Shaanxi cuisine is represented by Guanzhong, south Shaanxi and north Shaanxi cuisine styles. Shaanxi Province occupies an important position in the development history of Chinese culture. Its cooking techniques can be traced back to Yangshao Culture period. In the Han (206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties, Shaanxi's cooking techniques reached a splendid period. Thanks to its unique position in Chinese history, Shaanxi chefs gathered all eating and cooking advantages from all over the country, and formed its own characteristics.
Local chefs of Shaanxi Province are good at using local materials to prepare delicious dishes, such as hump and hoof of camels, fat sheep from north Shaanxi, Qinchuan oxen, carps from the Yellow River, and black rice fromHanzhong. Through boiling, stewing, braising, frying and cooking, they produce a wide variety of dishes of different tastes.
Famous dishes include: bottle gourd chicken, mustard and upper part of a pork leg, white lotus in a limpid pond, scorpion and fish on bamboo plate,Guozifish in milky soup, Chrysanthemum pot, Han cinnamon chicken slices saute, chicken rice and sea cucumber, tomato juice and ox tongue, steamed mutton, etc.
1. Bottle gourd chicken
It is a famous traditional dish of Shaanxi Province, with golden red color, crisp skin, tender meat, strong smell and mellow taste.
2. White lotus in a limpid pond
This dish was created by Van Culinary Research Institute based on historical records. It features well selected ingredients, meticulous preparations, a crisp and tender and refreshing taste, just like a white lotus flower in a limpid pond, hence the name.
3. Scorpion and fish on bamboo plate
This dish is a creation of Van, featuring delicious and tender fish, a strong fragrance of scorpions, a graceful smell of bamboo and abeautiful shape, with a role of dietotherapy.
4.Guozifish in milky soup
As a traditional dish of Van of Shaanxi Province, Guozi fish in milky soup evolves from an imperial dish of the Tang Dynasty of more than 1,000 years ago. It features delicious and tender fish meat and milk-like and mellow soup. It is a nutritious dish rich in protein, minerals and vitamins.
5. Chrysanthemum pot
With a time-honored history, this traditional dish is full of fragrances of flowers, wine, meat, and vegetables.
6. Han cinnamon chicken slices saute
It is a famous dish of Hanzhong of Shaanxi. Legend has it that when Liu Bang became King of Hanzhong, Prime Minister Xiao He, planted this cinnamon tree in person in Shengshui Temple in the south of Hanzhong, hence the name Han cinnamon. This dish features tender and delicious chicken slices, with aroma of cinnamon, and a graceful color.