Guizhou cuisine
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Guizhou cuisine, or Qian cuisine, consists of cooking traditions and dishes from
Guizhou Province Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to ...
in
southwestern China Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China. Geography Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
. Guizhou cuisine shares many features with Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, especially in bringing the sensation of spiciness and pungency. What makes Guizhou cuisine unique is the emphasis of a mixed sour-and-spicy taste, as compared to the numbing-and-hot sensation () featured in Sichuan cuisine and the dry-hot taste () featured in Hunan cuisine. There is an ancient local saying, "Without eating a sour dish for three days, people will stagger with weak legs". The saying reflects how Guizhou people love local dishes with a sour taste. The combination of sour and spicy flavours is also found in
Shaanxi cuisine Shaanxi cuisine, or Qin cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of Shaanxi Province and parts of northwestern China. Description Shaanxi cuisine makes elaborate use of ordinary materials, and is best known for its noodles and lamb/mu ...
. Guizhou cuisine differs from Shaanxi cuisine in that it lacks the emphasis on the salty taste, which is a common trait found in most northern Chinese cuisines. In addition, the unique sourness featured in Guizhou cuisine comes from the local tradition of fermenting vegetables or grains, and not from using vinegar products. Guizhou cuisine comprises many local varieties and dishes from ethnic minorities, such as the Miao people. Some famous local cuisines are represented by large cities like Guiyang,
Zunyi Zunyi () is a prefecture-level city in northern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, situated between the provincial capital Guiyang to the south and Chongqing to the north, also bordering Sichuan to the northwest. Along with Guiyang an ...
, and Liupanshui. Guizhou cuisine has matured since the beginning of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
.


Features

Guizhou is famous for producing high-quality Chinese liquor,
baijiu ''Baijiu'' (), also known as ''shaojiu'' (/), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of ''qū'' for fermentation to create a distinct and charact ...
. One of the most famous and expensive
baijiu ''Baijiu'' (), also known as ''shaojiu'' (/), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of ''qū'' for fermentation to create a distinct and charact ...
in China, Maotai, is from Guizhou. Guizhou cuisine also features dishes specially cooked to match the flavour of locally produced liquor, such as preserved vegetables and steamed cured meat. Guizhou cuisine features various pickled vegetable, or ' (). The pickled vegetables bring the sour sensation. Fresh vegetables are dried without exposure to sunlight after being cleaned. Afterwards, they are salted and sealed in containers for four or five days to allow proper fermentation. Pickled cabbage and radish are served as side dishes, commonly with wheat and rice noodle dishes. The sour soup broth (), representative of Guizhou cuisine with unique sourness, is a cooking heritage from the Miao people. It is the secret to create the famous Guizhou dish 'fish in sour soup'. The broth is normally made from the fermentation of rice, rice wine, wild tomatoes, red pepper, garlic and ginger. Spicy dipping sauce () is crucial in daily dining of Guizhou people. It is made by mixing chili pepper, garlic, ginger, green scallion, sesame oil or soy sauce, according to personal preference. One unique ingredient used in Guizhou dipping sauce is
Houttuynia ''Houttuynia'' is a genus of two species in the Saururaceae native to Southeast Asia. One species, '' H. cordata'', is widely cultivated as a culinary herb. The genus was originally described in 1783 by Carl Peter Thunberg when he formally ...
(), which is loved by local people but not commonly accepted by other Chinese with its distinct taste. Various types of spiciness in Guizhou cuisine come from the art of using chili peppers in different ways by locals. ' () is created by heat-drying crushed chili pepper. ' () refers to both the uncooked mashed chili pepper paste and the chili sauce by simmering the paste in oil. ' () is made by preserving minced chili pepper with ginger and garlic. ' () is spice-flavored chili flakes. The renowned chili sauce brand
Lao Gan Ma Lao Gan Ma (; also called Laoganma) or Old Godmother is a brand of chili sauces made in China.
originated in Guizhou.


Notable dishes


References

{{Guizhou topics Regional cuisines of China Culture in Guizhou