Huaiyang cuisine is similar to Guangdong cuisine, which is also named Cantonese cuisine, as both cuisines emphasise the freshness of ingredients as well as their original taste without a lot of sauces, chef Zhou Xiaoyan of The Huaiyang Garden at The Londoner Macao told The Macau Post Daily in a phone interview yesterday.
According to a recent statement by the integrated resort in Cotai, Huaiyang (淮揚菜) cuisine has 3,000 years of history that originated in the lower reaches of the Yangtze and Huai rivers. Reputed to be one of the four greatest traditions of Chinese cuisine, Huaiyang dishes have been served at The Londoner since February.
According to Wikipedia, Huaiyang cookery is derived from the native cooking styles of the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze rivers and centered on the cities of Huai’an, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province.
Zhou pointed out that Huaiyang cuisine is popular because it requires fine knife skills on fresh ingredients. Knife skills are divided into two categories, one is considered “outside” while the other is the “inside”, he said. Zhou gave an example by saying that “Wensi tofu”* is one of the dishes that show a high-level of knife skill from the outside, as the tofu is divided into hundreds of very thin strings for this dish, while the removal of bones and organs from a fish is considered as an “inside” movement of the knife skill, which is not easily recognised.
According to Zhou, different to Guangdong cuisine which has several cooking methods, its Huaiyang counterpart solely pays attention to stewing. Zhou mentioned fish soup as an example, adding that the soup in Huaiyang cuisine is clear with the fish keeping its shape even after being stewed for three hours.
The Londoner statement underlined that Zhou is known as “The Godfather of Huaiyang Cuisine” who puts innovation into traditional cuisine.
Zhou highlighted in the interview with The Macau Post Daily that innovation will never affect the classic flavours as he only changes the ingredients, such as using beef from Australia as a substitute for Chinese beef, so that the texture is improved while the taste stays the same.
* According to the Find China in Yangzhou website, the soup was invented by a monk named Wen Si, who lived at the Tianning Temple in Yangzhou during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799). The dish features a white and green color, tender tofu and tasty soup. The tender tofu is shredded as thin as hair.
This undated handout photo provided by The Londoner Macao recently shows Huaiyang Garden’s renowned chef Zhou Xiaoyan.
