Henan is a Chinese province situated in the central part of the country. It is traditionally regarded as the cradle of Chinese civilization, especially the northern part of Henan which is dissected by Huang Ho, the Yellow River.
Henan cuisine can be described as similar to Jiangsu cuisine but with many cooking methods borrowed from Beijing cuisine. Just as in Jiangsu, ingredients are selected according to the four seasons. Generally speaking, the food is soft but not mushy or disintegrating.
The major staple food in Henan is rice and the most important meat is pork. Unlike many other parts of China, Henan cooks commonly serve rice with oil produced from animal fat. Noodles are popular in Henan cuisine, especially rice vermicelli noodles. In addition to this, Henan cuisine can be recognized on its extensive use of onions. Interestingly enough, pork is almost never used to make soup in Henan; soups will instead typically contain lamb or mutton.
A well known part of Henan cuisine is the Luoyang Shuixi (Luoyang “Water Table”) which consists of a rich profusion of soups. The “table” is filled with both meat and vegetable dishes, including meat from fish, poultry and livestock. The soups all have different tastes, such as salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Each course is served in a particular order in accordance to traditional customs.
