Manchu Cuisine

Manchu cuisine is the food culture of the Manchurian cultural region in present-day northeastern China(東北).

Manchuria includes Liaoning(遼寧), Jilin(吉林), and Heilongjiang(黑龍江) provinces as well as parts of Inner Mongolia(內蒙古) and Hebei(河北) Province. This region is the homeland of the Manchu people and other Tungusic people; there are also many Han people who mostly came from northern China.

Manchu people make up one of the largest minority ethnic groups in China. Historically, Manchu people spoke the Manchurian language and used Manchurian script; today most Manchu people speak a dialect of Mandarin, and the old Manchurian language is endangered.

Manchu culture has strong connections to northern China. Beijing was the capital for the Manchu-controlled Qing Dynasty. It also has connections with Mongolia and Korea. Manchu cuisine is particularly similar to Beijing cuisine, Jin cuisine, Lu cuisine, and northern Korean cuisine.

Shenyang(瀋陽) is a Manchu cultural center, an ancient Manchu capital which also served as a secondary capital during the Qing dynasty. It is in the middle of Liaoning(遼寧) Province where there is a high concentration of Manchu population.

Eight famous Manchu dishes from the Qing imperial feast are known as the Manchu Eight Great Bowls(滿族八大碗): tofu with mustard greens, shrimp tofu egg, frog meat, chicken mushroom noodle, pig trotters, sour cabbage with pork, spanish mackerel, and amazun pork. However, there is some variation in these eight in different areas.

Ingredients

Japonica rice is grown in the region.

Soybean is a common ingredient. Fermented soybean paste(大醬) is essentially the same as that of Beijing(黃醬) and related to doenjang of Korea.

Xuecai or Xuelihong(雪菜 / 雪裡紅) is a type of mustard leaf, sometimes with thin or wrinkled leaves. It is typically pickled. Napa cabbage is a common vegetable and is also pickled.

Potato(土豆) is relatively well-suited for the climate and grown widely. Starch from potato and sweet potato is used for making certain types of noodles(粉條). Flat noodles called kuanfen(寬粉) and round noodles(圓粉) are made with potato starch, or sometimes sweet potato starch, in northeastern China.

Eggplant is used, traditionally a round variety which grows better in the northern climate.

Apricot(杏) is grown for its fruit and/or kernel.

Sichuan peppercorn(花椒) is sometimes used; it can be used to flavor water(花椒水) as a cooking ingredient.

Mushrooms are used and some kinds can be foraged in the wild.

Pork is an important food. It is often referred to as white meat(白肉). Blood sausage(血腸) is also made from pig.

Deer(鹿) and bear(熊) meat may also be used.

Dishes

• da la pi(大拉皮): potato starch noodles
• sour cabbage(酸白菜): fermented napa cabbage
• di san xian(地三鮮): stir-fried potato or sweet potato, eggplant, and green chili
• mustard leaf tofu(雪菜炒小豆腐): stir-fried small tofu pieces with mustard leaf
• luan dun(亂燉): stew with various available ingredients
• eggplant and potato(茄子燉土豆)
• napa cabbage and tofu(白菜燉豆腐)
• chicken mushroom stew noodle(小雞蘑菇燉粉條): young chicken and mushroom stewed with noodles
• pork stew noodle(豬肉燉粉條): pork stewed with noodles
• sour cabbage pork pot(酸白菜肉鍋 or 酸菜燉白肉血腸): pork and blood sausage stewed with pickled napa cabbage
• pig trotters(扒豬手): braised pig feet
• bear paw(扒熊掌): braised bear paw
• guo bao rou(鍋包肉): battered pork with sweet and sour sauce
• amazun pork(阿瑪尊肉): golden battered pork pieces
• tan rou(壇肉): stewed pork, usually with sugar and soy sauce
• saqima(薩奇馬): crunchy chewy fried dough and syrup snack
• nian doo bao(粘豆包): millet bun with sweet red bean filling