Shaanxi cuisine, or Qin cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...

and parts of

northwestern China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

Description

Shaanxi cuisine makes elaborate use of ordinary materials, and is best known for its noodles and lamb/mutton dishes. It makes heavy use of strong and complex flavours. There is an emphasis on savoury flavours such as salt, garlic, onion and vinegar; sugar is seldom used. The main cooking methods are steaming, frying and stir-frying. Due to its geographical location between the provinces of

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

and

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 ...

, the flavours of Shaanxi cuisine include both the sour and spicy of

Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spicin ...

, and the salty flavours of Shanxi. Shaanxi cuisine's primary flavor profile is xiāng là (香辣) or "fragrant spicy". Shaanxi cuisine uses more noodles than other Chinese cuisines, but Shaanxi noodles are almost always thicker and longer than those of

Beijing cuisine Beijing cuisine, also known as Jing cuisine, Mandarin cuisine and Peking cuisine and formerly as Beiping cuisine, is the local cuisine of Beijing, the national capital of China. Background As Beijing has been the capital of China for centuries, ...

, and to a lesser degree,

Shanxi cuisine Shanxi cuisine, or Jin cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of Shanxi Province in China. It is famous for noodles, fried flatbread (''da bing'') and sour tastes. The cuisine is also famed for using its locally produced vinegar, jus ...

. The taste of Shaanxi cuisine can be quite spicy; however, this can be diluted by adding

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

. Many different types of meat are used in Shaanxi cuisine such as duck, lamb, chicken, and beef. Additionally, there are vegetarian mixed dishes where no meat is included, the extra flavour being provided by more spices, resulting in these dishes being considerably spicier.

Regional styles

Shaanxi cuisine includes three regional styles: * Northern Shaanxi style is characterised by the wide use of steaming as the method of cooking. The most common meat is pork, although lamb and mutton are also popular. *

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

style, which uses pork and lamb / mutton equally with heavy flavours and tastes. *

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...

style, similar to

, is characterised by its spicy taste.

Dishes

The following is a selected list of dishes in Shaanxi cuisine.

References

Regional cuisines of China {{China-cuisine-stub