Hubei cuisine, also known as Chu cuisine or E cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of

Hubei Province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

in China.

History

Hubei cuisine has a history of more than 2,000 years. The names of dishes and cuisine styles can be found in ancient literature such as ''

Chuci The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...

'' of

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the Chu (state), State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to Classical Chinese poetry, classical poetry and verses, ...

Ingredients

As Hubei has plenty of lakes, rivers and marshlands, freshwater produce are used as major ingredients in the local cuisine. A key ingredient that is found within many Hubei-style dishes is the lotus root.

Style

Hubei cuisine emphasizes the preparation of ingredients and the matching of colors. It specializes in steaming techniques. Its style is influenced by the cooking methods of the cuisines of neighboring provinces such as

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

. As a result, Hubei cuisine also uses dried hot pepper, black pepper and other spices to enhance the flavor of dishes. Hubei cuisine comprises three distinct styles: *

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

style specializes in soups as well as noodle dishes, such as

hot dry noodles Hot dry noodles (), known in Chinese as reganmian, also transliterated as dried and spicy noodles, is a traditional dish of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China. Hot dry noodles have an 80-year history in Chinese food culture; ...

. Additionally, Wuhan is famous for its dry pots, which are similar to

hot pot Hot pot or hotpot (), also known as soup-food or steamboat, is a cooking method that originated in China. A heat source on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, and a variety of Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients are served b ...

but without the soup base. *

Huangzhou Huangzhou District is an urban district of Huanggang, Hubei province, China. History In 845 BC Marquis Wen 文侯 Huang Meng 黃孟 (aka Huang Zhang 黃璋) moved the capital of the State of Huang from Yicheng to Huangchuan (present-day Huang ...

style, which is more oily and tastes more salty than the others. *

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

style, which specializes in fish dishes and uses steaming as the primary method of cooking. *

Miao people The Miao are a group of linguistically-related peoples living in Southern China and Southeast Asia, who are recognized by the government of China as one of the 56 List of ethnic groups in China, official ethnic groups. The Miao live primarily in ...

style, which tastes thick, with the sour and hot most outstanding. It's in the southwest of Hubei province.

Signature dishes

Image:Futu-sun-dried-noodles-0061.jpg, Freshly made noodles drying in the sun in Futu,

Huangshi Huangshi (), Postal Map Romanization, alternatively romanized as Hwangshih, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 2,469,079 inhabitants at the 2020 census; 1,567,108 of whom liv ...

Municipality Image:Wuhan-pepper-truck-0138.jpg, Chilli peppers sold in Wuhan

Gallery

File:Lotus root-Hubei style.jpg, Pork-ribs and lotus root soup File:Hubei-zhengyugao.JPG, Steamed fish cakes File:Fried Hongshan Caitai with garlic and chili.jpg, Fried ''Hongshan Caitai'' (洪山菜薹) File:Miba of Hubei.jpeg, ''Miba'' (Rice-made pancakes) File:Pearl fish ball of Hubei.jpeg, Pearl fish ball in broth File:Pianpiya of Hubei.jpeg, ''Pianpiya'' (Hubei Duck) File:The three steaming dishes of Mianyang.jpeg, ''Mianyang Sanzheng'' (The three steaming dishes of Mianyang)

References