Hubei Cuisine, or Er Cuisine, has developed over the years from the local dishes of Jingnan, Xiangyang, Ezhou, Hanmian and other areas in the central plains of the Hanjiang River with Wuhan Cuisine as its representative food. Hubei province is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River just to the north of Dongting Lake and has a moderate climate and rich local specialties.
Hubei province is known as the Land of Rice and Fish since it has a great number of rivers and lakes bringing excellent conditions for the development and cultivation of these favourable natural resources. Hubei Cuisine is characterised by its thick soup, sticky starch, pure and strong flavours and unique traditional style. Its primary cooking skills include steaming, stewing and stir-frying.
Wuhan cuisine has also absorbed the essences of various other local dishes, stressing the need for fine cutting skills, importance of timing, soup cooking and the mixing of colour and design. Jingzhou dishes focuse on the original taste, the freshness and the minimal use of starch. The steamed freshwater fish and other steamed dishes are very unique.
Typical Hubei local dishes are Steamed Wuchang Fish (Qingzheng Wuchang Yu, 清蒸武昌鱼), Braised Mandarin Fish (Wangyi Guiyu, 网衣鳜鱼), Steamed Fish Balls (Yugao Wanzi, 鱼糕丸子), Braised Fish in Soup (Qindun Yu, 清炖鱼), Huangzhou Tofu (Huangzhou Doufu, 黄州豆腐), Steamed Meat Balls Wrapped with Lotus Leaf (Hebao Wanzi, 荷包丸子), Steamed Pork with Glutinous Rice Flour (Fenzhen Rou, 粉蒸肉), Steamed Pearl-shaped Glutinous Rice Balls with Minced Meat (Zheng Zhenzhu Wanzi, 蒸珍珠丸子), Steamed Pork (Zheng Bairou, 蒸白肉), Braised Mixed Meat Balls, Huangpo Style (Shao Sanhe, 烧三合), Crispy Meat with Fresh Vegetables (Sanxian Surou, 三鲜酥肉), Steamed Sweet Assorted Glutinous Rice with Dried Fruit (Sanhui Babao, 散烩八宝), Braised Soft-shelled Turtle (Huangmen Jiayu, 黄焖甲鱼), Braised Mallard (Hongshao Yeya, 红烧野鸭) and Stewed Quail and Quail Eggs (Muzi Dahui, 母子大会).
Main Dishes
Steamed Wuchang Fish (Qingzheng Wuchang Yu, 清蒸武昌鱼)
This dish utilises bream (or Tuantoufang fish in local dialect) living in the Liangzi Lake of Echeng County. The fish is steamed using many different flavourings creating tender meat, a delicious taste and a strong fresh soup. When Chairman Mao Zedong visited Wuhan, he ate this dish many times and even wrote a famous poem, whose verse goes, “it is really enjoyable to taste steamed Wuchang Fish just after swimming in the Yangtze River”. This poem makes the dish popular both at home and abroad and has become famous throughout Wuhan.
Braised Longnose Catfish (Hongshao Huiyu, 红烧鮰鱼)
Braised Longnose Catfish is a famous Hubei traditional dish and well-known both within Hubei and across China. Its raw material is the longnose catfish which lives in the regions between Shishou and Jinkou County, near Wuchang city. The chef first, cleans the fish, cuts it into pieces and deep-fries it. The fish is then stewed along with Shaoxing wine, shallot slices and grated ginger. Once the fish is cooked, water is added along with soy sauce, refined salt and monosodium glutamate and brought to the boil over a moderate heat and simmered until the soup becomes thick. If the soup is still too thin, starch can be added to thicken the sauce. The finished dish looks golden and inviting. The meat tastes tender and soft with a wonderful aromatic flavour.
Steamed Pearl-shaped Glutinous Rice Balls with Mince Meat (Zheng Zhenzhu Wanzi, 蒸珍珠丸子)
The dish uses mince pork and fish with water chestnuts, refined salt, pepper, finely sliced shallots and Shaoxing wine. Next, the mixture is blended together and made into round balls. Then, they are rolled in dry glutinous rice powder and steamed. The finished dish looks clear and white and the steamed glutinous rice is similar looking to a pearl.
Deep-fried Chicken Legs with Mince Meat (Wangyou Babao Jitui, 网油八宝鸡腿)
This is a traditional and popular dish in Shashi City, Hubei province with a long history. Chopped chicken breast, pork, mushroom, squid and bamboo shoots along with shrimps, refined salt, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, grated ginger and shallots are stewed together and stir-fried to make the filling. Egg and starch is added to the mixture then pasted on to the chicken legs, wrapped with pig fat and deep-fried in sesame oil. The finished dish looks slightly yellow and is a little oily but the taste is tender, crisp and uniquely delicious.
Braised Mallard (Hongshao Yeya, 红烧野鸭)
This is a famous traditional dish in Honghu, Hubei province. The cooking method is refined and the timing is important. The braised mallard meat is crispy and tender with a savoury taste. To cook this dish, the selected green-head mallard is stripped of its feathers and intestines, head, tail, paws, feet and spine. It is chopped and sautéed with sesame oil, Shaoxing wine and braised with mixed flavourings until the soup is thick. Finally, shallot slices and pepper are added to complete the dish.
Steamed Sweet Assorted Glutinous Rice with Dried Fruit (Zhenghui Babaofan, 蒸烩八宝饭)
This is the traditional famous dish of Jingzhou, Hubei province, with a history of about a hundred years. It is said that the royal chef of the Qing Dynasty, Ma Dai, created this dish when taking refuge in Jinzhou. The cooking method is very special where steaming and braising are used. The local glutinous rice, lotus seed, Coix Seed, marrow, longan, date and sunflower seeds are mixed together and steamed to make Steamed Sweet Assorted Glutinous Rice with Dried Fruit. Sugar water and boiled pigs fat are then braised with the steamed rice and finally topped with cherries to complete the dish. The dish tastes a little greasy but it is soft and sweet with the fragrance of fruits. It is an indispensable dessert for the feasts of Jinzhou.
Spicy and Hot Shrimp Balls (Mala Xiaqiu, 麻辣虾球)
As a common dish served in summer, they begin to be cooked at the beginning of May, but July and August are the best months to taste this dish. During this period shrimps taste extremely delicious and due to their mouth-watering hot flavours, you might unconsciously eat a whole tray.
Braised Mixed Meat Balls, Huangpo Style (Huangpo Sanhe, 黄陂三合)
The dish gets its name from combining three types of meat balls comprising of mince pork and fish. The fish balls are made up of mince fish, egg white, shallots, ginger juice and pigs fat. The meat balls are made up of mince pork and fish together with some flavours then deep-fried. The meat cakes use the same ingredients with meat balls but they are normally steamed. Cook them together and distinctively, it tastes with the fragrance of both pork and fish.
Food Street
Wuhu Lane’s Breakfast Street
In Wuhan, breakfast is known as ‘spending the morning’. There is a rich variety here, though rice plays a huge part here. Between the 1930s and 1990s, breakfast stalls in Hubu Lane had been gradually increasing in number and you can find several different breakfast dishes here, coming face to face with the heart of Wuhan. You can try Shipopo hot noodles with sesame paste, Jiangming boiled dumplings, Mapo steamed dumplings in soup and many more.
Jiqing Street
Traditional food can be found here in Jiqing Street, along with people selling handicrafts and others selling typical Wuhan snacks. It is located in the downtown area. The food stall market developed in the 1980s and expanded during the next decade. With more then 10,000 customers every day, particularly after ten at night, Jiqing Street is a bright and lively place to be.
The dishes here are mostly produced locally, the most fashionable being duck neck. Lobster, snails, lotus root and smelly tofu can also be found here. Wuchang fish is famous and is a memorable experience. The food is displayed openly in Jiqing Street so customers can see and choose what they want. The street is known as ‘Nine Provinces in One Street’ because the local flavour is absorbed into each different cuisine, such as Sichuan, Huaiyang and Cantonese.
The craftsmen who line this street add extra atmosphere; they sing dramas and ballads while watching the customers. If they see you are happy, they will perform especially for you! Tourists from all over the world come here to experience the folk customs as well as the food.
Snacks
Drinks
Xiaogan Rice Wine (孝感米酒)
As a traditional drink for locals, Xiaogan Rice Wine has served its people for around 500 years. It is brewed with sticky rice and is full of various vitamins, glucose and amino acids. Like many other types of Chinese rice wine, Xiaogan Rice Wine is capable of delivering healing effects to improve human health.
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