What are the Top Ten Famous Dishes of Benxi?

This is a traditional Manchu delicacy popular among all ethnic groups. It has long been a main dish served to relatives and friends after farmers slaughter pigs for the Lunar New Year. Slice streaky pork thinly, put it into a pot together with shredded sauerkraut, add water and seasonings. After the water boils, add pre-cooked blood sausage cut into short sections. The dish is aromatic yet not greasy and highly nutritious.

This series of smoked food is made with an ancestral secret recipe, premium ingredients and elaborate processing. The varieties include smoked pork trotters, pork tripe, pork hock, beef, rabbit meat and chicken necks. This local specialty from Eastern Yan has an unforgettable savory taste. The meat is tender enough to fall off the bone, chewy and palatable. It retains rich aroma all year round and suits people of all ages.

Hot pot is the most iconic Manchu cuisine. Whether it is the primitive Manchu hot pot or the modern version popular nationwide, it evokes images of crackling bonfires deep in mountains and sizzling hanging pots. The valley would be filled with the fragrance of meat and wine, mixed with the laughter of ancient Manchu tribesmen. The Manchu people pioneered the hot pot enjoyed across China today. Countless family reunions and gatherings of friends are warmed by glowing charcoal fires over the steaming pot.

Rich in ginseng elements, the tender shoots can help treat rheumatism, diabetes, gastric ulcers and gynecological issues, and strengthen physical fitness. There are various ways to cook them: raw salad, stir-frying, marinating in soy sauce, making soups or fillings, or preserving as pickles. With sweet, fresh and intense wild flavour, it is known as the "King of Wild Mountain Vegetables".

Golden Meat was a noble imperial Manchu dish, ranked first among Manchu delicacies. After the founding of the Qing Dynasty, it was always served as the first course for grand ceremonies and banquets. Legend has it that this dish was created by Nurhaci, the founding ancestor of the Qing Dynasty.

Crayfish live under stones in mountain streams and rivers of Benxi. They look similar to shrimp with crab bodies and fish tails. To make this dish: remove the shells of live crayfish and keep only the tender roe. Mince the roe with a meat grinder, then stir-fry it rapidly in boiling hot oil until it turns bright red and soft, looking just like tofu — hence the name. Add stock, vegetables and seasonings. The bright red "tofu" floats on the soup, looking extremely appetizing.

Vermicelli is a staple side dish for Benxi families, and vermicelli-making was once a major rural sideline. It can be made from any starch-rich crops: potatoes, sweet potatoes, red beans, mung beans and sorghum. Production process: grind raw materials into thick slurry, filter out water to form solid starch lumps. Mix with boiled starch paste, then drip the mixture through a perforated strainer into boiling water to form thin vermicelli. Sun-dried vermicelli becomes dry noodles; frozen ones in winter are called frozen vermicelli. Residues can be used as pig feed. Locals often add vermicelli to stews and stir-fries.

The Taihe Banquet features premium aquatic ingredients from the Taizi River in Benxi, created by famous local chefs Zhang Yin and Ma Junqing. It includes cold platters, eight hot dishes, one soup and four pastries. Using traditional Liaoning cooking techniques such as steaming, braising, roasting, deep-frying and sautéing, the chefs combined local heritage with innovative recipes. The banquet boasts exquisite knife skills, mature cooking techniques and elegant plating. It won an award at the 1988 Liaoning Provincial Cooking Competition and was recorded in Famous Liaoning Banquets published by Liaoning Science and Technology Press.

This was the most respected staple food for entertaining guests in rural Benxi. Ancient Manchus lived in the cold mountainous northeast. Broomcorn millet is a long-day crop with a short growing season that thrives on newly reclaimed wasteland. It can grow well without intensive farming. After husking, millet turns into big yellow glutinous grains. In old times when rice was scarce, farmers would simmer millet together with small red beans to treat visitors. Even today, it remains a hospitality staple in non-rice-growing rural areas.

Spring pancakes are a traditional seasonal Han food widely eaten across urban and rural Benxi, especially on the Start of Spring. They are thin flatbreads baked with wheat flour. Seasonal Records of the Song Dynasty quoted Four Seasons Almanac from the Tang Dynasty: "On the Start of Spring, people eat radishes, spring pancakes and raw lettuce, known as a spring platter." Lettuce such as endive and lactuca was squeezed raw, seasoned with salt and vinegar and wrapped in pancakes. After the Qing Dynasty, stir-fried dishes became the common filling. People wrap smoked, roasted or salted pork shreds together with stir-fried vegetables inside thin pancakes.