Guizhou Cuisine, or Qian Cuisine, is characterised by its use of chilli peppers and is spicy and delicate. The main courses of Qian dishes have close relations with chilli peppers and it is a well known fact that Guizhou people like eating them. This doesn’t mean that they just eat a lot of spicy food, but means that they form their unique cooking style and taste from cooking and eating peppers. The taste is moderate but not particularly spicy. Qian dishes have a close relationship with Sichuan dishes but the two types of dishes are different from each other in terms of spiciness. Both are spicy and hot but Guizhou dishes are much hotter and spicier than Sichuan ones. If we say that Sichuan dishes, such as Stir-fired Spicy Chicken (Lazi Ji, 辣子鸡) and Poached Pork Slices in Hot Chilli Oil (Shui Zhu Rou, 水煮肉), are stimulating and sharp, Guizhou dishes could be labelled as lingering and pungent leaving an unforgettable feeling and a memorable experience. For instance, Stewed Fish in Hot Pot with Boiled Chilli Oil and Red Peppers (Huoguo Yu, 火锅鱼) , as a typical Qian dish, gives one a surprisingly hot impression at the first glimpse of its shape, and the reddish oil brings forth a boundless imagination making people assume that due to the hotness, they could hardly close their mouths after eating it. However, when you eat it, what you feel is the fresh, tender and sweetness of the fish and the pepper corns make your tongue numb and tingly.
Guizhou people also like the sweet and sour flavour of stewed tomatoes. If braised with fish, such sour soup is extremely fragrant and tremendously appetizing. Thus, the local people call this dish “Boiled Fish in Sour Tomato Soup (Suantang Yu, 酸汤鱼). Before eating the fish, it is recommended that people must first drink the soup. Immediately, their mouths will be filled with juice and then using chopsticks, eat the tender fish meat. It is said that if a local person eats a big bowl of steamed rice while having a bowl of boiled fish, the bowl of food would be eaten up in minutes. An old local saying goes that if you don’t drink the sour soup for just three days, your legs will become weak and shake while walking. Each family makes pickled vegetables which stimulate the appetite and increase digestion. Sour soup also has the functions of refreshing, disinfecting and sterilising, degreasing and invigorating the stomach. Thus if you travel to Guizhou, you’d better taste the local sour dishes. Local Guizhou dishes are traditionally acidic incorporating locally grown tomatoes, the aicidity of fermented chillli, sticky rice and pickled shrimps providing a strong flavour that is fresh and sour, which can't be experienced in dishes elsewhere.
Main Dishes
Braised Spicy and Crispy Fish with Guizhou Pickled Chilli (Zaola Cuipi Yu, 糟辣脆皮鱼)
Guizhou Pickled Chilli (Zao Lajiao, 糟辣椒) is a famous flavouring of Qian Cuisine. Braised Spicy and Crispy Fish with Guizhou Pickled Chilli is a popular traditional Qian dish. A fresh carp weighing about half a kilogram is gutted and grooved at both sides, coated with egg, starch, salt and other seasonings then deep-fried in boiled oil until it turns golden. After the carp is served on a plate, ginger and garlic are fried in the pan with the leftover oil. Then, chicken stock, salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cooked Guizhou Pickled Chilli are added and evenly stir-fried, then onion slices and starch are added to the pan and mixed until the soup becomes thick. It is then finally poured on top of the fish to complete the dish. The dish tastes impressively crispy and delicious. It is sweet and salty, slightly acidic with a brilliant red tinge.
Fish Hot Pot in Sour Soup (Suantang Yu Huoguo, 酸汤鱼火锅)
This dish has been tremendously popular in Guizhou for years. The soup has a strong and unique taste which is fresh and delicious. The fish is succulent, tender, refreshing and appetising which people have become addicted to. It originated from Kaili region in southeast of Guizhou province. The raw materials of the sour soup are sourced from mountainous regions and they are fermented naturally in a clean environment .They are organic and healthy produce.
The most unusual dish is Sautéed Mixed Peppers (Lajiao Chao Lajiao, 辣椒炒辣椒)
An old local saying goes that one of the most unusual things in Guizhou is that peppers serve as the main raw materials. There are many different types of pepper-based dishes. The most unusual one is Fried Mixed Peppers which is stir-fired with chopped green, red and yellow peppers commonly known as Fried Mixed Three-coloured Peppers (Chao San Jiao, 炒三椒). It looks green and red and tastes deliciously spicy. Obviously, the dish is among the most unusual.
The most Appealing dish is Baked Fermented Tofu with Sauce (Lian’ai Doufu Guo, 恋爱豆腐果)
Diced fermented tofu is baked over a moderate fire using burning chaff until the tofu becomes soft inside and brown outside. Before eating, use a bamboo slice to vertically cut open the Tofu, add the sauce made from soy sauce, sesame oil, shallot slices, ginger juice, monosodium glutamate, pepper powder, herba houttuynia, and other flavourings and enjoy while it is very hot. It is common to see young people chatting whilst eating this food. It tastes spicy, sour and fragrant, symbolizing the various feelings of love.
The most savoury dish is Leijia Deep Fried Tofu Balls (Leijia Doufu Yuanzi, 雷家豆腐圆子)
This is a dish with a history of more than 130 years and was created by the Lei Family.
Tender Tofu and pepper, star aniseed, fennel, cassia, cardamom, Kaempferia galangal (a sort of ginger), salt and shallots and other seasonings are mixed together and made into round ball like eggs. After being deep-fried, the balls look bright yellow on the outside and are full of honeycomb-shaped bubbles producing a crispy taste. Before eating, dip them into a sauce made from soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, vinegar, shallot slices and herba houttuynia. This dish tastes spicy, delicious, crispy and tender.
The most popular dish is Kung Pao Chicken / Sautéed Chicken with Chilli and Peanuts (Gongbao Jiding, 宫保鸡丁)
This popular dish was created by Ding Baozhen, from Pingyuan County (today’s Zhijin County) during the Qing Dynasty. Diced Chicken breasts are evenly mixed with salt, wine, starch and soy sauce. Huaxi pepper (a locally grown pepper that grows in Huaxi County), ginger and garlic are boiled quickly in hot oil and then the marinated chicken is added and quickly stir-fried. The dish is spicy, aromatic, rich in colour and tender. Because Ding Baozhen once served as Shandong imperial inspector and Sichuan governor, he brought this dish into Sichuan and Shandong, thus becoming a traditionally famous dish in Guizhou, Sichuan and Shandong province. Internationally, it is commonly known as “Kung Pao Chicken” and enjoys a great reputation for its spicy and hot chilli flavour.
Sautéed Pickled Pork with herba houttuynia (Larou Chao Zhe’ergen, 腊肉炒折耳根)
Most people are not familiar with herba houttuynia. Actually, it is only the root of the houttuynia plant that is used in this dish requiring different cooking techniques quite different from elsewhere. It has a long thin white stalk, tastes very soft but has a strong odour. Once cooked, the smell isn’t particularly strong however some people still notice this special smell whilst chewing it. The pork used is pickled locally in Guizhou whose colour is darker than that of the pickled pork products sold in the market. The edge of the pork looks purple and the finished dish is delicious and tasty.
Preserved Carp, Tongxiang Style (Tongxiang Yanyu, 侗乡腌鱼)
The carp from the rice fields in Tongxiang County of southeast Guizhou is used as the main ingredient. After the refining process this traditional fish can be stored for long periods of time. Such preserved carp is unique in flavour, hot, spicy, sweet and sour, a little salty and has a slight numbing effect. The dish tastes soft, savoury, delicious and rich in nutrition. It can be eaten instantly or cooked either by boiling, baking or frying. The dish may stimulate the appetite, increase digestion and invigorate the spleen. It has a long history and is very popular nationwide. It is said that it used to be given to the emperor as a gift. Some people say that carp preserved for more than ten years is an excellent medicine for curing enteritis and diarrhoea.
Snacks
Drinks
Guizhou Maotai(贵州茅台)
Guizhou Maotai is nicknamed “the national drink” of China. Originally started to entertain the nation since the Qing dynasty, it has a proud history of over 200 years. Its reputation was internationally recognized in 1915, when the Chinese “national drink” amazed judges at the World’s Fair in San Francisco and was awarded prizes. Since then, maotai is known as one of the best tequilas around the world, along with whiskey and brandy. It is often presented as luxury gifts to foreign leaders when Chinese political officials go on diplomatic tours. The brewing method of maotai is now part of the cultural heritage of China.
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