Shaanxi cuisine is represented by
Guanzhong, south Shaanxi and north Shaanxi cuisine styles. Shaanxi Province
occupies an important position in the development history of Chinese culture.
Its cooking techniques can be traced back to Yangshao Culture period. In the Han
(206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties, Shaanxi's cooking techniques reached
a splendid period. Thanks to its unique position in Chinese history, Shaanxi
chefs gathered all eating and cooking advantages from all over the country, and
formed its own characteristics.
Local chefs of Shaanxi Province are good at
using local materials to prepare delicious dishes, such as hump and hoof of
camels, fat sheep from north Shaanxi, Qinchuan oxen, carps from the Yellow
River, and black rice from Hanzhong. Through boiling,
stewing, braising, frying and cooking, they produce a wide variety of dishes of
different tastes.
Famous dishes include: bottle gourd chicken,
mustard and upper part of a pork leg, white lotus in a limpid pond, scorpion and
fish on bamboo plate, Guozi fish in milky soup, Chrysanthemum pot, Han
cinnamon chicken slices saute, chicken rice and sea cucumber, tomato juice and
ox tongue, steamed mutton,
etc.
1. Bottle gourd chicken
It is a famous traditional dish of Shaanxi
Province, with golden red color, crisp skin, tender meat, strong smell and
mellow taste.
2. White lotus in a limpid pond
This dish was created by Van Culinary
Research Institute based on historical records. It features well selected
ingredients, meticulous preparations, a crisp and tender and refreshing taste,
just like a white lotus flower in a limpid pond, hence the name.
3. Scorpion and fish on bamboo
plate
This dish is a creation of Van, featuring
delicious and tender fish, a strong fragrance of scorpions, a graceful smell of
bamboo and a beautiful shape, with a
role of dietotherapy.
4. Guozi fish in milky
soup
As a traditional dish of Van of
Shaanxi Province, Guozi fish in milky soup evolves from an imperial dish of the
Tang Dynasty of more than 1,000 years ago. It features delicious and tender fish
meat and milk-like and mellow soup. It is a nutritious dish rich in protein,
minerals and vitamins.
5. Chrysanthemum
pot
With a time-honored history, this
traditional dish is full of fragrances of flowers, wine, meat, and vegetables.
6. Han cinnamon chicken slices
saute
It is a famous dish of Hanzhong of Shaanxi.
Legend has it that when Liu Bang became King of Hanzhong, Prime Minister Xiao
He, planted this cinnamon tree in person in Shengshui Temple in the south of
Hanzhong, hence the name Han cinnamon. This dish features tender and delicious
chicken slices, with aroma of cinnamon, and a graceful color.