dynasty which depict butchering fowl, boiling meat and cooking fish. By the time of the Zhou dynasty, protocols for cookery were in place, which were further developed during the Song dynasty into rules for not only the cooking and flavors, but for presentation and table settings.
Yu cuisine had many innovative cooking methods for the time - stewing, frying, deep-frying, quick-frying, quick-boiling, stir-frying and Qiang (cooking on a skewer). Stewing in particular was popular as this method could produce a dish with a thick sticky sauce without any added starches. The high heat used in the frying and boiling methods enhanced the flavor, texture and appearance of these dishes.
Henan dishes are characterized by the use of onions and of seasonal vegetables, and the slow and careful stir-frying of the ingredients. Great care is taken with cutting the meats and vegetables, so that all the ingredients were of a uniform size. While pork is the most widely used meat, it is rarely used in the soups, which instead feature mutton or lamb. Henan cookery features rice cooked in animal fats, which is unusual in this part of China. Thin wheat noodles are also standard fare, made by stretching a rope of dough by swinging it in the air, folding it over, and repeating, adding flour all along to keep it from becoming sticky. Picture the pizza crust thrower in your local Italian dive, and you can picture how these noodles are made. These noodles are then quickly fried to a crisp to serve as a base for most any dish. Due to the dry nothern climate of Kaifeng, fruits were noticably absent from the most menus during the Song dynasty, as they were still imported luxuries served only at the emperor's table.
Basic seasonings are onions, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, oil, ginger, and five spice powder, which combines the complimentary tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty. These spices are star anise, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper. Other common seasonings were ginger, cardamom, garlic, and vinegar. Henan food is a plainer food than the spicier Szechwan cookery, and tends toward the sweeter and saltier flavors, which is likely due to the number of officials in the capital who originally came from the south of China, and the blending of food traditions in this hub of history and commerce. Sweet and sour dishes are said to have originated in this area.
Cooks in Henan province have long known the value of proper timing in the selection of their ingredients. Chicken is best in the late spring, as are eels and turtles, and fish is best in October. Carp is best when it is about one chi (one foot) long.
Soups comprise a major part of Henan cuisine. There are appetizer soups, and thick white soups with vegetables which get their milky color from the marrow of the pork bones boiled to make them. Mao soup, or unami, is made from the freshest of local vegetables and chicken, though sometimes pork or fish is used. Clear soup is made from vegetable stock and whatever vegetables are on hand with no meat. Whatever soup is being made, all the ingredients are washed two times. When the soup comes to a boil, whatever scum forms is skimmed off. After a period of simmering, the ingredients are strained and the remaining liquid put back into the pot, returned to a boil and skimmed again before adding the vegetables and meat to simmer once more. When one is served a clear soup, it is expected to be refreshing rather than filling, and the bottom of the bowl must be visible. The ingredients in a thick white soup should be floating on the top of the liquid.
Good restaurants in Kaifeng had doorways with ornately decorated arches and a sign with a symbol of what sort of food might be found within, since most of them specialized in certain dishes and various regional cuisines. Patrons commonly arrived in groups and were taken to their tables by the wait staff, both male and female. Diners were expected to loudly call out what sort of dish they craved, such as hot, cooling, meat or vegetable based, or soup. The waiters would then come to the table and help the patrons decide exactly how they wanted their dish - one could pretty much order any variation of what was available. The staff did not write down orders, but were expected to remember every nuance and to bring the dinner quickly without any mistakes. Each order was called out to the Head Dishwarmer in the kitchen, who in turn would cry it out to the cooks. Kaifeng restaurants were quite the noisy places.
Henan Specialties
Luoyang Shui Xi
This is not just a dish but an entire meal known as the Luoyang Water Table or Banquet. A traditional feast for over one thousand years, it takes its name from the menu, which consists of at least one third soups. First called Wu Empress Banquet, the name was changed during the Song dynasty to Water Banquet. Legend has it that this meal originated by Yuan Tiangang, the Tang court astrologer. He foresaw that Wu Zetian would become the empress, but of course could not make that public, so instead he invented the twenty four dishes, each of which symbolized a different part of Wu Zetian's life.
Instead of the twenty four dishes dishes being served all at once, they are served in blue-glazed bowls, one after another, like flowing water. First there are eight cold dishes, followed by sixteen warm ones. The first dish is called the Swallow Dish. Once when Wu Zetian was in Luoyang, a farmer grew a giant turnip that weighed tens of kilograms. Assuming that the Empress had caused this miracle, the vegetable was dedicated to her. Curious about the possibilities of turnip dishes, the Empress charged her royal cooks with inventing a new recipe. They shredded it and steamed it with starch, creating a marvelous soup which reminded Wu Zetian of the flavor of a swallow's nest, something considered a great delicacy.
The middle twelve dishes are divided into four groups of three dishes each - one main one and two accompaniments, an arrangement known as "going to court with the sons". Each set of dishes is served only when the previous set is finished. The final four are the most special, and are all soups. The very last dish is a sweet and sour egg soup with vegetables, known as the farewell dish. As you might imagine, this meal takes a very long time to eat.
Kaifeng Tao Si Bao
This traditional poultry dish commonly known as Kaifeng Four-treasure uses chicken, duck, pigeon and quail and is quite complicated to make. First, each bird is deboned. The quail is stuffed with herbs and vegetables and then is then carefully inserted into the body of the pigeon, taking care to fit the smaller bird's legs into those of the larger. Then these two are put into the chicken, and the three are then stuffed into the duck. When served, the diner eats the duck first, then the chicken, the pigeon and the quail, finishing his banquet with the vegetables.
Kaifeng Chao Liang Fen
This dish is a deep-fried bean jelly made from powdered mung beans, seasoned with soy sauce, shallots, ginger and fried in oil. The resulting reddish brown pieces are soft inside, but not greasy.
Shaolin Vegetable Dish
This dish is named for the Shaolin Buddhist Monastery in Zhengzhou City in Henan Province, which was founded in the 5th century AD and is known for its association with the Shaolin Kung Fu style of martial arts. The vegetables vary according to season but usually include bamboo shoots, mushrooms, soybean products and surprisingly, fresh fruits. These ingredients are cooked quickly in hot oil.
Yellow River Croaker
This famous fish entree is quick fried in oil and served with sweet and sour sauce and baked rice noodles.
Mashed Sweet Potato
First, the sweet potatoes must be boiled (save some of the water), then the skins and tough fibers removed. Then the pulp is wrapped in a clean cloth and kneaded by hand until it is the consistency of mud. Add some sugar to the remaining cooking water, bring to a boil and add oil and the mashed potatoes. Stir until thickened, remove from heat and add seasonings - hawthorn fruit, rose petals, and sugar flavored with osmanthus. Osmanthus fragans, is also called Sweet Olive, Tea Olive or Fragrant Olive. Native to Asia, it is an evergreen shrub with small clustered flowers which range from white to yellow. The Chinese call these flowers gui hua, which translates to cinnamon or cassia flower, and mix them with green or black teas, and add them to jams, sweet cakes, dumplings and soups.
Wuxiang Shaobing
Five spice roasted bread is flavored with the traditional five spices of Chinese cuisine.
Zhima Duowei Tang
A soup made with toasted black sesame seeds, rice and sugar. Have some of this if you're worried about going grey. Black sesame seeds will keep your hair its youthful color, or so they say.
Yangrou Chuar
Spicy lamb kebabs. What's not to like about any food on a stick?
Sources
Gernet, Jaques. Daily Life in China. MacMillan, 1962
Anderson, E. N. The Food of China. Yale University Press,1988
Restaurants in Song Dynasty China
Yu Cuisine
wiki- Henan Cuisine
Henan Cuisine
wiki-Shui Xi
Kaifeng Food
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