The formation and development of Huizhou cuisine is closely related to the rise and prosperity of Huizhou merchants. Huizhou merchants, known as "Xin 'an masters" in history, started in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and gradually developed in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The late Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty was the golden age of Huizhou merchants. Huizhou merchants ranked first in the commercial groups at that time, no matter the number of merchants, the scope of activities or the abundant capital. Suzaku, the grandfather of the famous mathematician Zhu in Song Dynasty, was a typical representative of Huizhou merchants at that time. His business stacks, houses (hotels) and restaurants once occupied half of Zhangzhou, known as "Zhu Bancheng". During the period from Jiajing in Ming Dynasty to Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, there were about 80 famous merchants in Yangzhou, of which Huizhou merchants accounted for 60%. Among the top ten salt merchants, Huizhou merchants account for more than half. Huizhou merchants are rich in the world, living in luxury and preferring hometown flavor. Their rich drinks and luxurious banquets have contributed to the development of Anhui cuisine. Where there are Huizhou merchants, there are Huizhou restaurants. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Huizhou merchants flourished in Yangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan. At one time, there were more than 500 Huizhou restaurants in Shanghai. When we arrived in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, there were more than 30 Anhui Cuisine Pavilions in Shanghai and more than 40 in Wu Hanyou. Interestingly, according to Old Shanghai, around 1925, "there were only Huizhou merchants and Suzhou restaurants in Shanghai at first, and then Jinling, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang restaurants", and the so-called "Suzhou" also refers to Tianfu Garden, Jiuhua Garden and Roof Garden, which were originally established in Suzhou and moved to Shanghai by Huizhou merchants Tai Wang Zhi and Tai Jialie. It can be seen that the development of Anhui cuisine is also very rapid. According to Zeng Juesheng's article Huizhou merchants and Huizhou gangs in Wuhan before liberation. Until liberation, the Hui Cuisine Hall in Wuhan still occupied the primary position in the catering market: "It can be said that it is the largest group in the wine and food industry in Wuhan ... and it is welcomed and patronized by people. "
In the long years, through the hard work and eclecticism of famous chefs in past dynasties, especially after liberation, famous chefs in the province exchanged ideas and inherited and developed, and Huizhou cuisine gradually stood out from the local flavor of Huizhou. Now, it has concentrated the local flavor features and famous delicacies, and has gradually become an elegant, popular and unique Xian Yi famous dish.
There are more than 1000 traditional varieties of Anhui cuisine, and their flavors include the characteristics of the three local dishes in southern Anhui, along the Yangtze River and along the Huaihe River. Southern Anhui, represented by Anhui cuisine, is the mainstream and birthplace of Anhui cuisine. Its main feature is that it likes to use ham as seasoning and the rock sugar is fresh. He is good at maintaining the original flavor and true taste of raw materials. The taste is mainly salty, fresh and fragrant, but sugar is not sweet. Many dishes are often cooked in charcoal stoves, served in original pots, and full of fragrance, reflecting the quaint style of Huizhou. The flavor along the Yangtze River is popular in Wuhu, Anqing and Chaohu. He is good at cooking seafood and poultry, paying attention to knife skills and shapes, being good at seasoning with sugar, and being good at cooking, stewing, steaming and smoking. Its dishes are refreshing, crisp and mellow. The dishes along the Huaihe River are represented by the local dishes of Bengbu, Suxian and Fuyang in the Yellow River Basin. They are good at cooking techniques such as burning, frying and frying, and love to use wanluo and Chili to flavor and color. Their flavor features are salty, fresh, crisp, slightly spicy and refreshing, and they are rarely flavored with sugar. Therefore, in terms of flavor characteristics, Anhui cuisine is a China local flavor with both individuality and * * * characteristics, which is composed of the local dishes in the above three regions. Its overall style is: simple and elegant, original, crisp, tender, fragrant, fresh, suitable for shade, with the characteristics of rigorous material selection, unique fireworks, attention to food supplement, attention to original flavor, diverse dishes, and similarity between North and South Xian Yi.
Anhui cuisine is rich in raw material resources, excellent in texture and inexhaustible. Anhui is located in the hinterland of East China, with mild climate, moderate rainfall, distinct seasons and rich products. Tea, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fungus, chestnuts, yams, pheasants, stone fish, tremella, soft-shelled turtles, eagle turtles and civets are abundant in mountainous areas in southern Anhui and Dabie Mountains. The famous "Qi Hong" and "Tunlu" are world-famous Anhui specialties. The Yangtze River, Huaihe River and Chaohu Lake are important freshwater fish producing areas in China, which provide abundant aquatic resources such as fish, shrimp, crab, turtle, water chestnut, lotus root, lotus root and clam for Anhui cuisine. Among them, Yangtze River shad, Huaihe River fat king fish, Chaohu whitebait, hairy crabs and so on. They are all prestigious treasures; The vast Huaibei Plain, fertile Jianghuai and Jiangnan polder areas are rich in all kinds of grain and oil, fruits and vegetables, and livestock eggs, such as Dangshan crisp pear, Xiaoxian grape, Yang Guo dried moss, Dahe Toona sinensis bud, Xuancheng candied dates and Anqing soybean paste. This provides a good material foundation for the formation and development of Anhui cuisine.
The cooking techniques of Anhui cuisine, including knife-cutting, cooking and operation techniques, complement each other. Anhui cuisine has always been a fine tradition, and its uniqueness is reflected in the kung fu dishes that are good at cooking, stewing, smoking and steaming. "Fuliji roast chicken" is fried first and then burned, and civil and military fires are used alternately. Finally, the texture of bone crisp meat remains unchanged. "Huizhou grilled fish" can be cooked in a few minutes, maintaining the style of tender meat and bright juice, and is a model of skillful use of martial arts; "Stewed Chicken in Huangshan Mountain" and "Stewed Bamboo Shoots in Zheng Wen" are stewed in air furnace and charcoal fire, and become fresh, fragrant, crisp, tender and mellow, which is the crystallization of slow fire. "Maofeng smoked shad" and "Wuwei smoked chicken" also reflect the traditional skills of Huizhou smoking. Different cooking methods are used for different dishes, which is an important symbol of Anhui cuisine chefs' attainments and the basic means to form a unique style of crisp, tender, fragrant and fresh Anhui cuisine. There are about 50 cooking techniques commonly used in Anhui cuisine in 20 categories, among which the most typical ones are slip-burning, stewed and smoked.
In the process of long-term adaptation to consumer demand, the style of Huizhou cuisine has gradually formed its own routine. Common dishes are banquet dishes, harmonious dishes, five dishes, eight dishes, ten bowls, popular dishes, home-cooked dishes and so on. And they have a wide range of adaptability. Banquet dishes are the dishes of banquet guests. Usually it is a series of dishes consisting of a certain number of cold dishes, hot dishes, large dishes (including soup dishes), several exquisite cakes and a proper amount of fruit. The ingredients used in the dishes depend on the price. Because of superior raw materials, complex cooking technology, exquisite seasonings, rich varieties, exquisite tableware and thoughtful service, it is deeply welcomed by high-level consumers; Harmonious dishes (some people call them "harmonious dishes") are a limited number of combined dishes that are lower than banquet dishes and higher than popular convenience dishes. It is often used for three-friend and four-friend dinners and small group dinners, which is convenient, flexible and economical. Five dishes, eight dishes and ten bowls are traditional dishes of Anhui folk weddings or other important, festive and birthday banquets. Popular convenience food is a convenient, fast and economical dish widely supplied by Chinese restaurants in cities, which can be divided into three categories: a la carte, a Hakka dish and a cauldron dish. In addition, since 1980s, "box lunch" and "fast food" have appeared in the market. Although it is not an independent dish, it is convenient and cheap, but it also meets some low-consumption needs. As for the home-cooked flavor dishes, it is the local flavor that Anhui people will cook in their daily lives. These dishes have a strong local flavor and are often supplied by the catering industry in the market and are favored by local people.
After nearly a thousand years of development, Anhui cuisine not only has a large number of well-known famous dishes and delicacies, but also has trained a large number of skilled chefs, and at the same time, a number of well-known restaurants have emerged. The common characteristics of these famous shops are: a long history, unique flavor, thoughtful service, complete facilities, various varieties, superb skills, genuine products and outstanding reputation. They are famous for their banquet dishes, or they are popular with flavor snacks, or they attract customers with special varieties, or they are unforgettable with thoughtful service. Their commercial services reflect the unique style and technical level of Huibang cuisine. There are more than 20 famous shops in Hefei, such as Huangshan Anhui Cuisine Hall, Huaishang Restaurant, Hefei Hotel, Xiaoyao Restaurant, Luzhou Roast Duck Restaurant and Overseas Chinese Hotel. Jinshan Hotel and Huaihe Restaurant in Bengbu; Tongqinglou, Geng Fuxing, Ma Yixing (Hui) Hotel, Jinghu Hotel and Fugui Hotel in Wuhu; Anqing's Beijing-Tianjin Restaurant, Xinxing Restaurant and Jiangwanchun Bakery; Shanghai restaurant in Huaibei; Le Tong restaurant in Tongling; Huangshan Tunxi Anhui Cuisine Hall; Phoenix restaurant in Fuyang, northern Anhui restaurant in Bozhou; The Wang Ping Building in Quanjiao, etc. Together with the buildings that support the cooking of Huizhou cuisine, it has created a miracle of Huizhou cuisine culture. It is an urgent task to continue to run these famous shops well and make them develop to a higher level to meet the needs of the times.