Manchu cuisine

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Manchu cuisine uses the traditional Manchu staple foods of millet, broomcorn millet, soybean and pea, corn and broomcorn. It relies heavily on preserved foods due to the harsh winters and scorching summers in Northeast China. Manchu cuisine is also known for grilling, wild meat, strong taste, and wide use of soy sauce. Manchu cuisine is more wheat based than Han cuisine and relies on pickling for food preservation.

The typical Manchu dishes include pickled vegetables, Suancai Cuan Bairou, Bairou Xiechang, Manchurian hot pot (Suan Cai hot pot), Suan Tangzi (a sour soup with fermented corn flour), Sachima, Di San Xian, Manchu sausage, Suziyie Doubao, Ludagun (steamed roll made of bean flour) and Niushebing (cake). Manchu Han Imperial Feast (Manhan Quanxi) was one of the most representative in Manchu cuisine. This grand imperial banquet combined the best cuisine from the Manchus, Hans, Mongols, Huis and the Tibetans. It included 108 dishes (of which 54 are northern dishes and 54 are southern dishes) that had to be eaten over 3 days. The Manchu palace banquets were subdivided into 6 grades. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades were prepared for deceased imperial ancestors. The 4th grade food was served to imperial family during New Year and other celebrations. The grade 5 and 6 were served on all other occasions.^[1]

Bairou Xiechang is a soup with pork and blood sausage and pickled Chinese cabbage. Manchurian hot pot is another traditional dish, which is made from pickled Chinese cabbage, pork and mutton. Suziyie Doubao is a steamed bun, stuffed with sweetened mashed-beans, wrapped with perilla leaves outside.^[2]

Sachima, a candied fritter similar to Tartar Çäkçäk is a very popular sweet with many people.

References

1. ^ Rawski, Evelyn Sakakida (1998). "The last emperors: a social history of Qing imperial institutions". 
2. ^ "The Manchu ethnic group". http://www.msdchina.org/userfiles/file/pdf/Manchu.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-01.