Taste of Wuyuan
Wuyuan historically belonged to Huizhou, a region in southeastern China, now located in Huangshan city in Anhui Province. Huizhou consisted of six counties and Wuyuan was one of them. Wuyuan cuisine is considered Hui Cuisine, the signature cooking techniques of the cuisine incorporate stewing and steaming, not much frying. Dishes tend to be steamed meat/vegetables with rice flour and paste dishes like paste tofu, paste vegetables, etc. This way of cooking retains most nutrition, and with fresh local ingredients that are mostly from villagers’ front yard or backyard vegetable gardens, the food tastes original and delicious. Having home-cooked meals with local families is often another motivation to visit Wuyuan.
Wuyuan Cuisine
Steamed Red Carp
Red Carps were first introduced in Wuyuan about 300 years ago. These fish look appealing, their meat is tender and delicious, it is a beloved dish served for guests and visitors.
Paste Tofu
This is a staple dish commonly seen on casual family meals and on banquet tables in Wuyuan. Tofu is a common dish in China, but how tofu is cooked in Wuyuan is something you can’t find anywhere else. Simple and nutritious, this is a favourite dish loved by locals and visitors.
Steamed Small River Fishes
Mountains and rivers are two key elements in Wuyuan’s landscapes, so naturally you will find that river fishes are a main protein dish on the menu in every restaurant in Wuyuan. The most authentic way of making this dish is to steam it, mixing the small river fishes with rice flour and local herbs. Beware: these small fishes are cooked with bones in them, if you can’t tolerate fish bones, you should skip it.
Stir-fried bamboo shoots
This dish is Spring special. Wuyuan is a mountainous county, you can see bamboo groves all over the place. Every Spring, local people love getting out to the mountains to pick and collect bamboo shoots. These stir-fried bamboo shoots are tender, fresh and tasty. If you happen to be in Wuyun in March or April, ask this seasonal vegetable dish, you will love it.
Stir-fried Chili Eggs
Eggs and fresh chilies, two very simple and inexpensive ingredients, yet the dish made of these two basic ingredients is eye catching and full of flavors. This dish is also a staple, readily available in any restaurant in Wuyuan. When you are hungry or in a hurry, order this dish, it will be done in a few minutes, it comes out delicious and nutritious.
Fermented spicy fish
Selected from local fresh lake fish, processed with traditional rice wine, spice, herbs, and carefully packaged, this is the local delicacy you can take home after the Wuyuan trip to share with your family and friends.
Steamed Rice Cake
Made of sticky rice, eggs, and meat, steamed hot and sliced thin, this is a traditional food made by every household for festivals and special occasions in Wuyuan.
Savoury pancake
This savoury pancake is made of rice flour with minced dry shrimps, mushrooms, dry bamboo shoots and spring onions for colour. This dish is great for breakfast.
Green Dumplings
In spring, when the wild wormwood grows, this is the season for freshly made Green Dumplings, namely QingMingGuo, which local people used to bring to the grave yard to honor their ancestors during Qingming Festival. Now they are widely available year-round.
