Anhui Cuisine: The Sublime Rustic Flavours of Eastern China

Wander through a local market in China’s Anhui province, and you’ll find an array of herbs, mushrooms, fungi, leafy greens, river fishes, crabs, all foraged and harvested from the surrounding panoramic mountains, scenic rivers and lush fertile plains. These wild ingredients are the heart and soul of Anhui cuisine, a culinary tradition deeply rooted in its land and rugged, folksy culture.

Anhui Cuisine: A Legacy of Rustic Flavours

The majestic landscapes of Anhui province have provided an abundance of natural resources to its people for millennia, forging a deep bond with the mountains and rivers that has shaped the bold-spirited character of Anhui culture and their love for nature. Hence, Anhui cuisine has developed with a taste for freshness. Ingredients are delicately prepared and cooked with a mastery of heat, to accentuate, deepen and harmonise the wild flavours.

Anhui cuisine’s development hadn’t just come from the mountains, but also thrived with their mercantile tradition that had prospered during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Anhui businessmen travelled and set up shop all over China via the Grand Canal. Renowned for their acumen and affable banquets filled with tasteful Anhui dishes.

Through these exchanges, Anhui cuisine became famous across China, with its unique ingredients and delicacies prized and cherished among foodies and chefs alike. Anhui merchants also returned home with the flavours and cooking techniques from various cuisines, which were explored and adapted into Anhui’s culinary evolution. Over centuries, this evolution refined Anhui cuisine into one of the 8 Major Chinese Cuisines celebrated today.

Anhui Taste Profile & Iconic Ingredients

Anhui dishes are distinguished by an overall savoury, umami freshness, with tender, hearty textures and appetising colours. Some dishes may also have a funky note from the use of fermented ingredients, or a rich salty taste from cured meats.

Huizhou Ham is a prized Anhui specialty, dry-cured over months to release and deepen the meat’s umami flavour, typically used as a taste-enhancer.

The Hu Yumei Broad Bean Paste is among the traditional Anhui fermented seasonings, mildly pungent with a rich saltiness, used as a base flavour in many classic dishes.

Tofu is also frequently fermented before cooking to enrich their flavours. Hairy Tofu is a popular Anhui street food, named after the delicate white fuzz that develops on the tofu’s surface during fermentation. The fermented tofu is typically deep-fried to a golden crispy outside with a soft, chewy bite and mellow savoury taste, served with a spicy chilli dipping sauce.

Stinky Mandarin Fish is a fermented special widely famous among Chinese foodies. Believed to be an invention of Anhui fish merchants, who had to preserve their goods for travel to faraway markets that could take up to a week. They marinated their freshwater mandarin fishes with salt, and wrapped them tightly for the journey. During which, the fishes would ferment and soften, develop a rich umami flavour, and a pungent smell. To cook, the fermented fish is rinsed thoroughly, patted dry, and pan-fried. Seasoned with garlic, ginger and dried chilli for a fragrant spicy note, then braised in a savoury broth and sauce blend, thickened into a velvety gravy. Get past the funky smell, and the tender texture and complex savoury taste is sure to mesmerise you.

Other Anhui specialties include the Wenzheng Mountain Bamboo Shoots, harvested in early spring for their clean, crisp freshness and enjoyed in a savoury stew with cured ham and shiitake mushrooms.    

Anhui Cooking Techniques

Anhui cooking favours braising, stewing and steaming. Hence, the precise control of heat and timing for patient simmers are essential to bring out the ingredients’ freshness and natural flavours. Infused with aromatics and seasonings, while preserving their supple textures. The mastery of heat is also required to balance with the generous use of cooking oil, resulting in dishes with rich aromas and velvety tastes.

Anhui Banquet Culture

Banquets are a communal tradition of Anhui culture that foster bonds between loved ones, neighbours and visitors alike, held for weddings, major occasions and festivals such as Lunar New Year. But instead of a restaurant dining-out, local Anhui banquets are long table outdoor feasts that cover whole neighbourhood streets, bustling with folk customs and live performances to enjoy along with the sumptuous dishes.

Traditional Anhui feasts are served in a classic Eight Bowls set, which may include signature dishes like the Stinky Mandarin Fish, smoked duck, braised chicken, tofu stew, braised pork belly and trotters, steamed whole fish, mountain bamboo shoots, eight-treasure sticky rice, snacks and many more.

Anhui Home-Style Delights for You to Savour

Banquet dishes aside, Anhui cuisine also offers a variety of homely specialities packed with goodness and flavour. Here are 5 Anhui recipes for your home-cooked pleasure.

Sanhe Stir-Fry

Legend goes that a Qing Dynasty emperor was so impressed by the layers of wholesome flavours in this simple Anhui stir-fry, that he immediately ordered the dish to be included in his royal menu!

Sanhe Stir Fry features tender marinated pork strips with dried firm tofu, crunchy celery and capsicum, fragrant red onion and earthy wood ear mushrooms. Seasoned with garlic, ginger, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper and finished with a splash of white vinegar. Savoury and yummy with an appetising tangy note.

Stir-fried Edamame with Pork

Edamame beans are an Anhui household favourite, enjoyed for the soft, crunchy bite, and wholesome nutty flavour. In this classic Anhui stir-fry, the beans are paired with finely diced pork, and seasoned with garlic, ginger, red chilli, light soy sauce and cooking wine. Simple and fast to cook, with a savoury, mildly sweet taste and appetising aroma. Great to enjoy with rice for easy weekday meals!

Anhui Meatballs & Edamame Soup

Edamame beans are also yummy with Anhui home-style meatballs in this comforting savoury soup. The meatballs are made from pork mince and sweet potato flour. Mixed with salt, white pepper powder and a fragrant infused water of spring onion and crushed ginger. Gently boiled to cook in a clear soup with edamame and fluffy egg ribbons. A bowl of cosy satisfaction to pamper your tastebuds and comfort your soul.

Huainan Beef Soup

Love the succulent taste of beef? Then treat yourself to this deeply umami beef soup from the Anhui city of Huainan! A prized signature dish with juicy beef slices enriched with aromatic spices. Lovingly simmered in a rich beef bone broth to a full-bodied flavour that lingers with every sip. Accompanied by springy sweet potato noodles for a gorgeous, satiating meal.

Anhui Tofu & Beef Bun

Prefer your beef in a pastry instead? Then have a bite of this golden pan-fried tofu and beef bun! Fluffy soft outside with a thin crisp crust, and a tender, juicy filing of beef mince, tofu and eggs. Made richly fragrant and savoury with light soy sauce, bold five-spice powder, salt, sugar and cooking wine. Enjoy your own homemade Anhui Tofu & Beef Bun with our recipe!

Discover More Gastronomic Chinese Cuisines

Expand your palate and foodie knowledge of the 8 major Chinese culinary traditions! Discover the fascinating history, unique features and delectable wonders of Jiangsu, Lu, Min, Yue, Chuan, Zhejiang and Hunan cuisines with our deep dives!