Henan cuisine, a hidden gem for wheaten food lover

The Star

Henan province in central China is not only home to the world-renowned Shaolin Temple but it is also a main grain producer known for its diverse wheaten food.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 Hi, I'm Smiley. Today I'm going to explore the food from a province maybe most of you are unfamiliar with

00:06 but I'm sure there is one place from this province you must have heard of and that is Shaolin Temple.

00:13 Henan province in central China is home to the world-renowned Shaolin Temple.

00:17 As the main grain-producing area in China, Henan has a sown area of wheat stable at more than 18.5 million mu

00:25 and its wheat output accounts for a quarter of the country's total.

00:28 Consequently, Henan people exhibit a profound fondness for wheat and food.

00:33 Joining me today is noodles lover Cassidy.

00:35 Basically, every Henanese person feels uncomfortable if they don't eat a bowl of noodles a day.

00:42 Let's make her comfortable by starting with a bowl of Henan-stewed noodles.

00:45 The tip to eat the noodles is to gulp it while drinking the broth.

00:49 The marinade soup, after being stewed with spices for over five hours, is umami without any aftertaste.

00:56 The white and chewy hand-put noodles soak up the savory braised essence of the broth.

01:02 This was the side dish Henan people like to enjoy with noodles, raw garlic.

01:07 We in Henan do as the Henan people do.

01:10 The garlic is like a firework burst out in my mouth.

01:22 But actually, it's not as wild as the noodles.

01:26 Maybe some soup will help mask the garlic aroma.

01:46 Among various soups, wulatang is masked with breakfast in Henan.

01:51 When I wake up in the morning, I might make an appointment with my friend to have wulatang at 8am.

01:58 With rich ingredients, captivating soup stock, and high-quality flour,

02:02 a bowl of wulatang awakens the taste buds of Henan people in a brand new day.

02:07 It has strong pepper, black pepper flavor.

02:20 Do they really drink it during breakfast?

02:24 I think it's too strong for me as a breakfast.

02:28 It's also very appetizing.

02:30 I think it makes me feel warm.

02:34 During the winter, you definitely need to have one bowl of wulatang.

02:39 After savoring the soup with a robust flavor, maybe it's time to try some steamed saffron flour.

02:45 In Henan, there are many saffron trees.

02:49 When the saffron flowers bloom, they put the saffron flowers on the trees.

02:53 They put the saffron flowers on the trees with plastic bags and take them home.

02:57 After taking them home, they simply wash them and sprinkle them with flour.

03:01 Then they can be steamed in a steamer.

03:04 After steaming, the saffron flour is also fragrant.

03:06 Then dip it in some garlic sauce.

03:09 It tastes very refreshing and delicious.

03:12 Before the founding of the country, the people of Henan were poor.

03:15 They had little to eat.

03:17 Henan people had no choice but to eat whatever they had.

03:20 Later, they found that the way to steam saffron flour was simple.

03:25 It didn't need a lot of ingredients.

03:27 And it tasted good.

03:29 Why do you add flour to the saffron flour?

03:32 Flour is the main staple food in Henan.

03:36 It's also the easiest to get.

03:38 If you use flour to wrap the saffron flour, it can be a staple food or a dish.

03:44 As we appreciate the meld of flavors and the historical influences woven into each dish,

03:50 the Henan cuisine, with plain ingredients cooked in a simple way,

03:54 embodies the simple and unaffected characters of the Henan people.

03:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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