Taiyuan Food - What and Where to eat in Taiyuan

It is always said that the essence of wheaten food across the world is in China, and the essence of wheaten food across China is in Shanxi. Taiyuan wheaten food is the most famous one in Shanxi, with various kinds, long history and respective cooking methods. Sliced noodles, pulled noodles, Mao Erduo, Bo Yu, Jiu Pian and many other types of wheaten food are all available in Taiyuan’s local restaurants. The main cooking methods include steaming, boiling, roasting, baking and frying.
Besides the wheaten food, Taiyuan also possesses many kinds of dishes. The food here is mainly salty with a little sour and sweet. The cooking methods include deep-frying, stir-frying, quick-frying, grilling and braising.

Taiyuan Best Food
As Taiyuan is the center of Shanxi province, many authentic Shanxi cuisines can be enjoyed in the city. When traveling in Taiyuan, Jin Cai (Shanxi Cuisine) should be tasted.

Guo You Rou (Fried Boiled Pork)
As a famous dish of Jin cuisine, Guo You Rou was originated from aristocrat cuisine and then spread in Taiyuan. It is said that one who has never tasted Guo You Rou has not been to Taiyuan truly. As we all know people in Shanxi are fond of cooking with vinegar, and the usage of vinegar in Guo You Rou is a good example.

The main material is the sliced lean pork, thinly covered with egg liquid. And then quick-fry the pork, then drain and finally saute the pork together with other vegetables. It tastes salty and crisp, worth you a try.

Yangcheng Rou Guan Rou (Braised Meet in Pot)
Diced pork, beef or mutton is braised with millet and kinds of seasonings in a special designed pot. The meat still keeps its natural flavor and tastes soft and fragrant. Meanwhile, not only the cooking method is unique, but also the pot for cooking is a specialty in Chinese ceramic handicrafts. Named Yangcheng Rou Guan, the pot is designed with a small neck and large body, suitable for steaming and braising.

Zhan Xiang Yu Pian (Zhan Xiang Sliced Fish)
Zhan Xiang was the name of the girl who cooked this dish. It is heard that in Han Dynasty, Shun Emperor was fond of hunting. Once, he hunted in the forest alone and suddenly it rained cats and dogs, so he hurried to a cottage to shelter from the rain. An old man and his daughter provided him dry clothes and some food including a fish dish. The old man didn’t know that he saved the emperor until the guards found the emperor in his house. Finally, the emperor conferred the old man as the godfather and the girl as the royal sister. The fish dish cooked by the royal sister was named after her name, Zhan Xiang.

The sliced fish is firstly pickled with salt, egg white, starch and cooking wine, then fried into golden color and drained. Green onion, ginger and garlic are sautéed firstly to add the fragrance to the oil. Then put the fried sliced fish together with gravy, and vinegar. After two minutes, mushrooms and sesame oil is finally added.

Other famous Taiyuan dishes include Chinese Yam in Hot Toffee, Sweet and Sour Fish, Deep-Fried Lamb, Pork with Preserved Tofu, etc.

Taiyuan Snacks

As an important composure of Taiyuan culture, sorts of snacks with strong local characteristics are worth your tasting. Most of them are enjoying high reputations in China.

Tou Nao
Tou Nao, a soup-like Muslim food, is a kind of unique snack for breakfast in Taiyuan. It contains 3 large pieces of lamb, one piece of lotus root, and one piece of Chinese yam in the thickened gravy with yellow wine, distilled grain and milk veteh. When tasting Tou Nao, you will feel a smell mixed with wine, herb and mutton. It is also called “Ba Zhen Tang (Eight Kinds of Herbs Soup)”, as it is nourishing and helpful for invigorating blood circulation.

Qing He Yuan restaurant is the recommended place to experience authentic Tou Nao.

You Hu Jiao
It is said that this dish was firstly created by a pregnant woman in Tang Dynasty, whose husband, a general returned home with a victory in a battle. The wife made You Hu Jiao to treat her husband. In the next day, the wife had a boy and a girl, and the general was so delightful that he ordered the cook to make You Hu Jiao to feast the army as a celebration of his children’s birth. The cook respectively filled You Hu Jiao with the red bean stuffing and parrot stuffing, one representing the boy and the other the girl. Afterwards, You Hu Jiao is considered to be the mascot of bearing children.

Currently, with the surface skin made by flour, You Hu Jiao is always filled with egg, bean curt, leek, gingili and other stuffing, and finally deeply fried.

Dao Xiao Mian (Sliced Noodle)
Shanxi boosts many kinds of noodles, and Dao Xiao Mian is the most representative one with hundred years of history. The knife to scrape the noodle from dough is in the form of Chinese tile, and the dough needs to be kneaded into a cylinder. When scraping the noodles, the cook holds the dough on one hand, with the other hand scraping the noodles from the dough to a large wok. The noodles are almost of the same width and length with three edges.

Meng Feng Bing (Meng Feng Cake)
Meng Feng Bing is famous for its fragrance, crispness, softness, sweetness and coolness. First created in Qing Guangxu period, it has been of 100 years’ history. Meng Feng was the country’s name where the creator, Zhao Jinshan was from. Zhao was a cook working for a rich man, and when it was the spring festival, the rich man ordered Zhao to cook different dishes for each meal. Occasionally, Zhao made the dough sparsely with flour, oil and sugar, which cannot be used to cook cakes as usual. So he had to make the dough into chunks and put them on the pan for baking. After the rich man tasted, the cake was highly praised. When Zhao returned home, he opened a cake shop specialized in that kind of cakes, named Meng Feng Cake.

Other recommended Taiyuan special foods contain Mao Erduo, Guan Chang, Mutton Soup, etc.

Taiyuan Food Streets
Taiyuan Food Street (Shi Pin Jie) is situated in the urban area of Taiyuan. If you would like to try the snacks, please come to this street. Memorial archways and antique pavilions in the street replicate the architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties.