Chun'an Flavors to Warm You Up

01 Qiandao Lake Fish Head

After being washed, scalded, fried, and stewed, the skin of Qiandao Lake fish tightly locks in the juice, making the soup naturally milky-white. Take a sip of the fish soup, which combines the freshness of fish with the slightly spicy flavor of ginger, and the taste fills the mouth immediately. It's extremely delicious!

The evenly sliced portion of fish reveals some of the flesh. When poked with chopsticks, the fish soaked in the soup is peeled off in one piece, revealing a white texture like garlic cloves. Take a bite of the fish and it's fresh and tender, fatty but not greasy. You can also soak rice in the soup, which tastes great as well. Fish that can be savored in multiple ways is indeed a delicacy of the world.

02 Freshwater Spiral Snails

Freshwater spiral snails have a particularly beautiful name in Qiandao Lake, called "the Kiss of Qiandao Lake". The freshwater spiral snails of Qiandao Lake have little mud and no impurities, and are small, fleshy, chewy, and tender. It is also very well known. It has been on the second season of the famous documentary TV series "A Bite of China", and CCTV even did a whole episode on the freshwater spiral snails in Qiandao Lake.

03 Migeng

It's impossible for people who grew up in Chun'an to forget the taste of Migeng (Thick Rice Soup). The process of making Migeng is not complicated, though it takes some effort to prepare the ingredients needed. The old-style recipe is usually observed, but the ingredients used become more diverse and sophisticated.

When everything is ready, light a fire, pour in rapeseed oil, add a little lard to enhance the aroma, put the various dried vegetables into the pan, and stir-fry them until the flavor permeates the food. Then add water to the pan, pour the prepared rice milk little by little after the water boils (stir constantly while pouring), and simmer it over low heat.

Rice milk is like starch. It thickens the stew. Gradually, it becomes thicker and thicker. After seasonings are added, the fragrant, fresh and spicy rice soup is ready.

04 Nuan Guo (Hot Pot)

A special copper pot fueled by charcoal simmers various types of naturally dried dishes produced in Qiandao Lake, as well as farm-raised pork, tofu and shredded kelp, to create the best dish of the season.

It warms your stomach and your heart to have some friends over to sit around a hot pot and talk and laugh. Isn't that the joy of a small-town tour?

05 Triangular Steamed Bun (Vegetarian Eel)

It is a Chun'an specialty snack and its main ingredients are tofu sheets, tofu, and tender pumpkin (dried bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables are used as fillings in winter). Each household makes it on important traditional festivals. It tastes even better when fried.

06 Corn Cake

Grinding corn grains into powder, pouring them into a pot of boiling water, stirring it constantly with a spatula... This process is known as thickening. When the dough is no longer sticky, you can take it out, knead it into a golden ball, and then press it into a cake shape. Afterward, place it in a heated iron pan, and the corn cake is ready.

If you like the corn cake with fillings, you can stuff it with pickled vegetables, tofu, pickled vegetables, etc.

Before you eat it, top it with a layer of homemade spicy fermented bean curd, and you can treat yourself to the most authentic Chun'an delicacy.

07 Diaodiao Bun

During Chinese New Year celebrations and wedding celebrations, the people of Chun'an always end their feast with a plate of Diaodiao Bun. No feast in Chun'an would be complete without the Diaodiao Bun.

The process of making Diaodiao Bun is simple. You just let the dough rise, knead it, cut it into small pieces, shape them into a unique shape, and steam them.