Comprehensive Analysis of Henan Cuisine: History, Dishes, Research

This report delves into the fascinating world of Henan cuisine, also known as Yu cuisine, originating from the Henan province in central China. It explores the historical background of this cuisine, tracing its evolution from the 17th to 21st centuries, including the influence of the prime minister Yiyin in seasoning the food with diverse tastes. The report categorizes Henan cuisine into different types, such as high-class dishes, marketplace foods, temple offerings, folk recipes, and imperial court dishes. It emphasizes the importance of balance and harmony in flavors, drawing influences from both northern and southern Chinese culinary traditions. The report details the numerous cooking methods used, with grilled dishes being particularly popular. It also highlights several famous Henan dishes, including grilled head and tail of black crap, crap with fried noodles in sweet and sour sauce, and spicy soup. Furthermore, the report mentions prominent Henan restaurants in China and references various research articles exploring different aspects of Henan cuisine, such as its geographic prevalence, the impact of short-chain inulin on Chinese steamed bread, comparisons with Western cooking cultures, and the importance of the Silk Road's influence on Chinese cuisine. The report showcases the cultural significance of Henan cuisine, highlighting its unique ingredients, cooking techniques, and its role in Chinese culinary traditions.

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Introduction
Henan cuisine originates from the Henan province located in central China. Henan
cuisines includes all tastes such as sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty. Its other name is Yu
cuisine and it is originated during 17th century-21st century. Henan cuisine had a quite
interesting history, the then prime minister Yiyin who is known as the originator of Chinese
cooking decided to season the Henan food that will have all the tastes. Mainly Henan food
was segregated into five different types such as dishes in high class, in marketplaces, in
temples, in folks, and in imperial court. Henan cuisines based on the concept of mean and
harmony rather than on single taste. The Henan food includes flavor of both the northern and
southern China. It is assumed that there are almost 50 cooking methods that can be used to
prepare Henan cuisine. Most popular method is the grilled Henan dishes. Some of the famous
and delicious Henan dishes are:
Grilled head and tail of black crap, it has a salty and sweet taste. Crap with fried
noodles in sweet and sour sauce is an authentic dish of Kaifeng, red in colour and it is sweet
and sour with little salty. Spicy soup is one of the significant snack dish of Henan food and it
has an amazing spicy taste containing ingredients such as mutton, peanuts, beef loafs, and
many more that are loved by the customers. There are famous Henan restaurants in China
where one can enjoy Henan food some of the popular places are The First Restaurant located
in Beijing, Henan Food House located in Zhengzhou, and many more restaurants are there
where one can experience flavoured Henan food. Various researches has been done on the
Henan cuisine where the researchers have explored multiples facts about the Henan cuisine
and few are stated below.

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http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=1131
Earlier this province was spelled as Honan however; later the Chinese spelled it as Henan.
Flavour and Fortune is an article that mainly deals with the Henan culture. The name of the
province states south of the yellow river. This article states that the methods of cooking in
this region is extremely old and authentic. Henan assumes to be the birthplace of Chinese
civilization and even the birthplace of Chinese cooking techniques. The food culture of
Henan used rice for preparing noodles and meats are prepared rendered with animal fats. The
commonly used seasonings are garlic, ginger, cardamom, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Rice,
potatoes, and dumplings are consumed as carbohydrates. Onions are favourite vegetable used
in the Henan dishes. Wuxiang shaobing is one of the mostly consumed carbohydrate that are
loved by the people in China. Shaolin vegetables is one of the famous dish that is originated
in Kaifeng. It mainly includes mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots, and other soy foods.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2011-02/18/content_12041159.htm
The other name of Henan cuisine is Yu cuisine and it is one the traditional and oldest cooking
technique in China. Henan food has done lots of innovation in many of its dishes. Henan
cuisine is famous for its delicious soup and whether the food is fried or boiled, it does not
matter to the customers as all the Henan food comes with authentic aroma and tastes. The
food has all the tastes such as sweet, salty, tender, crispy but not fragmentary. Henan cuisine
mainly associated with Luoyang and Kaifeng. One of the famous variety of Henan cuisine is
Shaolin Vegetarian food mostly preferred by Chinese Buddhist and monks. The food is full
of nutrition and assumes to be one of the healthiest food of the Henan cuisine.
Zhu, J., Xu, Y., Fang, Z., Shaw, S. L., & Liu, X. (2018). Geographic prevalence and mix
of regional cuisines in Chinese cities. ISPRS international journal of geo-
information, 7(5), 183.

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The authors strive to identify various regional cuisine of China by obtaining information from
different restaurants. The article first states the range of restaurants that offers diverse local
Chinese cuisine using the Shannon entropy and determines how towns that belong to
multiples characteristics are geographically distributed. The article explores various
similarities of customers dining options among the cities. The research reflects that multiple
cities tend to have their respective distinctive characteristics that are mainly driven by large
market share concerning regional cuisine. A heterogeneity feature is seen related to the
geographic prevalence of various Chinese cuisines. A cost-effective approach is adopted
mostly to understand the urban gastronomy and its relationship with human activities.
The research indicates that top restaurants, as ranked by the consumers, do not prefer local
cuisine; instead, they go for other cuisines. People dining activities and preferences tend to
represent societal well-being. The study reveals that culinary art and variation of cities not
only get impacted by the local cuisine but also by socioeconomic transformations of towns as
there are different cooking traditions for different cities. The author focuses on exploring new
ideas related to food geography research and implements various methods to understand the
culinary scenes of cities.

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Liu, J., Luo, D., Chen, R., Xu, B., & Liu, J. (2016). Effects of short‐chain inulin on
quality of Chinese steamed bread. Journal of Food Quality, 39(4), 255-263.
The report focuses on the short-chain inulin on quality of Chinese steamed bread. The
textural properties of the Chinese steamed bread can be improved by using the substitution of
syrup; however, it can accelerate the aging rate. Moisture migration tends to be one of the
critical reasons for the accelerated aging rate. One must use an adequate amount of short-
chain inulin that led to improving the quality of Chinese steamed bread. In northern China,
steamed bread is one of the staple food. Inulin is a soluble dietary fiber in nature and also
known as fructose polymer. If the food industry is taken into consideration, then inulin could
be useful in providing an improved quality of texture traits and providing food products
containing a nutritional value.
To obtain functional food, innovative and promising products need to be identified that will
offer additional health benefits concerning essential nutrition. Various findings have been
done related to measuring the use of inulin in Chinese steamed bread, and the paper can
reflect a theoretical idea by which future application of short-chain inulin in steamed bread
can be understood.
Li, B. (2016). Comparison of Diet and Cooking based on Chinese and Western Culture.

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According to the author, Baoding Li, there is a difference in the cooking culture between
Chinese and western culture. The development in culture led to a diversified diet culture, and
people usually loved to follow a balanced diet in their daily life. The diet culture of the
Chinese tends to follow delicacy and taste; the cuisine mainly includes crops. Whereas the
Western diet uses light taste and supports a balanced diet as they maintain a traditional high-
calorie diet. If both culture's cuisine is compared, it leaves a significant impact on the healthy
diet of people.
Generally, different nations tend to have diverse cuisine. If one is interested to know the
cultural feature of the country, then the best way is to analyze its dietetic culture. The author
emphasis on various diet culture in China and states that Chinese cuisine varies from that of
western. Both cultures tend to follow a healthy diet, and the main difference is the content of
cooking. By analyzing various concepts associated with the etiquette of food, one can
understand the difference between cuisine cultures. As China is entering into a global
environment, it is essential to understand its cultural details to gain more information about
the cross-cultural context.
Phillips, C. (2016). All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China [A
Cookbook]. Ten Speed Press.
The article mainly reflects that Chinese people love to eat, and people in China have a
welcoming attitude towards the ingredients and innovative ideas related to various cuisine of
China. People love to explore the depth and variety of Chinese food. The article reflects the
importance of the Silk Road that enormously influenced the areas of local cuisine. In this
article, various culinary branches are discussed in detail. The food traditions of Han is still

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followed in the northeast region of China. There are specific ingredients that are being used
in all the cooking styles, such as pork, green onions, garlic, and ginger.
The Henan cuisines used aroma of sauces, rice wine, fresh ginger, caramelized sugar, and
many authentic species in its various recipes. In Henan cuisine, garlic plays a vital role and
even used raw cloves to add extra flavour in multiple dishes. Noodles are one of the most
popular and loved dishes of China, and also, the Henan province is taken into consideration
then the preparation of noodles in terms of Henan cuisine is similar to the northern Chinese
cooking. In Henan, culture rice is essential and is consumed by people with oil that has been
obtained from animal fat. The article reflects a message that "You eat what you speak."