There is a saying in Guangdong that "food is in Guangzhou and taste is in Chaoshan", which shows the position of Chaoshan cuisine in Cantonese cuisine.
Chaoshan area is surrounded by mountains and seas, with rich products. Whether it is seafood, chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle and sheep, there are all kinds of ingredients.
Chaoshan cuisine pays attention to the use of spices and cooking techniques to stimulate the freshness of ingredients, mainly salty. For example, the famous fish rice is simply to cook fresh sea fish with sea salt, and then let it cool before eating. It is original, very fresh, sweet and delicious.
When it comes to food that can represent the taste of Chaoshan, everyone in Chaoshan has their own ranking list. Personally, I think the following five kinds of food can best represent the taste of Chaoshan. Let's see if you have eaten.
Red roasted goose can be seen everywhere in Chaoshan area, and Chenghai Lion Head Goose is the most famous.
Generally speaking, it is necessary to choose old geese that have been raised for about three years as raw materials and marinate the whole goose in marinade for about one and a half hours. This soup is made of soy sauce, crystal sugar, cinnamon, Amomum villosum, cardamom, star anise, southern ginger, rice wine, garlic, mushrooms and so on. Every chef has his own version.
Every year during Mazu's birthday in March of the lunar calendar, Shantou will hold a "Goose Race". Each family will put the salted fat goose on the table and compete with each other to see whose goose is bigger and fatter. This is also the yearning and hope of family members who go out to sea to make a living and wanderers who go out.
Pig's foot rice originated from longjiang town, Huilai County, Jieyang City, and is a very delicious home-cooked dish.
Although pig's foot rice originated in longjiang town, it became famous in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other Pearl River Delta regions.
During the rapid development of the Pearl River Delta around 2000, some Huilai compatriots came out to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other developed cities to open pig's trotters to make a living.
Pig's foot rice quickly gained a foothold in the Pearl River Delta region because it was delicious, cheap and full, so that in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, there is a saying that "the village in the city can't finish eating, and the pig's foot rice can't finish eating".
When many people mention Chaoshan cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is chaoshan beef meatball and beef hotpot.
Beef hot pot began to appear and develop in the 1940s. After decades of development, Chaoshan beef hot pot is now very professional, and the beef in each part is clearly divided. How long does it take to rinse which part of the meat to achieve the best taste, and it is accurate to the second.
Helping to bring beef balls is the task that these Chaoshan people who are developing abroad will get before the festival every year. Good beef balls are made from fresh beef ham. After the fascia is removed, it is crushed by a machine, then special seasoning is added, and then the ball is squeezed into water at a specific temperature for molding. The beef balls made in this way have a strong taste, juicy inside and full of meat.
Sugar cakes in Chaoshan are generally used for wedding, having children, adult ceremony and other festive occasions. Buy congou occasionally. There are many kinds of sugar cakes in Chaoshan, such as mung bean cakes in Huilai and sugar onion pancakes in Shantou.
Sugar onion pancake
Sugar onion pancake
Since its birth, the sugar cake in Chaoshan has been following the ancient law and has not changed much. Even the outer packaging is antique, with local characteristics of Chaoshan.
Although a new generation of children, including most of the post-90s generation, have little interest in the sugar cakes in Chaoshan hometown, and fewer people make them, I still hope that this festive and sweet food can continue and be carried forward.
In my opinion, bean paste is definitely one of the most representative Chaoshan flavor seasonings.
Of course, the bean paste here refers to Puning bean paste, which originated in Hongyang Town, Puning, and was made from high-quality soybeans with flour, salt and other seasonings through natural fermentation and sun drying.
This kind of bean paste is very versatile, and there are almost no dishes that it can't add in Chaoshan area. For example, you can add cooking, roast chicken or boiled fish.