Henan cuisine

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Henan cuisine, also known as Yu cuisine or Zhongyuan cuisine, comes from central China's Henan province. Because the province is landlocked, its food blends styles from nearby regions like Jiangsu and Beijing. It offers a wide range of flavors—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty—and many dishes balance these tastes.

Key ingredients and style: Pork is the main meat, but soups often use mutton or lamb. Onions are common, and wheat-based foods like shaobing are staples. Animal fat was used for frying, though its use is decreasing. Henan cooking uses many methods—boiling, stewing, steaming, frying and deep-frying—with thick, homemade sauces. The cuisine aims for harmony and balance.

History in brief: Henan cooking is very old, dating back to the Xia dynasty (21st–17th century BCE). By the end of Xia there were banquet-style Henan dishes. In the Shang era seasoning broadened for harmony. During the Northern Song period (c. 960–1127 CE) the cuisine reached its peak, with Kaifeng as the capital and more fried foods. Dishes were once divided by social status, from imperial courts to markets and temples. After the Southern Song fell, the cuisine declined but later blended with styles from surrounding regions, especially Beijing and Jiangsu.

Notable dishes (easy descriptions):
- Yellow River Carp with Baked Noodles: sweet-sour carp with very thin baked noodles.
- Pan-fried head and tail of grass carp: glossy, fragrant fish with tender meat.
- Hulatang: a thick, spicy, numbing soup with beef or mutton, gluten and peppers.
- Zhengzhou braised noodles: noodles cooked with braised meat in several varieties.
- Wuxiang shaobing: five-spice flat bread often served with pork.
- Luoyang Water Banquet: a refined soup with egg slices carved like peony flowers.
- Bianjing Roasted Duck: sweet-and-sour roasted duck.

Henan cuisine reflects the region’s history and its role as a cultural crossroads, blending traditional techniques with regional flavors to create hearty, balanced dishes.