Taiwan media look at the mainland: Hubei Tianmen steamed vegetables are not steamed without feasts

Chinanews.com, Beijing, November 11 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's "United Daily News" recently published a report introducing Tianmen City, Hubei Province, tracing the history of Tianmen steamed vegetables.

Tianmen steamed vegetables. Image source: Taiwan's "United Daily News"

According to the report, Tianmen steamed vegetables have been fragrant since ancient times. For thousands of years, the art of steaming vegetables has been passed down from generation to generation in Tianmen, and it has been enhanced. After a long period of historical inheritance, Tianmen steamed vegetables have gradually formed techniques such as "Tianmen Nine Steaming", as well as a perfect steaming technology system.

With its strong historical and cultural accumulation, unique flavor and exquisite skills, Tianmen steamed vegetables have become one of the representative varieties of Chu cuisine. The abundance of dishes, the variety of techniques, and the wide range of flavors make many tourists come to taste it. In 2010, the China Cuisine Association named Tianmen City as the "Hometown of Chinese Steamed Vegetables".

The rivers in Tianmen are crisscrossed, the lakes are dotted, and the aquatic products, poultry, grains, vegetables and other products are abundant, which provide a variety of raw materials for Tianmen steamed vegetables.

In the local area, whenever a guest comes, the owner will use the "three steaming" to entertain the guests. The "three" is not a definite number, but an approximate number, and the dishes are generally two or more steamed meat, steamed fish, and steamed vegetarian dishes, which contain the meaning of good luck, surplus every year, and longevity. In addition, there are fresh and delicious "vegetarian three steamed" and fragrant "meat three steamed".

The production process of Tianmen steamed vegetables is unique, and there are nine kinds of steamed dishes, namely powder steaming, clear steaming, cannon steaming, buckle steaming, package steaming, stuffed steaming, sealing steaming, dry steaming, and modeling steaming, among which powder steaming, steaming and cannon steaming are the oldest and famous.

The local folk banquet highlights the characteristics of steamed dishes, "eight steamed eight buckles and ten bowls", that is, there are eight steamed dishes on a table, and there is only one beet and one meal. Tianmen can really be said to have no vegetables and no steaming, no feasts and no steaming. (ENDS)