Every place has its own distinctive dishes, and Yongzhou City is no exception. Yongzhou, commonly known as "Xiaoxiang", has a history of more than 2,100 years since it came to the Marquis of Quanling in 124 BC. Historical celebrities such as Huai Su, Huang Gai, He Xiangu, Zhou Dunyi, Li Da and Tao Zhu all came from Yongzhou.

Let’s learn about Yongzhou food together!

1. Dong'an Chicken

Dongan Chicken is named after its cooking method which originated in Luhong Town, Dong'an County. It has a long history and enjoys a great reputation. According to data, as early as the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Dong'an people began to cook "Dongan Chicken".

Dongan Chicken is a delicacy with a long history and is well-known at home and abroad. It is listed as one of the state banquet recipes and the first of the eight major Hunan dishes. "Dongan Chicken" has experienced the evolution of three dynasties. In the Western Jin Dynasty, it was called "Chen Vinegar Chicken", in the late Qing Dynasty, it was called "Guanbao Chicken", and it was not until the Republic of China that it was called "Dongan Chicken". This dish uses fresh and tender hen meat, paired with chili peppers (red, pointed, dry), scallions, ginger, cooking wine, vinegar, white sugar, MSG, cooking wine, chicken powder, Sichuan peppercorns, peanut oil, starch, sesame oil, stir-fried in a pot Stir-fried. The finished product is bright in color, tender in texture, sour and spicy, fat but not greasy, you won't get tired of eating it, full of aroma, rich in nutrients, and has six flavors: fragrant, sweet, sour, spicy, tender and crispy.

2. Yongzhou Blood Duck

Yongzhou Blood Duck is a traditional famous dish in Yongzhou, Hunan.

Yongzhou blood ducks are divided into many types, including Jiangyong, Daoxian, Xintian, Ningyuan, Lanshan, Dong'an, Shuangpai and so on. In the local area, almost every household will make this dish. It is delicious, appetizing and cooling blood.

It is said that in the early days of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Army, led his soldiers to attack Yongzhou City. He ordered the chef to prepare the meals before dark so that the soldiers could eat and drink enough to fight the enemy bravely. When the head chef was cooking the duck, he discovered that due to time constraints, the duck feathers were not plucked completely. This would definitely affect everyone's appetite, and there was a risk of beheading if he missed the important military flight. In order to take the overall situation into consideration and save his own life, the head chef quickly poured all the blood from the duck into the pot. When it was time for the banquet, bowls of duck delicacies mixed with duck blood were all served to the table. As a result, everyone had a great appetite, and everyone ate like a war drum. Naturally, they won a great victory at dawn. At the celebration banquet, someone asked the chef what he cooked last night, but the old chef stuttered and couldn't answer. In the end, it was Hong Xiuquan’s sister Hong Xuanjiao who said: Just call it “Yongzhou Blood Duck”. So "Yongzhou Blood Duck" got its name from this, and it has been passed down to this day. After generations of Yongzhou chefs have painstakingly studied and carefully prepared it, "Yongzhou Blood Duck" is world-famous for its unique taste.

3. Ningyuan Yongdoufu

Ningyuan Yongdoufu is a traditional dish in Ningyuan County, Hunan Province. It belongs to Hunan cuisine. Ningyuan Yongdoufu has a long history of hundreds of years. This is recorded in the "Ling District Chronicles" and "Ningyuan County Chronicles". It is a dish with pork and fried tofu as the main ingredients. First, the water tofu is fried with camellia oil to resemble a peach, which is evenly sized, yellow in color, tough and hollow in the middle. Secondly, use 80% lean meat and 20% fat meat. You can mix it with white garlic, garlic leaves, a little ginger, red pepper or chili powder, salt, allspice and other condiments according to your personal taste. Chop them together to make a filling. Make a small opening in the fried tofu, scoop the stuffing into the tofu, and squeeze the tofu into a round mound. Put it in a pot and steam it over water, then it's ready to eat.

4. Lingling Salted Duck

Lingling Salted Duck originated in the late Qing Dynasty and is famous for its fragrance, fatness, crispness and tenderness. When making it, choose fat and tender ducks of more than two and a half kilograms. After slaughtering, remove the feathers and take out the internal organs. Then mix together one and a half ounces of salt, one ounce of soju, half a ounce of soy sauce and an appropriate amount of five-spice powder for each duck and mix well. , smear the duck inside and outside, marinate it in the vat for one day, turn the vat and marinate it for another day, so that all the seasonings have penetrated into the duck meat, take out the hemp rope and tie the duck's nose, use bamboo skin to open the abdomen, and press it harder Flat, dry in the sun for one to two days, then hang in a ventilated place to blow for about 20 days. The salted duck made before and after the Winter Solstice every year is both durable and crispy.

5. Rice vermicelli with lotus leaves and meat

Rice vermicelli with lotus leaves is a popular feast for the people of Jianghua during their festive banquets. It is fragrant and delicious. The preparation method is: first cut the meat into square pieces, stir-fry the rice and star anise until fragrant, grind and mix, add refined salt, white wine, soy sauce, five-spice powder, white sugar and other condiments, and then wrap it with lotus leaves ( Therefore, it is also called lotus bandage), one to two kilograms per bag, place it in a steamer or pot until the lotus leaves are oily. When eating, untie the lotus leaves while they are hot. The fragrance is fragrant and delicious.

6. Ganghwa 18-year-old rice

"Ganghwa 18-year-old rice wine" refers to a snack with a unique flavor based on "Holy Water" tofu balls. There are water tofu stuffing, pepper stuffing, bitter melon stuffing, screw gourd stuffing, rice tofu stuffing, fried tofu stuffing, mushroom stuffing, garlic stuffing, konjac tofu stuffing, bamboo shoot stuffing, eggplant stuffing, loofah stuffing, lotus root stuffing, winter melon stuffing, pumpkin flower stuffing Stuffed ox ear, stuffed radish, stuffed egg. The selection, preparation and consumption methods of the other "Seventeen Brews" among the "Eighteen Brews" are basically the same as those of the "Holy Water Tofu Brew". They are diverse, beautiful and delicious, each has its own flavor, and its taste is unique and endlessly memorable. When you come to Jianghua as a guest, the "members" of "Eighteen Brews" are always indispensable on the dining table with many delicacies.

7. Yaojia bacon

Yaojia bacon is a specialty of Jianghua Yao Autonomous County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province. The meat of Yao bacon is bright red, the fat is translucent, crispy in the mouth, fat but not greasy, and has an excellent taste. It is the best delicacy for Yao compatriots to enjoy daily and for banquets. It was named after the creation of King Pan, the ancestor of the Yao people. Its production method is unique to Jianghua Yao compatriots. It has been used in state banquets many times and has won unanimous praise from tasters. The meat strips are golden and shiny all over, the meat is fragrant and the bones are crispy, fat but not greasy, the flavor is unique and it will not rot over the years.

8. Duck foot buns

Duck foot buns are a local specialty snack in Jiangyong. The specially marinated duck feet are famous for their special craftsmanship and excellent taste. Duck feet buns are duck feet pickled using a special process. The middle of each duck foot is wrapped with specially pickled duck heart, and the outside is wrapped with pickled duck intestines. It is amber in appearance, bright in luster, and can be eaten after steaming. The duck feet buns taste crispy and chewy, and make you salivate when you bite them.

9. Daozhou Pork

Daozhou Pork is a traditional dish of Dao County and one of the most famous specialties of Daozhou. Daozhou Braised Pork inherits the local traditional smoking technology of Dao County folk for nearly a thousand years, and is carefully crafted with modern scientific formulas. The materials are carefully selected and the taste is unique and pure. It has the characteristics of fresh color, fragrant taste, crisp texture, etc., and is rich in local characteristics and Country flavor.

10. Lanshan Camellia oleifera

Lanshan Camellia oleifera is one of the specialties of Yongzhou. It is also called Baba Camellia oleifera. It is a traditional snack in Lanshan County. It is spicy, fragrant, sweet, crisp, and Famous for its delicious taste. Deep-fry the high-quality glutinous rice from Blue Mountain into small lumps and put it into a bowl. Top it with peanuts, soybeans, frozen rice, red beans, soybeans, and corn. Sprinkle some chopped green onion on the surface, and then soak it in the boiling ginger soup. There is a little brown sugar and tea leaves. Blue Mountain oil tea smells fragrant, tastes sweet, spicy and crunchy, and is very delicious. In addition, Camellia oleifera also has the effect of producing sweat and dispelling cold, promoting blood circulation, and playing a certain role in preventing diseases.