Ou cuisine, alternatively known as Wenzhou cuisine, is one of the four schools of Zhejiang cuisine, whereas Zhejiang cuisine is one of the eight major cuisines in China. The ancient name of Wenzhou is Dong'ou. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, in order to improve the popularity of Wenzhou cuisine, catering experts has renamed the cuisine with its ancient name, "Ou cai". The major elements in Ou cuisine are seafood, which tastes fresh, light, and not bland. During the cooking process, it emphasizes "two light and a heavy," that is, light oil, light thickening, and heavy knife action, and it has a noticeable distinctive style.
Origin According to a historical Records Huozhi Biography, "In the land of Chu and Yue, rice and fish, fruits, vegetables, and clams..." It demonstrates that people at the period not only cooked fish soup using raw fish but also ate "fruit and veggies with clams." "People in the southeast consume aquatic fish, mussels, snails, and clams as delicacy, but don't recognize it's fishy," according to Zhang Hua's "Natural History." "The Beauty of Food" and "Qiou Wen Mirage" are references to the people of Ouyue at the period, who lived off snakes and clams and believed them to be high-quality treasures. The dietary practices were further developed and enhanced, and cuisine was gradually evolved, which is now known as Ou cuisine. (simplified Chinese: 史记·货殖传》载)
Notable dishes In order to promote the construction of "Poetic Painting Zhejiang & Hundred counties and thousand bowls" (simplified Chinese: 诗画浙江·百县千碗), recently, hosted by Wenzhou Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau, Wenzhou Restaurant and Catering Industry Association, the 2021 "hundred counties and thousand bowls - Ou cuisine top ten series of dishes" selection results are available. There were a total of evaluation of 2021 "Ou cuisine top ten hot dishes", "Ou cuisine top ten cold dishes", "Ou cuisine top ten snacks", "Ou cuisine top ten desserts" and "Ou cuisine top ten fashion dishes". +Ou Cuisine Top Ten Hot Dishes 2021Dish ImagesEnglishSimplified ChineseTraditional ChinesePinyinNotesThree Wire Knock Fish三丝敲鱼三絲敲魚Sān sī qiāo yúFor this dish, use offshore fish or fresh yellow croaker, remove the head, tail, and skin of the fish, cut into needle slices, dip them in dry starch, and slowly knock them into thin slices with a mallet, and cook them in boiling water.Scallion Oil Yellow Fish葱油黄鱼蔥油黃魚Cōng yóu huángyúPour heated oil over steamed yellow fish Hibiscus mud crab芙蓉蝤蠓芙蓉蝤蠓fúróng qiú měngRoasted Duck with Dendrobium石斛烧老鸭石斛燒老鴨shíhú shāo lǎo yāNet tide jumping fish网潮跳鱼網潮跳魚wǎng cháo tiào yúYongjia Tianyu永嘉田鱼永嘉田魚yǒngjiā tián yúBerwyn Pork Knuckle伯温猪脚伯溫豬腳bó wēn zhū jiǎoSelect local pig's feet, add wine, salt, mushrooms, angelica and other raw materials, put them in a clay pot and simmer them over a charcoal fireGinger wine jellyfish blood姜酒海蜇血姜酒海蜇血jiāng jiǔ hǎizhē xuèFried Rice Cake with River Crab江蟹炒年糕江蟹炒年糕jiāng xiè chǎo niángāoBraised river eel酒炖河鳗酒燉河鰻jiǔ dùn hé mán
+Ou Cuisine Top Ten Cold Dishes 2021Dish ImagesEnglishSimplified ChineseTraditional ChinesePinyinNotesWenzhou fish cake温州鱼饼溫州魚餅Wēnzhōu yú bǐngWenzhou duck tongue温州鸭舌溫州鴨舌wēnzhōu yā shéThe duck tongue is marinated, airy to semi-dry, chewy in the mouth, very chewyWenzhou River Crab温州江蟹生溫州江蟹生wēnzhōu jiāng xiè shēngYongqiang Garlic Jelly永强泥蒜冻永強泥蒜凍yǒngqiáng ní suàn dòngHijiki salad凉拌羊栖菜涼拌羊栖菜liángbàn yáng qī càiEel鳗鲞鰻鯗mán xiǎngRuian Zhayang瑞安扎羊瑞安扎羊ruì'ān zhā yángsliced lamb Raw vegetable dish盘菜生盤菜生pán cài shēngWenzhou Roast Goose温州烧鹅溫州燒鵝wēnzhōu shāo éWenzhou Lomei温州卤味溫州滷味wēnzhōu lǔwèi
+Ou Cuisine Top Ten Snacks 2021Dish ImagesEnglishSimplified ChineseTraditional ChinesePinyinNotesWenzhou wonton温州馄饨溫州餛飩Wēnzhōu húntúnWenzhou Fish Balls温州鱼丸溫州魚丸wēnzhōu yú wánPig Dirty Powder猪脏粉豬臟粉zhū zàng fěnWenzhou glutinous rice温州糯米饭溫州糯米飯wēnzhōu nuòmǐ fànIt is made of steamed glutinous rice, sprinkled with minced fritters or chunks of fritters and minced meat soup. It is a special breakfast in Wenzhou and the first choice for all Wenzhou people.Ginger Wine Plain Noodles姜酒素面姜酒素面jiāng jiǔ sùmiànGinger cat ears姜丝猫耳朵薑絲貓耳朵jiāng sī māo ěrduǒQingjiang Three Fresh Noodles清江三鲜面清江三鮮面qīngjiāng sān xiān miànTengjiao five spice dried腾蛟五香干騰蛟五香乾téng jiāo wǔxiāng qiánWenzhou Fried Noodles温州炒粉干溫州炒粉乾wēnzhōu chǎo fěn qiánWenzhou jelly温州胶冻溫州膠凍wēnzhōu jiāo dòngMost of the raw materials are yellow fish maw or mink fish maw, boiled with water to form a thick liquid, and then naturally cooled to form a "jelly"
+Ou Cuisine Top Ten Desserts 2021Dish ImagesEnglishSimplified ChineseTraditional ChinesePinyinDescriptionsLayer cake九层糕九層糕Jiǔ céng gāoA cake has 9 separate layersLard cake猪油糕豬油糕zhū yóu gāoThe lard cake is made from glutinous rice and sugar, and then fried in lardLamp cake灯盏糕燈盞糕dēngzhǎn gāoJinfen Dumpling锦粉饺錦粉餃jǐn fěn jiǎoSponge cake松糕鬆糕sōng gāoMa Qiao麻巧麻巧má qiǎoBridge Pier Mooncake桥墩月饼橋墩月餅qiáodūn yuèbǐngIt is stuffed with more than 10 kinds of materials such as fatty meat, peanuts, winter melon candy, longan, peanuts, cashews and egg yolks, and then sprinkles a layer of sesame seeds on the surface and bakes.Yongjia Oatmeal永嘉麦饼永嘉麥餅yǒngjiā mài bǐngRyan's Double Cooking Cake瑞安双炊糕瑞安雙炊糕ruì'ān shuāng chuī gāoCreated by Li Ruiqing in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, it has a history of more than 100 years.Japonica rice dumplings粳米糄儿粳米糄兒jīngmǐ biǎn er
References