Shanxi cuisine
Encyclopedia
Shanxi cuisine is derived from the native cooking styles of the Shanxi
region in China, and it is famed for noodles, its fried flatbread (da bing), and its sour taste. The cuisine is also famed for utilizing its locally produced vinegar
, just like the Huaiyang cuisine
, but the flavor is totally different.
Generally speaking, Cuisine of Shanxi is quite little known for people outside this region. One of the causes is because Shanxi province is not very populated, compare to other province of China. And being a very traditional region where the lifestyle of locals have not been modernized, many outsiders find cuisine of Shanxi province sometimes is too authentic and traditional.
Despite of the use of pork and chicken, one of the most popular meat supplies in Shanxi is lamb, as well as some other parts of the body of a goat or sheep. For example, locally popular lamb soup is usually cooked with livers, stomach, and some other organs from a lamb. However, as a traditional area with strong cultural connections with early Northwest Asian nomadic nations and minorities, the use of lamb in Shanxi has been presenting a unique and blended way of cooking of both North Chinese minorities and Han Chinese. For example, using ground lamb and carrots as a common kind of dumpling filling, is something that has not yet been found in any other Chinese cooking styles outside Shanxi province. Also, blending ground pork with chopped dill is another kind of popular dumpling filling enjoyed by locals.
The main diet reflects its crop (agriculture)
: millet
, sorghum
, and wheat
, while pork
, mushroom
s, potato
es and turnip
s are frequently used in dishes. The cuisine comprises three styles:
style, represented by dishes from Datong
and Mount Wutai
, with emphasis on color and oil.
style, represented by dishes from Linfen
and the Grand Canal regions, specializing in seafood, despite the fact that Shanxi
is a landlocked province.
style, represented by dishes from Taiyuan
, which presents a mainstream cooking style compared to both the North and the South of the province. Before 1970s, as local cuisine and professional cooking had not been influenced by Cantonese and Sichuan styles, cuisine of Taiyuan contained a number of noodle dishes, Chinese Muslim dishes, local hotpot dishes, and meat dishes using fresh water seafood and lamb. The region is especially famous for its hand shaven noodles (Dao xiao mian). Some other famous dishes are:
. The Shanxi Vinegar Culture Museum has been built there. Local Taiyuan residents, especially those who have lived in Taiyuan for generations, quite frequently, prefer "Yiyuanqing" (宁化府益源庆) Aged vinegar produced by Yiyuanqing Company located in old downtown Taiyuan area.
In the U.S., sometimes customers can find some of the Extra Aged Shanxi Vinegar in their local Asian grocery stores. One of the common suppliers is "Shuita" Extra Aged Vinegar (水塔牌老陈醋)，which is a brewing company located in Qingxu.
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
region in China, and it is famed for noodles, its fried flatbread (da bing), and its sour taste. The cuisine is also famed for utilizing its locally produced vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
, just like the Huaiyang cuisine
Huaiyang cuisine
Huaiyang cuisine is a tradition within the cuisine of China derived from the native cooking styles of the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze rivers, and centered upon the cities of Huai'an, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province...
, but the flavor is totally different.
Generally speaking, Cuisine of Shanxi is quite little known for people outside this region. One of the causes is because Shanxi province is not very populated, compare to other province of China. And being a very traditional region where the lifestyle of locals have not been modernized, many outsiders find cuisine of Shanxi province sometimes is too authentic and traditional.
Despite of the use of pork and chicken, one of the most popular meat supplies in Shanxi is lamb, as well as some other parts of the body of a goat or sheep. For example, locally popular lamb soup is usually cooked with livers, stomach, and some other organs from a lamb. However, as a traditional area with strong cultural connections with early Northwest Asian nomadic nations and minorities, the use of lamb in Shanxi has been presenting a unique and blended way of cooking of both North Chinese minorities and Han Chinese. For example, using ground lamb and carrots as a common kind of dumpling filling, is something that has not yet been found in any other Chinese cooking styles outside Shanxi province. Also, blending ground pork with chopped dill is another kind of popular dumpling filling enjoyed by locals.
The main diet reflects its crop (agriculture)
Crop (agriculture)
A crop is a non-animal species or variety that is grown to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, fuel or for any other economic purpose. Major world crops include maize , wheat, rice, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton. While the term "crop" most commonly refers to plants, it can also include...
: millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, while pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es and turnip
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...
s are frequently used in dishes. The cuisine comprises three styles:
Northern
The Northern ShanxiShanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
style, represented by dishes from Datong
Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
and Mount Wutai
Wutai Shan
Mount Wutai , also known as Wutai Mountain or Qingliang Shan, is located in Shanxi, China. The mountain is home to many of China's most important monasteries and temples...
, with emphasis on color and oil.
Southern
The Southern ShanxiShanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
style, represented by dishes from Linfen
Linfen
-Administrative divisions:The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district, two cities and fourteen counties. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.-Pollution:...
and the Grand Canal regions, specializing in seafood, despite the fact that Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
is a landlocked province.
Central
The Central ShanxiShanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
style, represented by dishes from Taiyuan
Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
, which presents a mainstream cooking style compared to both the North and the South of the province. Before 1970s, as local cuisine and professional cooking had not been influenced by Cantonese and Sichuan styles, cuisine of Taiyuan contained a number of noodle dishes, Chinese Muslim dishes, local hotpot dishes, and meat dishes using fresh water seafood and lamb. The region is especially famous for its hand shaven noodles (Dao xiao mian). Some other famous dishes are:
Tou-nao Lamb Soup
Literally "Head-brain" lamb soup, is made by using lamb, Chinese rice wine, Chinese yams, and other spices. The soup has nothing to do with a lamb's head or brain; but traditionally enjoyed during the winter and said to be very rich in nutritions.Crispy Duck
By steaming the duck first and then frying it in pan, this dish creates a very crispy and rich taste without making the duck meat greasy.Soy Cheese Steamed Pork
A unique pork dish by stir fry pork first, then steam it in a big bowl with red salty soy cheese curd and ginger and garlic together. It requires using the red, Peking style soy tofu cheese. When finished, the pork has the creamy, soft, lightly sweet and richly savory taste from both soy cheese and pork fat. When serve, thinly slice the pork and serve with fresh herbs.Ingredients
Shanxi mature vinegar (also called "overmature vinegar"), called Shanxi lao chencu (山西老陈醋) in Chinese,(In fact, the translation presented here is not accurate. Based on the techniques and particular meaning of "Shanxi Lao Chen Cu", it should be called "Aged Shanxi Vinegar" or specifically, Extra Aged Vinegar. Some of the techniques used for brewing Extra Aged Vinegar have been considered intellectual properties and under the protection of Chinese laws. It is a famous product of the region, and is produced primarily in Qingxu County, a vicinity of the provincial capital of TaiyuanTaiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
. The Shanxi Vinegar Culture Museum has been built there. Local Taiyuan residents, especially those who have lived in Taiyuan for generations, quite frequently, prefer "Yiyuanqing" (宁化府益源庆) Aged vinegar produced by Yiyuanqing Company located in old downtown Taiyuan area.
In the U.S., sometimes customers can find some of the Extra Aged Shanxi Vinegar in their local Asian grocery stores. One of the common suppliers is "Shuita" Extra Aged Vinegar (水塔牌老陈醋)，which is a brewing company located in Qingxu.