‘Chopstick’ through central China(4)
The old Chinese adage that anything movable is edible never seems more apt.
Fried scorpions feature on the menu at a Kaifeng restaurant. Other western Henan flavours are a little more subtle. Mountain roots and vegetables are widely used, together with a rare species of white mushroom that is said to give a life-span of 120 years (I’ll let you know in due course if it works or not). Braised lamb and sheep’s kidneys are additional ingredients in the diet.
Southwest of Jiaozuo, the city of Luoyang (home to the famous kungfu monks of the Shaolin Monastery) is renowned for its extraordinary “water banquet”. Right in the heart of Luoyang, the ornate Zhen Bu Tong (“Real Difference”) Restaurant has been serving this banquet for over 100 years.
Eight cold dishes of shredded fish, fungus, chilli, celery and so forth are followed by 18 hot soup-styled dishes, all served so as to resemble the water in a fast-flowing river — hence the name “water banquet”.
Peony flowers with Noodles and Lemon Juice, Luoyang Pork, and Sweet and Sour Kidneys are just a few of the delicacies. I get up from the table resolved never to eat another meal, but this resolution lasts only until dinner-time.
Further north in Shanxi province, the landscape becomes more arid. Rice cultivation gives way to the growing of wheat, buckwheat and millet. In northern Shanxi, an American import — corn — is the dietary staple. Sorghum is also grown, and used to make an especially fiery version of baojiu.
A Shanxi taste-sampler starting in the provincial capital Taiyuan is especially appropriate. It is here that Shanxi’s 200 varieties of flour and 280 different varieties of noodles are best highlighted — and many of these are included in a banquet served at Taiyuan’s Grand Hotel.
Fish noodles, vegetables wrapped inside noodles and noodles stuffed with beans are just three of the offerings. Other styles include dalamian (hand-pulled noodles) and zhuanpan tijian, flattened noodles served with gravy, accompanied by Shanxi lamb. And surprisingly, the food is accompanied not by baojiu but by red wine — an excellent Cabernet-Merlot from Grace Vineyard, in Taigu County, 40km south of Shanxi.
The founders of the vineyard say that it builds on a winemaking tradition in Shanxi dating back to the 7th century.
In the north of Shanxi, the landscape becomes still more barren and arid. Buckwheat replaces wheat as the grain of choice in making noodles. A gastronomic extravaganza in Yingxian, home to the world’s tallest wooden structure, features country specialties that might have some difficulty in finding their way onto metropolitan menus.
These include Country-style Ham Knuckles; Braised Rabbit; Buckwheat Noodles in Vinegar; Corn Cakes; and Dog-meat Hotpot, all washed down with another regional specialty — hot Coca-Cola!
Corn is a staple of northern Shanxi. You can even buy cones of popcorn from street vendors. As for the vinegar with most dishes, that is definitely an acquired taste. However, there is no doubting Shanxi’s expertise in making vinegar, which has been produced here for over 3,000 years.
The province produces more than 50 kinds of vinegar including Chencu, or matured vinegar, which is said to have valuable health-giving properties.
Our culinary taste-tour ends in the northern city of Datong, where pigs’ cheeks and local wild mushrooms share a table with corn cobs, buckwheat cakes and — you guessed it — shot-glasses of vinegar. I’m not yet accustomed to drinking vinegar in such quantities, but am reminded of Yi Yin’s discovery that sour tastes are beneficial for the liver.
So, after all the baojiu and wine imbibed over the last few days, maybe vinegar really does deserve a place on the menu. Just as Yi Yin catapulted Henan onto the Chinese culinary map, so does Shanxi cooking serve as a model for arid-zone cuisine.
A trip through these two provinces should be high on the agenda of any lover of Chinese food.
