Dongjiang Salt-baked Chicken is one of the most famous traditional dishes of Dongjiang Cuisine, which is said to have originated from the Huiyang Salt Farm in Dongjiang, with a history of more than 300 years. At that time, people used salt to store boiled chickens in order to keep them in good taste for a long period of time. Once, when a Huizhou salt merchant hosted a banquet for guests, the chef replaced the customary pickling method with salt-baked chicken, which had an excellent flavor and was greatly appreciated by the guests, and was then spread and became a famous dish. Made using the ancient method 300 years ago, the skin is crispy, the meat is smooth, the bones are fragrant, and the flavor is strong.

Later, people found that the chicken stored in this way not only did not change flavor, but also particularly sweet and fresh, so it developed into a famous dish called Dongjiang salt-baked chicken. The dish is characterized by crispy skin, smooth meat, fragrant bones and strong flavor. The authentic method is to peel the chicken, dry the water, rub the chicken cavity with refined salt, add green onion and star anise. First brush the oil sandpaper wrapped chicken body, and then wrapped with a layer of plain sandpaper. Warm fire hot frying pan, under the coarse salt frying until slightly red, fill the casserole, put the chicken on the salt and then fill the hot salt to cover the full, with the fire can be cooked. Dongjiang stuffed tofu originated from the ancient Central Plains people's habit of wrapping dumplings, due to migration to Lingnan no wheat can be wrapped in dumplings, New Year's festivals, they came up with a stuffed tofu to eat. Because of the Lingnan have soybean and less noodles, so the former people used to make soybean that is tofu dumplings and come. Tofu with fried, stuffed, boiled and other methods of production, the original pot on the table, steaming, flavorful juice, exquisite, very food.

Dongjiang stuffed tofu is a fine system, the first is to choose the tender Dongjiang mountain water tofu, cut the tofu into small pieces. Pork, fish, and shrimp are finely chopped into puree, and the ingredients are added and stirred into the meat filling. Next, take each piece of tofu and dig a small hole in the center to put in the meat mixture. Finally, heat a wok over medium heat, fry the stuffed tofu until golden brown on both sides, remove, put it into a casserole dish, add the stock and ingredients again, simmer over medium heat, add chopped green onion and minced fish to finish. Fried pork sausage is a widely represented Hakka specialty. "Fried pork sausage" is another favorite Hakka dish of Su Dongpo, according to legend, Su Dongpo was relegated on the way to Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province (the same Hakka region) when he first tasted this dish was its unique flavor. After the apartment Huizhou can not forget this dish that unique flavor, every drink must be fried sausage with wine, the people see it so intoxicated, often fried sausage in exchange for its ink, some simply called this dish "fried Dongpo"

Guangzhou cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine in the first two chairs in the Guangdong cuisine, the third is Hakka cuisine or Dongjiang cuisine? There are also in the South Forum, the catering industry authority said that the popular Hakka cuisine mainly refers to the Meizhou cuisine, but in fact, the Meizhou cuisine is only a large Hakka cuisine in the "mountain system", Dongjiang cuisine is the "water system", the two ingredients on the difference, but in the production techniques Many of them are the same. "In recent years, Dongjiang cuisine has become more adept at pushing the envelope, but if we had to separate Dongjiang and Meizhou Hakka cuisine, it would be a tie for third place."

Is Dongjiang cuisine unique?

"Guangdong's three major cuisines are obviously Guangzhou cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine and Dongjiang cuisine, when did there become an additional Hakka cuisine?" The poll attracted more than 60 people to vote, 55% think "Dongjiang cuisine is Hakka cuisine", 45% think "Dongjiang cuisine is Dongjiang cuisine".

Guangdong Cuisine Association website "Guangdong Cuisine Network" in the introduction of Guangdong's famous dishes, there is a narrative: "Guangdong cuisine by the Guangzhou Cuisine, Teochew Cuisine, Dongjiang Cuisine is composed of three parts. Among the Dongjiang Hakka Cuisine, the dishes of Heyuan area are Hakka Cuisine, with a taste favoring 'fat, salty and cooked'. Famous Hakka dishes are Dongjiang salt-baked chicken, Dongjiang stuffed tofu, red braised pork ......"

Previously, there are media reports that "Dongjiang cuisine, also known as Hakka cuisine, and Chaozhou cuisine, Guangzhou cuisine and known as the three major cuisines of Guangdong." The netizens who support this point of view believe that the difference between the traditional Hakka cuisine, Huizhou, Heyuan and other places in the Dongjiang cuisine in the practice, the ingredients are innovative, so it can be unique, can be among the three major dishes in Guangdong. However, if you search for "Guangdong's three major cuisines" on the Internet, the results are: Guangzhou cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine, Hakka cuisine (Dongjiang cuisine).

Guangdong landmark food judges, Lao Yibo, Hakka cuisine, such as subdivided into "mountain system", "water system", "loose guest dishes. Mountain system that we are accustomed to say "Hakka cuisine", distributed in the mountainous areas of Meizhou and other places, and the water system refers to the "Dongjiang cuisine". In other words, Dongjiang cuisine was originally a kind of Hakka cuisine.

Chen Gangwen, a Chinese culinary master and executive vice president of the Meizhou Catering Industry Association, divides Hakka cuisine into five schools: the Gannan school, the western Fujian school, the Meizhou school, the Dongjiang school, and the overseas school. "The Meizhou school is representative of Hakka cuisine, and the Dongjiang school is one of the schools of Hakka cuisine."

The two ingredients are different but both are "salty and fragrant"

Hakka cuisine is characterized by "salty, cooked and fragrant", which is inseparable from the characteristics of the Hakka people who have been migrating from one generation to another and living in mountainous areas. Hakka farming and sowing, physical exertion, need to supplement a large amount of salt, so the diet is mainly salty and fragrant. In addition, in the era of underdeveloped technology, salty dishes can be preserved for a longer period of time. The reason for the large amount of meat is that it is rare to eat meat once in a while, but during traditional festivals such as the Chinese New Year, the Hakka people eat large portions of meat and never skimp on it.

Traditional Dongjiang dishes are also "fat, salty, cooked and fragrant", with heavy oil, salty taste and simple sauces, usually flavored with raw onions, cooked garlic and cilantro. Dongjiang cuisine emerged in Huizhou, Heyuan area, including Huidong, Boro and other places, which mostly belong to the Dongjiang River Basin. The source of ingredients rely on the mountains to eat the mountains to eat the water, the distance from the river, the sea is close, the ingredients naturally choose aquatic products more.

Specific to a dish, such as steamed fish, Rao Yibo believes that, compared with the mountain system of Hakka cuisine, Dongjiang cuisine in the processing of aquatic products is not so salty, but more than pay attention to the light, the original flavor of the Guangzhou cuisine a little salty.

Hakka cuisine heavy original flavor Dongjiang more innovative

Dongjiang cuisine when it began to be known as the "Guangdong three major cuisines" one? Chen Gangwen explained, there is an origin here, in the 1950s, Xingmei 7 counties belong to Shantou Prefecture, until the establishment of Meixian Prefecture in 1965, the original Xingmei 7 counties from the Shantou Prefecture, under the Meixian Prefecture, which is also the predecessor of the city of Meizhou. During this period, the Chinese cuisine delineation of Guangdong cuisine, today's Meizhou area was under the Shantou prefecture, Guangzhou cuisine, Chaoshan cuisine has always been the representative of Guangdong cuisine, taking into account a prefecture can not have two major cuisines, that time, the three major cuisines of Guangdong delineated as Guangzhou cuisine, Chaoshan cuisine, Dongjiang cuisine.

"The three major cuisines of Guangdong are Guangzhou cuisine, Chaoshan cuisine and Hakka cuisine, and Meizhou pie is the representative of Hakka cuisine." In 2006, the China Cuisine Association awarded Meizhou the title of "Hometown of Chinese Hakka Cuisine", Chen Gangwen said. Meizhou Hakka cuisine maintains a strong local flavor, the original freshness of the ingredients, and uses fewer flavorful seasonings.

In his view, food needs a deep cultural accumulation, and Hakka cuisine has inherited the food culture of the Central Plains and the new ingredients and eating habits of the southward migrants, and has been influenced by the food culture of the neighboring She and other indigenous people, the Guangfu family, and the western Fujian family.

Chen Gangwen said Dongjiang cuisine has become more adept at taking the road of commercialization and launching some new dishes in recent years, especially as some high-end restaurants in Guangzhou have put up the signboards of Dongjiang cuisine, which has attracted more diners, and in turn promoted the innovation and development of Dongjiang cuisine.

Lao Yibo believes that in recent years, Dongjiang cuisine has become lighter and lighter, more varieties of patterns, and know the type of snacks become less. If there is a difference between the mountain and water systems, the traditional Hakka fried tofu is a good illustration of the problem. In Dongjiang cuisine, the tofu is stuffed with salty pickled vegetables to balance out the greasy flavor of the tofu, while mountain Hakka cuisine maintains the traditional stuffing.