Huai 'an or Yangzhou, which is the birthplace of Huaiyang cuisine?

At present, Huaiyang cuisine is the general name of Jiangsu and its surrounding cuisines. Does Huaiyang cuisine originate from Huai 'an or Yangzhou? People in the two places have been arguing for several years, but they won't give in. In fact, Huaiyang cuisine and Yangzhou cuisine belong to two branches and factions of Huaiyang cuisine and have different historical origins.

Objectively speaking, at present, Yangzhou cuisine is more influential than Huai 'an cuisine in China, and even considered as Huaiyang cuisine by laymen on many occasions, because Yangzhou's economy is better than Huai 'an's, and there are more famous chefs in major associations and hotels than Huai 'an. This is an objective fact. However, the essence of Yangzhou cuisine, or Weiyang cuisine, is the official cuisine of Yangzhou, which rose in the Qing Dynasty. Mainly from the big businessmen and salt merchants who did business in Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty. Most of these people come from Anhui, so you can see the shadow of Anhui cuisine in Yangzhou cuisine. Because it was cooked by the top rich chefs in China at that time, Yangzhou cuisine is characterized by fine workmanship and light taste, which is more suitable for people who are tired of eating big fish and big meat. However, Yangzhou, a truly international metropolis in the Tang and Song Dynasties, is not Yangzhou City now. Yangzhou city before the Qing Dynasty has been destroyed by many wars. Yangzhou cuisine before the Qing Dynasty also retreated to the south of the Yangtze River with people fleeing from the war, including from Zhenjiang to northern Zhejiang.

On the contrary, Huai 'an cuisine is a typical folk dish! Huai 'an prospered in ancient times, which was different from Yangzhou, which was an international metropolis and port city in ancient times. Huai 'an was the largest toll station in expressway (Grand Canal) in ancient times, where the Governor's Office of Grain Transportation was located, and took over half of the national treasury tax revenue! The existing famous dishes of Huai 'an cuisine belong to various towns and villages in Huai 'an, and many dishes have the names of towns and villages in front of them! For example, Qin Gong meatballs, Pingqiao tofu, Zhu Qiao soft-shelled turtle, etc. Here, Qin Gong, Pingqiao and Zhu Qiao are the names of Huai 'an villages far away from the city! ! ! Although Huai 'an cuisine is very famous, it is an out-and-out rural local cuisine, which has been handed down from generation to generation by peasant chefs in the northern Jiangsu Plain. Huai 'an cuisine is characterized by raw materials from fresh rural agricultural products, and its fineness is not as good as Yangzhou cuisine. It is naturally rich in flavor and wins by taste, not as light as Yangzhou cuisine. This is also determined by the characteristics of farm dishes.

Yangzhou and Huai 'an are two representative dishes made of tofu, which can reflect their different characteristics and ideas! Steven tofu of Yangzhou cuisine and Pingqiao tofu of Huai 'an cuisine. You can search the pictures and introductions of two dishes online. Vince's tofu knife is amazing but tasteless, mainly as a performance project. Pingqiao tofu has exquisite ingredients, full of flavor and outstanding taste, but it looks like a bowl of paste, which is far less attractive than Vince tofu.

To sum up, Huai 'an cuisine and Yangzhou cuisine respectively represent the two mainstream factions of Huaiyang cuisine, and together they become Huaiyang cuisine, which can only be called Yangzhou local cuisine (which Yangzhou people call Weiyang cuisine) and Huai 'an local cuisine separately! ! ! ! Huaiyang cuisine with only official dishes and Huaiyang cuisine with only farm dishes are incomplete. Historically, Yangzhou cuisine represents the luxurious life of Huizhou salt merchants in Yangzhou in the past, while Huai 'an cuisine represents the folk wisdom and craft inheritance of farmers in the Central Jiangsu Plain. In the future, the two places should abandon unnecessary orthodox disputes and cooperate sincerely to carry forward Huaiyang cuisine! !