In fact, most people lack understanding of Anhui. The Yangtze River and Huaihe River divide Anhui into three parts: to the north of Huaihe River, there are Huaibei people who speak Zhongyuan dialect; To the south of the Yangtze River are Huizhou people and Anqing people who speak Wu. Between Jianghuai and Jianghuai, people who speak Jianghuai Mandarin-language can best represent the style of food, which shows that not all Anhui people can eat in one bowl.
Therefore, the Anhui Cuisine Hall in Beijing that I introduced here is not all Anhui Cuisine in the strict sense, but only represents the different regional characteristics of Anhui.
Let's talk about the mountainous area in southern Anhui, which is the birthplace of "authentic Anhui cuisine". The most famous landmark in Anhui is Huangshan Mountain, which has a long mountain and a long road. It is also the most complete place to preserve Huizhou culture. At the beginning, in order to promote Huangshan Mountain in all directions, the scenic spot opened a restaurant in Beijing, called the hometown of Huizhou merchants, and moved to Huizhou decoration and local chefs intact. The representative work is the ancient Huizhou famous dish pickled fresh mandarin fish, often called smelly mandarin fish, which fully embodies? The gene of "slightly rotten and salty" Huizhou cuisine.
Hunan cuisine now also has stinky mandarin fish, which is not fermented and is directly soaked in salt water. Anhui cuisine is different. In the eyes of traditional chefs, "soaking stinky tofu" directly is a sign of ruining Anhui cuisine. The curing of mandarin fish needs constant temperature and humidity, which is suitable for the environment with strong water vapor in Huizhou mountainous area. The chefs in the hometown of Huizhou merchants have also succeeded in repeated experiments in cool and dry Beijing. The fresh mandarin fish pickled here is garlic cloves, which are ruddy and fragrant.
Fermented rotten salmon.
Hairy tofu is another sign of Huizhou merchants' hometown. Not only the taste, but also the details and shape of fermentation. The longest fimbriae on the surface of tofu here can reach nearly one centimeter. On-site frying is not only a taste enjoyment, but also a visual and olfactory enjoyment. By the way, many Cai Hui restaurants in Beijing use the above two dishes as their signs, and this dish is the most traditional and classic.
The hometown of Huizhou merchants has opened many branches in Beijing now, and I like Houhai family best. It's best to have a small private room, a table for four and a small balcony on the third floor. While hugging the bells and drums in Beijing in the morning, you can sit and watch the drunken fans in Shichahai.
"hometown of Huizhou merchants" signature hairy tofu?
Besides, the diet between Jianghuai in central Anhui is lighter than that in southern Anhui. Hefei, the capital of Anhui, is the Tongqing Building downstairs of Hefei Beijing Office. Although the font size comes from Wuhu, it is more to satisfy the tastes of Hefei people who come to Beijing for business (besides, there is not much difference between Hefei and Wuhu). The main course is Feixi old hen soup. The name of this dish comes from the joke "Feidong to Feixi (si), buy an old hen (zi)" with Hefei accent. Feixi old hen soup has never appeared alone, so it must be accompanied by Anqing fried rice. In this way, the famous dishes in Hefei hooked up with the customs of people along the Yangtze River in Anqing, and both sides were happy.
Old chicken soup from "Tongqinglou"
Steamed wild white silk is another famous dish in Tongqing Building. White snakehead, one of the three Chinese cabbages in Chaohu Lake, is excellent in simple steaming. It is covered with chicken oil that has been boiled for several hours before cooking, which is also the difference between this dish and steamed fish in other regions in seasoning. There is also a snack I like in Tongqinglou, which is steamed fresh meat soup buns, which is not inferior to Huaiyang cuisine at all.
Steamed white silk?
Western Anhui is also a mountainous area, and my grandmother's home is deep in Dabie Mountain. When I was a child, I received preserved fish and bacon from my grandfather every Spring Festival. The taste was unforgettable. One day, I ate their laba rice in Yunluxuan outside the Drum Tower. When asked, it really comes from Lu 'an, Dabie Mountain cuisine, Artemisia selengensis, Oenanthe javanica, purslane and all kinds of fresh wild vegetables, which makes people feel excited. The flavor of Dabie Mountain has some shadows of hubei cuisine, such as pearl balls and Ciba, which make the staple food as delicious as vegetables. It should be said that it is a legacy left by the era of material scarcity. Unfortunately, this restaurant in Lu 'an changed its face last year, and it was called "Huizhou Town". Is it changed to southern Anhui flavor? I haven't been there since.
The part of the Yangtze River flowing through Anhui was called Wanjiang in ancient times. Anqing, Tongling, Wuhu and Maanshan along the coast are all relatively rich dock cities in Anhui, and the dishes in the river are rare. There is a Beijing Ma 'anshan Hotel, which is located in Mengdu Hotel in Feng Wan Road Food Street.
Iron salmon in "Dream City Restaurant"
Ma 'anshan is the youngest city in Anhui Province, which has a profound cultural background. For example, the place where the overlord of the West Chu committed suicide was here, and Li Bai died of drinking here. The owner of the restaurant is the county under Ma 'anshan, where Liu Yuxi wrote My Humble Room. This young man is particularly fond of thinking, and their dishes have been compromised and reconciled according to the tastes of modern people, which can be said to be the representative of Beijing's new Huizhou cuisine.
For example, the stinky fish here needs two physical desalination processes, which is more acceptable to Beijingers than the classic stinky fish. The improved iron plate mandarin fish is less salty, easier to eat when chopped into large pieces, and the cooking time does not need to last that long. In other words, it is more nutritious. Another impressive dish in Mengdu Restaurant is the fragrance of knife board. Slice the bacon and use camphor wood as the substrate, so that the meat can naturally absorb the smell of wood and make excellent meals. ? In the Anhui Cuisine Hall in Beijing, Anhui cuisine is often used as a signboard. Snacks from other parts of Anhui will be scattered, such as Huainan tofu, Huaiyuan whole chicken, Mengcheng sesame seed cake, Wu goose, tribute food and Fuliji roast chicken. I have eaten Dayonghui, Anhui Water Town, Shangyu Anhui Cuisine, Wuyi Restaurant, Huifu, Huating Lake, Hanlin Banquet, Tongcheng Restaurant and so on. But no decent restaurant dares to focus on Huaibei cuisine, which is related to the eating habits in northern Anhui.
Mengcheng sesame seed cake fuliji red-cooked chicken
Along the Huaihe River and north of Huaihe River, the taste is actually in the Central Plains, and the staple food has changed from rice to pasta. The dishes are also a little independent of Shandong cuisine, Henan cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine. The characteristics are not as obvious as those in southern Anhui, and it is more difficult to form a system. Therefore, we can only open professional shops such as Huainan beef soup and Taihe noodles. Beef soup really can't be tall. It should be eaten with wok gas, only suitable for small shops. There are about seventy or eighty Huainan beef soup restaurants in Beijing, and the cooking level basically depends on the chef's mood. Most importantly, neither raw materials nor consumers can compare with Huainan, which is 1000 kilometers away.
Huainan beef soup
So, if you want to have a taste of childhood in your hometown occasionally, you can only make your parents work hard, or find a nearby Xuzhou-style restaurant to satisfy their desire. However, there are exceptions. Hongxuan Chinese Restaurant in Crowne Plaza Zhongguancun hides secrets outside the luxurious menu. You just need to ask, "Is Master Wang Fushun on duty today?" If the answer is yes, you can eat authentic Huaibei flavor, such as salted bean eggs, fried cock, garlic eggs, boiled buns, nang soup, Hu spicy soup ... The ingredients are simple and the taste is mellow.
Garlic, rice and eggs in Hongxuan Chinese restaurant
As for the taste of these dishes, space is limited, I don't need to say more, but these tastes are really delicious to me.
Friends who like food, welcome to join me for dinner! ?