The development of cooking technology in China is closely related to all countries in the past. Of the seven ancient capitals in China, Henan accounts for three. Anyang is the oldest capital. BC 1300 years ago, King Pan Geng of Shang Dynasty established his capital here, which was called Yin. Luoyang is the ancient capital of nine dynasties and the capital of eight dynasties; Kaifeng is the seven dynasties. After the capital of Luoyang was established in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the catering system was further established. There were cooks, bubble people, wax people, food doctors, wine officials and other officials who were responsible for the king's meals and sacrifices. The famous "Eight Treasures of the King of Zhou" in history had a great influence on Henan cuisine. After the inheritance and development of chefs in past dynasties, the content is constantly enriched and the skills are constantly improved. In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian was appointed in the imperial court, changed the title of Zhou, and made Luoyang its capital. Folk soup dishes in the nearby mountainous areas entered the palace and became a customized "Luoyang water mat" after being refined by experts, which is a wonderful flower in Henan cuisine.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin pursued the policy of "those who occupy all the officials are afraid of their shortcomings, and those who occupy all the people are left with no more". Bianjing, the capital city, is the largest consumer city in China, which has "the treasure of the world and belongs to the city;" The odor in Huihuan area is recorded in the kitchen. These conditions make Henan cuisine form a complete color, flavor and shape system. Including all kinds of court food, official food, local food, folk food and temple food. Palace cuisine is the essence of Henan cuisine, with wide sources, strict selection of materials, exquisite skills, pure taste, exquisite tableware and stress on diet therapy. Such as "Chili Chicken with Pepper Moon", "Oolong Pan Zhu", "Dragon and Phoenix Becoming Lucky", "Fresh Soup" and "Pearl Soup". Official dishes pay attention to kung fu, require elegance and deliberate innovation, and put forward the formula of "rotten, hot and less", saying that rotten food is easy to chew and digest, hot food does not lose its fragrance, "one hot and three fresh", and less food is not greasy. Such as Covering Four Birds, Seeking Phoenix, Fermented Bean Curd, Purple Crispy Meat and Snow in the Green. Temple dishes are mostly vegetarian dishes, and a large number of monks and nuns develop vegetarian food all day long, not only to kill time, but also to entertain donors in exchange for giving alms. Such as "vegetarian foot", "steamed vegetarian chicken", "lung-nourishing jade", "mountains and seas" and "braised vegetarian sea cucumber". Henan folk food is the foundation and source of Henan cuisine, and the raw materials are the native products cultivated, raised, collected, fished and hunted by laborers in past dynasties. Its cooking methods are also constantly improving and innovating; Its characteristics are more prominent, that is, "heavy color, strong taste, full soup, cooked, hot to eat." Such as "braised pork", "braised chicken", "roasted meatballs" and "stewed vegetables". Market cuisine combines the essence of various dishes and meets the needs of market competition, especially in Bianjing. Hotels and restaurants are all over the streets, and there are countless kinds of snacks. Therefore, it can be said that market cuisine is the main part of Henan cuisine. In addition, there is a tribe of Henan cuisine called Shi Mingcai, which was created by intellectuals. Among the four ancient Chinese academies, there are two in Henan: Songyang Academy and Chengyang Academy, which are places for scholars' humanities clubs, pen clubs, poetry clubs and lectures; The famous "Seven Scholars of Jian 'an", "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest", "Twenty-four Friends of Jin and Gu" and "Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties" all gathered in the Central Plains. There are also some mountain hermits who lived between mountains and rivers in Henan during the war. These literati often create exquisite food to show the romance of celebrities. Such as "Dongpo Tofu", "Huoxiang Fish", "Fried Phoenix Tail" and "Fried Laojunmei", as well as people's favorite delicious flowers, traditional Chinese medicine and wild vegetables.

The reason why Henan cuisine has a long history is also related to geographical phenology. There are mountains and waters in Henan, Taihang Mountain in the northwest, Funiu Mountain in the west, Tongbai Mountain in the south and Dabie Mountain in the southeast. Nanyang region belongs to Jianghan Basin, south-central and eastern parts belong to Huaihe River Basin, north-central part belongs to Yellow River Basin, and north part belongs to Haihe River Basin. Plains, basins and valleys account for 56% of the province, and the rest are mountains and hills. The whole province belongs to the transitional zone between subtropical zone and warm temperate zone, with humid and semi-humid monsoon climate. Therefore, grains, vegetables, dried and fresh fruits, livestock and poultry, fish and so on in northern China are all produced in Henan. The mountainous area is rich in fungus, tremella, Hericium erinaceus, velvet antler, tripe, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, leeks, chestnuts, hawthorn, kiwi fruit, Xinyang Maojian tea and other fungus plants, which are famous both inside and outside the province. In the plain area, Chen Zhou Day Lily, Shangqiu Huqin, Zhoukou Asparagus, Huaifu Yam, Linxian Zanthoxylum, Jiaozuo Toona sinensis, Yongcheng Zanthoxylum, Zhongmou White Garlic and Tsinghua Ginger are also famous at home and abroad. The main meats of Central Plains residents are pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks and fish. These fish are the famous crucian carp and Huaiyang crucian carp, Yellow River carp and Luo carp, Weiyuan Monopterus albus, Luohe Monopterus albus and Huainan. Huainan eggs, especially "Sanhuang Chicken" from Gushi and Zhengyang, are very popular in cooking. Historically, shipping in Henan extended in all directions, and seafood entered Luoyang in the Sui Dynasty. By the Northern Song Dynasty, seafood had become an indispensable raw material for Henan cuisine. Coupled with high-quality brewed products and bean products with a long history, the main ingredients, auxiliary materials, small ingredients and seasonings of Henan cuisine are a complete set.

Yuan Zicai, a famous writer and gourmet in Qing Dynasty, wrote in "Menu with the Garden": "As the old saying goes, food is not as beautiful as utensils, and Si language is also true". Explain the important position of tableware and tableware in food culture. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Yan, Ru, Jun, Ge and butyl five were famous kilns, and there were three in Henan. The official kilns are located in Kaifeng and Zhengzhou. Their glazes are sky blue, blue and white under the moon. Porcelains are extremely fine, and they have the reputation of "blue as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper and loud as ribbons". Ru kiln is located in Linru county, where one kind of fetal bone is fragrant gray and the glaze color is close to egg green; The other fetal bone is light gray and the glaze color is near green. Patterns include flowers, water waves, fish, birds and so on. Jun kiln is located in Yuxian county. The tableware and tableware produced by Jun kiln are dignified, simple and elegant, with rich enamel and vivid crystal. It is "a birthday is as green as spring water and as red as sunrise", which has the artistic effect of kiln change. The above-mentioned three-kiln porcelain is an indispensable dish in food and cultural activities, and it is collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing and listed as a treasure.

China's diet is divided into southern flavor and northern flavor, and the southern flavor is represented by Nanjing, Hangzhou and Jiangling. Wei Bei is represented by Xi, Beijing and Shenyang. Although Luoyang and Kaifeng belong to the northern flavor, they are different from the northern flavor because of their different geographical location and phenological conditions. If Xi cuisine is "salty", Kaifeng cuisine is light, light and low in salt. The diet in the Central Plains is related to the people's "simple, honest, square and benevolent" nature. Cooking must be even and smooth, except for special flavor, enhanced flavor, hidden salt flavor, fixed flavor, five flavors and mixed flavors. Therefore, Henan cuisine has strong adaptability, is suitable for men, women and children, and is very popular in all directions in Xian Yi. In order to take care of the unique taste, Henan cuisine has the tradition of "other small ingredients do it yourself". Small and exquisite cups, bottles and cans are used to hold Chili oil, salt and pepper, Jiang Mo, garlic paste, onion, mustard, sesame sauce, fermented bean curd, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar for diners to choose from.

"Full of delicacies, all in a bowl of soup", "singing opera, chef's soup" all illustrate the position of soup in cooking. Henan cuisine is divided into soup, white soup, hairy soup, clear soup and clear soup. The thick one is milky white, mellow and delicious. In the selection of materials, ingredients, knife work, fireworks, vegetables, table setting, table viewing and other aspects are very elegant, meticulous and serious. To sum up, the characteristics of Henan cuisine are: fresh and light, with four distinct seasons. Elegant color and moderate taste. The taste of the Central Plains diet is generally "sour in spring and bitter in summer, moderate in autumn and slightly salty in winter". In terms of dishes, there is a saying that "Chun Lv is gorgeous, summer is bright and elegant, Sanqiu is harmonious in seven colors, and winter is red, orange, purple and yellow".

Many famous people at home and abroad are very yearning for Henan cuisine. For example, Mr. Lu Xun lived in Beijing for nearly fifteen years and in Shanghai for ten years. According to Lu Xun's diary, he has been to more than 50 restaurants in Beijing, among which the frequency of going to Henan restaurants accounts for a large proportion. When I was living in Shanghai, I often went to the fish restaurant of Zhimeilou in Liangyuan to entertain my relatives and friends. 19341February 9, Lu Xun wrote in his diary, "Invite guests to dinner at Liangyuan in the evening. The guests are Xiao Jun and his wife, Ayer and his wife, A Zi, Zhong Fang and Guangping to meet the sea. " 1May 8, 935, "Hu Feng and Ye Er were invited to a banquet in Liangyuan". In addition, the words "Ordering in Liangyuan Henan Restaurant" are also scattered in Lu Xun's diary. Lu Xun likes to eat hot and sour pork belly soup, fried walnut loin, fried carp noodles with sweet and sour sauce, and baked eggs with three fresh iron pots in Henan cuisine.

Another gentleman, Liang Shiqiu, left the mainland for more than 40 years. He used to be the curator of Taiwan Province Compilation Museum and Literature Museum. He translated a lot of works in his life. 1985, 80-year-old Mr. Liang wrote the book "Elegant Houses Talk about Eating", which has a lot of space to talk about Henan cuisine. He especially appreciates the Yellow River carp dish in Henan cuisine, saying that "it can be unique in the catering industry"; Say "sweet and sour carp" is "vaguely transparent and delicious"; "two fish" and "unique"; It is said that "tile fish" is "a must in carp dishes, and the color will make people salivate", and "iron pot eggs" are still fresh in my memory.

Since the reform and opening up, the influence of Central Plains food culture on compatriots in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas Chinese has further expanded. A few years ago, several intellectual friends came back from the United States and Taiwan Province Province together. After eating a meal at the Juniper Hotel in Kaifeng, they were full of praise and said, "This is not a meal, it is highly enjoyed by the food culture department in China." Some people say, "beauty lies in eating, but not saying"! They especially envy "braised tripe", "crispy duck", "soft fried noodles with sweet and sour carp" and soup. I brought back some Henan cookbooks when I came back.

Henan cuisine has been studied, excavated, inherited and innovated by famous chefs, diners, scribes and the masses in past dynasties. There are more than 60 cooking techniques and thousands of famous dishes. It is one of the most important cuisines in China, and it has been decided for a long time. "Brahma Lu Lu Si" contains: "Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Henan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other provinces, food has its own flavor, food has its own specialties, different people, different places", and points out my eight major cuisines. In the early 1950s, when eight famous wines, eight famous dishes and eight major cuisines were discussed in the food culture section, Henan cuisine was one of the eight major cuisines.