China News Service, Nanchang, February 29th: Why does "Jiangxi stir-fry" become so popular?
Author Zhu Ying
"Jiangxi is a holy land of humanity, with green waters and mountains, and an old revolutionary area. What you may not know is that Jiangxi's Gan cuisine is very delicious. Recently, Gan cuisine has a new nickname called 'Jiangxi Xiao Chao'. In Zhejiang, This area is relatively famous..." During the Lantern Festival that just passed, You Wangying, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Commerce, was invited to participate in the event and take the stage to promote Gan cuisine.
Jiangxi, located on the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, is known as a place with abundant resources and outstanding people. Its unique natural conditions make the southeast corner rich in delicacies, chickens, ducks, pigs and cattle, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
According to incomplete statistics, there are hundreds of Jiangxi stir-fry restaurants in the main urban area of Yiwu, Zhejiang.
Why is "Jiangxi Xiao Chao" so fragrant?
The picture shows one of the top ten Gan dishes in Jiangxi, stir-fried bacon with Artemisia arborescens.
Photo courtesy of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Commerce
There are hundreds of Jiangxi stir-fry restaurants in the main urban area of Yiwu, Zhejiang.
How popular is "Jiangxi Xiao Chao"?
The Spring Festival holiday is over, and tourists are embarking on their return journey. Many netizens with IP addresses belonging to Zhejiang posted videos asking "when will 'Jiangxi Xiao Chao' open?" and jokingly called "Jiangxi Xiao Chao" a specialty of Zhejiang.
The reporter searched for the topic "Jiangxi Xiaochao" on the social platform "Douyin", and as of the end of February, it had been viewed more than 84.319 million times.
Taking Yiwu, Zhejiang as an example, Jiangxi stir-fries can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys.
Videos posted by netizens show that there are five or six "Jiangxi Xiaochao" restaurants less than 100 meters away on one street.
A search for "Jiangxi Xiao Chao" on "Dianping" shows a total of 1,074 results; if the location is changed to Taizhou, a total of 6,897 results are found.
Zhou Huimin, who has worked and lived in Yiwu for a long time, told reporters that "Jiangxi Xiao Chao" is the collective name for all Jiangxi restaurants in Yiwu. As long as they live in Yiwu, almost everyone knows "Jiangxi Xiao Chao". "Most of the Jiangxi Xiao Chao restaurants are small restaurants, and they are almost the same." There is a clear menu at the door, and most of what is sold in the store are home-cooked dishes.”
The reporter learned that in November last year, at a music festival in Yiwu, Zhejiang, during the interactive session, a singer on stage asked what the specialty of Yiwu was, and the audience unanimously answered "Jiangxi stir-fry".
After the video was posted on social platforms, this anecdote quickly went viral.
The picture shows the opening ceremony of the 5th Gan Cuisine Food Culture Festival.
(Information photo) Photo by Liu Lixin
Delicious and inexpensive, it has become the "first choice" for "workers" to eat
Zhejiang's food is delicious and light, but why does the "Jiangxi stir-fry" with a spicy taste get out of the "Zhejiang" category?
Jiangxi's local chronicle "Yuzhang Ji" once recorded that Jiangxi's food "is rich in vegetables and refined rice, and is delicious in all directions." Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Jiangxi's local food culture has been popular.
Gan cuisine has a complete range of dishes. There are 469 dishes with recipes and sources. Including local dishes, farm dishes, side dishes, etc., there are more than 1,000 varieties.
The picture shows the "Top Ten Famous Dishes" of Gan cuisine displayed in the China Gan Cuisine Brand Promotion Center.
(File photo) Photo by Wu Pengquan
Jiangxi is a major labor export province and is geographically adjacent to Zhejiang. The two places have convenient transportation. Large-scale personnel exchanges have given rise to cultural exchanges and also cultivated unique group consumption.
They are not only the "spoon masters" of "Jiangxi Xiao Chao", but also the consumers of "Jiangxi Xiao Chao".
"The name of Jiangxi Xiao Chao is just like an advertisement. When people see this store name, they will think of a full range of dishes, affordable prices, and good meals." Zhou Huimin told reporters that when she first came to Yiwu, she couldn't get used to the local light dishes because of the different tastes. Jiangxi Xiao Chao The restaurant is the first choice for him and his family to eat out. A family of three or four orders "big dishes" such as chicken, duck, and fish, and a meal basically costs around 100 yuan.
In Leping City, Jiangxi Province, there are more than 5,000 "Jiangxi Xiao Chao" restaurants opened outside Jiangxi Province. More than 1,000 of the more than 6,000 households in Cormorant Township in Leping City operate Jiangxi Xiao Chao shops in Zhejiang, which has become a new idea for villagers to start their own businesses.
"The 'Jiangxi Xiaochao' merchants who go out to start a business can generally earn an income of 200,000 to 500,000 yuan a year." Zhang Jianying, publicity committee member of the Cormorant Township People's Government, said that in line with the purpose of "delicious food, not expensive, affordable prices" , the hot and delicious Jiangxi stir-fry has gradually spread in the streets and alleys of Zhejiang, and has established a firm foothold in Zhejiang, becoming the "first choice" of many people for dining.
Multiple measures are taken to help Gan cuisine “escape from the fire”
Not only in Zhejiang, but also across the country, "Jiangxi stir-fry" has quietly taken root in more places. The slogan "Jiangxi is picturesque and Gan cuisine is fragrant all over the world" is widely known. Gan cuisine IPs such as "Jiangxi rice noodles" and "Jiangxi stir-fry" have successively emerged in the circle.
Official data shows that in 2023, the turnover of the catering industry in Jiangxi Province was 153.88 billion yuan, an increase of 17.4%, and an increase of 63.7% compared with the end of 2020.
The reporter learned from the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Commerce that in recent years, the province has vigorously implemented the "famous" campaign of Gan cuisine and selected and released the "Top Ten Famous Dishes" and "Top Ten Famous Snacks" of Gan cuisine.
It has built and operated online and offline Gan cuisine brand promotion centers, and has identified 72 Gan cuisine brand demonstration stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and central cities.
Carry out a series of promotion activities for Gan cuisine "Going to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and Shenzhen" to continue to expand the popularity of Gan cuisine outside the province.
The picture shows the opening ceremony of the 5th Gan Cuisine Food Culture Festival.
(Information photo) Photo by Liu Lixin
At the same time, the province promotes the docking of production and sales and builds corporate brands.
We vigorously carry out activities such as docking production and sales of Gan cuisine ingredients, and inspections of origins, and hold Jiangxi high-quality agricultural product promotion conferences in Shanghai and Guangzhou; launch the "Haoxiang Gan Taste" e-commerce platform, with more than 500 kinds of Gan cuisine related products for sale online; benchmark high-end catering ratings Standards guide Gan cuisine companies to improve quality in terms of dishes, scenes, services, etc.
"In the next step, we will carry out a series of publicity and promotion activities outside the province to continuously expand the influence of Gan cuisine outside the province. We encourage local Gan cuisine companies to 'go global', give full play to the role of Jiangxi chambers of commerce in various places, and actively promote the increase in the number of Gan cuisine stores outside the province. , continue to carry out the promotion and promotion of 'Jiangxi Rice Noodles' and 'Jiangxi Xiao Chao'." said the relevant person in charge of the Service Trade and Commercial Service Industry Division of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Commerce.
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