Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Luoyang Shuixi ( water banquet)

Luoyang Shuixi ( water banquet)


     One of the characteristics of Luoyang Shuixi, meaning Luoyang water banquet, is that it includes both meat and vegetable dishes. Some vegetables are cooked like meat. The raw materials are extensive, including poultry, livestock, fish, and vegetables. The second is that it contains soup in each dish and with various tastes; such as sour, spicy, sweet, and salty. The third is that there is a definite order in the serving of each course, with reasonable assortments for each dish.
     If you visit Luoyang, the ancient capital of nine dynasties, people will introduce you to the “Three Superiors of Luoyang”, which are the Luoyang Water Banquet, the Luoyang Peony, and the Longmen Grottoes. Nowadays, you can enjoy the banquet that has a history of more than 1000 years in Houdefu Restaurant on South Lishi Street.The so-called Water Banquet has two meanings: one is that all the hot dishes contain soup; the other is that the hot dishes are served one by one, just like a flowing river. There are all together 24 dishes in this banquet. Cold and hot dishes, meat and vegetable dishes, sweet and salty dishes, sour and spicy dishes are all included. The serving order of the dishes is fixed, that is 8 cold dishes are served first accompanying with wine. Every plate includes 3 meat and 3 vegetables, altogether 16 different kinds. After drinking the wine, hot dishes are served with 4 big dishes. Every big dish is followed by two medium ones. In the last 4 most important dishes, there is an egg soup that is called “Sending off Soup”, which means the banquet has come to an end. All the hot dishes must contain soup. The raw materials include poultry, fish, seafood, mushroom and vegetables in various shapes, including chips, slices, chops, etc. The cooking style varies, including frying, steaming, boiling, and roasting.

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