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Cuisine in Chiết Giang is renowned for its emphasis on freshness and meticulous preparation, delivering gentle fragrances and easy enjoyment. Let's explore the top 8 signature dishes in Chiết Giang that leave a profound impression on both tourists and locals.
Unforgettable Delicacies: Top 8 Specialty Dishes in Chiết Giang
1. Dong Pha Braised Pork
In the list of signature dishes in Chiết Giang, one must mention the legendary Dong Pha Braised Pork. The main ingredient of this dish is carefully selected pork with 4 parts of fat and 6 parts of lean meat, cut into large pieces. They are then seasoned with various spices to create a delicious aroma.
Image: Sina.
The reason why the dish is called 'Dong Pha' is because its creator is Mr. Tô Đông Pha, one of the eight wealthy families of the Tang Dynasty. He was a poet, writer, calligrapher, and painter of that time. He created the famous Dong Pha Braised Pork. Today, Dong Pha Braised Pork has become a familiar dish in the daily meals of the people of Chiết Giang. Visitors can enjoy this dish at any restaurant or eatery when visiting Chiết Giang. Each place will have different ways of preparation, but in general, the taste is always delicious.
2. Xuyen's Noodles
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This is an immensely famous noodle dish with various ingredients such as sour vegetables, bamboo shoots, lean meat, and more. With a history of over 100 years, this dish has gradually become a tradition and appears in daily meals. Ingredients like sour vegetables, bamboo shoots, meat, etc., used to make this noodle dish are meticulously researched. They are cut into pieces, then boiled in boiling water, which is also called 'Xuyen's Noodles'.
3. Tam Môn Green Crabs
Tam Môn is a renowned land with over 200 years of experience in breeding green crabs. The main difference between Tam Môn crabs and those from other regions lies in their large size, firm flesh, robustness, and sweet taste.
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Green crabs are favored by many due to their content of 18 amino acids, rich protein, and low fat, making this dish quite expensive. It is used by people as a valuable medicinal ingredient with high nutritional value.
4. Tây Hồ Vinegar Fish
This dish is made from fresh live fish caught in Tây Hồ. Before processing, the fish are usually starved for about 1 - 2 days to remove all impurities from their intestines.
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The unique aspect of this dish lies in its strict requirement for fire. The fish is only fried for about 3 - 4 minutes until just right. After frying, it needs to be drizzled with a layer of sweet and sour sauce, giving the dish a smooth appearance, straight fins, tender flesh, with a deliciously tangy and fresh taste, which is very special.
5. Kim Hoa Pork Trotters
Kim Hoa pork trotters have an attractive appearance, fresh meat, unique and enticing aroma, and they bring together all four aspects of 'color, fragrance, taste, and shape', hence the alternate name for this dish is 'the four marvels'. In the past, it was considered a Chinese delicacy, imbued with the essence of meat.
Image source: news.cn.
This dish is made from the hind legs of the 'two-headed chicken', young meat, then seasoned with salt, shaped, flipped, sun-dried, and air-dried for many months before becoming the final product.
6. Lotus Leaf Chicken
Lotus leaf chicken is a famous specialty of Chiết Giang province. The chicken is wrapped inside lotus leaves, and when grilled, it emits a fragrant aroma with tender meat that is not dry, impressing diners.
Illustrative image: Mrr. Wok.
Today, the May-Eating Chicken dish is prepared with various ingredients and spices. However, to make it delicious, you need to choose a chicken weighing more than one kilogram, a free-range breed with firm meat and a few dried lotus leaves, sesame oil. After cleaning, the chicken is marinated with soy sauce, saffron, wine, cinnamon oil, peppercorns, salt, cinnamon, sugar, and a little seasoning powder for rich flavor. To stuff, pork, bamboo shoots, ginger, shrimp, onions... are stir-fried and then stuffed into the chicken's belly, tightly sewn.
Wrapping the chicken in clay must also be meticulous to ensure that there are no thin or thick spots that would cause the chicken to burn or not cook through. Then the chicken is grilled until the clay cracks open, releasing the fragrant aroma of the meat and spices. At this point, the chicken is cooked and ready to be enjoyed. When the chicken is cooked, it will have a fragrant aroma, sweet taste, and delicious flavor, without being greasy.
7. Barley Pork Cake
Barley pork cake, also known as 'barley pork meatball,' is a popular rustic dish that attracts many diners in Chiết Giang. The cake crust is made from fragrant sticky barley flour, while the filling contains finely chopped pork. What makes enjoying this cake interesting is that people use 3 chopsticks: the left hand holds one chopstick to keep the cake stable on the plate, while the right hand holds a pair of chopsticks to pick up the cake, then dip it in soy sauce, vinegar according to each person's taste.
One interesting aspect of enjoying this cake is that people use 3 chopsticks: the left hand holds one chopstick to keep the cake stable on the plate, while the right hand holds a pair of chopsticks to pick up the cake, then dip it in soy sauce, vinegar according to each person's taste.
8. Nam Hồ Taro
Nam Hồ Taro, also known by various names such as 'golden taro,' 'dumpling taro,' 'monk's hat taro,' is a famous specialty in Gia Hưng. Thanks to taro, Nam Hồ also becomes more famous.
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Typically, taro roots have pointed edges, but Nam Hồ taro from Gia Hưng has unique characteristics such as rounded corners, greenish skin, thinness, smooth rounded edges, tender and juicy flesh, with a sweet, fragrant taste that is much more distinctive than other varieties. Besides being eaten raw, Nam Hồ taro can be used for cooking, making desserts, fermenting alcohol, making sugar, etc. Cooks often choose young taro with a pale green color, especially when freshly boiled, it has an exquisite flavor. If one desires a more cooked texture, they would select older taro with a brownish-yellow color, wash it thoroughly, then cook it, resulting in a richer flavor that complements both the flesh and rice.
Posted by: Lê Ngọc Sáng
Keywords: Top 8 signature dishes in Chiết Giang that leave a lasting impression on diners
