Henan food
Hula Soup
Henan is in the central part of China, and borders the Yellow River which is China's ‘mother river’ the natural. Geographical advantage and the hard-working spirit of Henan people have made Henan become one of the largest grain provinces in China. The abundance of grain makes the diet of Henan people become rich, next I will introduce some very special Henan food.
The first food is Hula soup
Hula (胡辣) in Chinese means with pepper and chili, so it's a kind of soup with white pepper and it's a little spicy. This soup is a classic breakfast for henan people.
Original
Originated in Ming Dynasty, according to folklore the soup recipe was presented to the emperor by a minister, the emperor was very happy after drinking the soup and gave the minister a prize. But one day the minister made a mistake then the emperor exiled him to xiaoyao town, now located in Zhoukou city, Henan Province. The minister told the local people this recipe and the soup became popular.
Recipe
If you are the first time to see the Hula soup, you may wonder, because the soup color is brown and it does not look very tasty. The main reason is that there are many natural herbs in the soup, the main ingredient is white pepper and the soup is made mainly from the bones of sheep. People will add beef, kelp seaweed and Chinese daylily etc.
Where can you drink authentic and delicious Hula soup?
The most authentic Hula soup is in Xiaoyao town Zhoukou city in Henan Province, where the town is the origin of Hula soup.
If that is not convenient for you, you can choose Fang Zhongshan Hula soup which is most famous chain Hula soup store in China. They have many stores in Henan.
There are some links you can use it and find more information of Hula soup.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulatang
Hhuimian in Chinese means noodles with soup, the translation of the Oxford Dictionary is stewed noodles. Huimian are known as one of the top ten noodles in China.
Why Huimian are popular in Henan and China?
The first reason is that Henan is located in the north of China, and it is a big grain province in China. Natural geography has led to the production of large quantities of high-quality wheat from Henan, the noodles in the Huimian were made with this kind of strong flour, this kind of noodles tastes better than ordinary noodles, And the most special color of our stewed noodles is that you can pull the noodles into different lengths according to your preferences.
You can see how the chef lengthens the noodles in this video
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av626983700/
The type of stewed noodles in Henan is mainly two kinds
The first and most famous one is the Henan mutton Huimian on the right, this Huimian once represented Henan province to participate in a state banquet. The most important part of the noodles is the soup, the soup is made from the bones of sheep and boiled more than 6 hours, and many Chinese herbs like Lycium barbarum, angelica root are added to make the soup rich in nutrition and delicious. If you want to taste this kind of noodles, it is a good choice to come to Zhengzhou city. Many large and small Huimian restaurants can be seen everywhere in Zhengzhou, but the most famous one is xiaoji (萧记)restaurants which is a chain store, you can easy find it.
The Huimian on the left are beef noodles, this kind of noodles is less concern about soup, pay more attention to the marinating of beef. This is a more homely practice. but it has more side dishes, like seaweed and green vegetables, Chinese vermicelli. These are all indispensable elements of a good bowl of noodles.
You can use this link to see the Huimian production process
For Henan people's dinner, people prefer to stay at home and have a bowl of hot soup, there are many kinds of soup in Henan. (People in Henan don't eat Hula soup at night). This soup is called egg soup, it's made of flour, eggs and water. It looks normal but it's nutritious.
This is the recipe: Ingredients: plain flour 25g eggs 1 water 2000ml1. This is what we need, it's very simple.2. Add water to the flour and mix well with chopsticks.3. Break up the eggs and stir well. Set aside.4. When the water comes to a boil, pour the batter into the pan and stir with chopsticks. Bring to a boil and cook for another five minutes.
Henan cuisine is as rich and nutritious as the vast central Plains, though not as spicy as Sichuan food or as bland as Hangzhou food, But Henan food embraces everything in its own way. Welcome to Henan province.
