Unforgettable homesickness-Xixian cuisine

Xixian county is located in the northeast of Xinyang city, with humid climate and beautiful scenery. The Huaihe River passes through here. The ancient and profound farming culture and the continuous and excellent Huaishui civilization meet here. Huaibei wheat is strong, Huainan rice is fragrant, the staple food is excellent, and the fruits and vegetables are delicious. Nearly 2 million mu of "fertile land" bears the story of "money can't buy a salty slope in the west, half a meter and half a steamed stuffed bun".

Since ancient times, the Central Plains, Chu culture, Wu culture and other cultures have collided and accumulated here in Xixian County, where local dishes and food culture have converged and blended, creating many food cultures with strong local characteristics. The industrious and intelligent people of Xixian county use local materials and adopt cooking techniques such as stewing, stewing, steaming, sliding, frying, kang and frying. , thus forming a distinctive catering characteristics. At the same time, Xixian cuisine has formed a large number of local cuisines with a huge system by constantly learning and absorbing the cooking techniques of other cuisines.

Pot-stewed vegetables series: Pot-stewed vegetables mainly maintain the original flavor of the main ingredients, so that the flavor inside is completely decomposed. Usually stews have the characteristics of complete shape, rich juice and delicious taste. The representative stews in Xixian County include braised chicken with steamed bread, braised chicken with red claws, and small cola fish stewed in vinegar.

Stew series: Xixian stew is the representative of the diet in southern Henan, with rich and mellow taste, emphasizing the original flavor, and rarely adding monosodium glutamate, chicken essence and other ingredients. Most of the raw materials used are natural original ecological foods unique to Xixian County. In particular, the earthen pot stew in Xixian County uses green raw materials, and the soup is half-and-half, which is crisp and delicious, and strives to return to the original and is deeply loved by local people. Representative dishes include braised eel with bacon (loach), stewed tripe, stewed fish head and stewed old duck.

Steamed vegetables series: Steamed vegetables are cooking methods that use the steam generated after boiling as a heat transfer medium to make food mature. Steamed vegetables have the characteristics of high water content, moist, soft and glutinous, original flavor, delicious soup and clear taste. Steamed vegetable raw materials are in a closed state during the heating process and are in direct contact with steam. Generally, the heating time is short, and a large amount of water will not evaporate, so the original flavor of the finished product is all there, and the taste is tender or soft. Representative dishes are steamed elm leaves, steamed Sophora japonica, steamed Schizonepeta, steamed original flavor and so on.

Slippery vegetables series: Slippery vegetables are the dietary inspiration gained by the people of Xixian county in their labor, and also a great wisdom. Slippery dishes are characterized by more soup and less oil, and the taste is extremely tender and smooth. Representative dishes are beef, fish fillets and pork slices.

Miankang series: Miankang cuisine is inspired by Miankang chicken in Xixian County. Noodles Kang chicken is characterized by tenderness and good bite, which can be eaten by the elderly. This soup is rich in flavor and can stimulate appetite. Other noodle kang series are all original practices from noodle kang chicken. Representative dishes include noodle kang chicken, noodle kang mutton, noodle kang green pepper ring, noodle kang gourd soup and so on.

Stir-fry series: stir-fry is a cooking technique in which raw materials are hung in slurry or put into a large number of oil pans at different temperatures to heat and mature. When frying raw materials, the amount of oil is more than the main material, which is 2-3 times, and sometimes even more. Big oil, fast frying and good cooking effect. Representative dishes are dry fried fish, crispy shrimp, fried spring rolls, fried radish balls and so on.

In addition, Xixian's specialties include pan-fried Huai River white Diao fish, iron pot fish pieces, casserole fish pieces, iron pot sheep three treasures, Liu Wu fish fillets and other banquet dishes, as well as brushed chicken pieces, crispy steamed buns, stuffed cakes, steamed stuffed buns with salted duck eggs, sesame steamed buns and other snacks.