Jiangxi cuisine
Encyclopedia
Jiangxi cuisine is derived from the native cooking styles of the Jiangxi
province of southern China
. Like the cuisines of neighboring provinces, Jiangxi
cuisine favors overtly spicy flavors; in many regions of the provinces, chili pepper
s are directly used as vegetable instead of as a flavoring, as in most other Chinese regional cuisines.
Another characteristic of Jiangxi
cuisine is that there are rarely any cold dishes or anything served raw in contrast to other Chinese cuisines.
The reason why there is rarely any cold or raw dishes in Jiangxi cuisine is due to another characteristic of the cuisine: it is the number one Chinese cuisine that utilizes tea oil
as its primary cooking oil. However, if the raw tea oil is consumed uncooked, it would cause severe stomach problems for most people. As a result, any dish that uses the oil is cooked, as in other parts of China where tea oil is used as primary cooking oil. However, Jiangxi
cuisine is unique in that the other one-seventh of total Chinese populations in other parts of China use tea oil as the main cooking oil, but it is supplemented by variety of cooking oils of other types, and, in fact, tea oil is not a majority despite being the most common. In Jiangxi
, on the other hand, tea oil is used almost exclusively as the only cooking oil, and the only other cooking oil used is the oil from rapeseed
, but it only consists of a minor portion.
Due to its geography, fish banquet is also one of the characteristics of Jiangxi
cuisine. In contrast to the Heilongjiang cuisine
which is famed for anadromous fish banquets, Jiangxi cuisine is famed for freshwater fish banquets.
The last characteristic of Jiangxi
cuisine is its heavy emphasis on the utilization of douchi
(fermented black beans) and tofu
, in comparison to other Chinese cuisines. Fried tofu
is a must for everyone during the celebration of Chinese New Year
.
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
province of southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Like the cuisines of neighboring provinces, Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
cuisine favors overtly spicy flavors; in many regions of the provinces, chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
s are directly used as vegetable instead of as a flavoring, as in most other Chinese regional cuisines.
Another characteristic of Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
cuisine is that there are rarely any cold dishes or anything served raw in contrast to other Chinese cuisines.
The reason why there is rarely any cold or raw dishes in Jiangxi cuisine is due to another characteristic of the cuisine: it is the number one Chinese cuisine that utilizes tea oil
Tea oil
Tea seed oil is an edible, pale amber-green fixed oil with a sweet, herbal aroma. It is cold-pressed mainly from the seeds of Camellia oleifera but also from Camellia sinensis or Camellia japonica....
as its primary cooking oil. However, if the raw tea oil is consumed uncooked, it would cause severe stomach problems for most people. As a result, any dish that uses the oil is cooked, as in other parts of China where tea oil is used as primary cooking oil. However, Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
cuisine is unique in that the other one-seventh of total Chinese populations in other parts of China use tea oil as the main cooking oil, but it is supplemented by variety of cooking oils of other types, and, in fact, tea oil is not a majority despite being the most common. In Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
, on the other hand, tea oil is used almost exclusively as the only cooking oil, and the only other cooking oil used is the oil from rapeseed
Rapeseed
Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
, but it only consists of a minor portion.
Due to its geography, fish banquet is also one of the characteristics of Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
cuisine. In contrast to the Heilongjiang cuisine
Northeastern Chinese cuisine
Northeastern Chinese cuisine is a style of Chinese cuisine in Northeastern China. Many dishes originated from Manchu cuisine. It relies heavily on preserved foods and hearty fare due to the harsh winters and relatively short growing seasons...
which is famed for anadromous fish banquets, Jiangxi cuisine is famed for freshwater fish banquets.
The last characteristic of Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
cuisine is its heavy emphasis on the utilization of douchi
Douchi
Douchi , also called Chinese fermented black beans , is a flavoring most popular in the cuisine of China, and is used to make black bean sauce....
(fermented black beans) and tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
, in comparison to other Chinese cuisines. Fried tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
is a must for everyone during the celebration of Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
.