Guangxi cuisine is light, but not as light as Cantonese food; it is spicy, but not as spicy as Sichuan cuisine. It is most renowned for its unique treatment of venison. It also includes snake, mountain tortoise and pigeon. Its special dishes include Guilin Marou Mifen (rice-flour noodles with minted horse meat), and dog hot pot.

Five different flavors of the Guangxi cuisine

Cuisine of the Northern Guangxi Flavor

It comprises the local dishes in Guilin and Liuzhou, which are heavy in taste, thick in color, good at stewing and fond of being spicy.

Cuisine of the Southeastern Guangxi Flavor

It inludes the local cuisines of Nanning, Wuzhou and Yulin, which pay much attention to the freshness and tenderness of the food, and diversification of the ingredients.

Cuisine of the Western Guangxi Flavor

It is made up of the local cuisines of Baise and Hechi, featured by a strong national flavor. It is a good combination of various flavors, elaborately made with ordinary materials and full of variety. The dishes are light hot, delicately fragrant, tender and crisp.

Cuisine of the Coastal Guangxi Flavor

It comprises the local cuisine of Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang. It puts emphasis on the flavor and color of the dish, and is good at cooking seafood. Dishes made of freshwater fishes and poultry are quite special.

Cuisine of the Ethnic Minority Flavor

It comprises cuisines of different ethnic minorities. It shows a special love of the mountain vegetables, fungus in the mountains, edible wild herbs, and chicken and duck in the villages. It is characterized by freshness and purity in taste.

Guangxi Snacks

Fried Tea

Fried tea is a unique diet of the ethnic minorities in Guangxi. To make fried tea, first pop the cooked sun-dried sticky rice with oil, then put a handful of polished round-grained rice and tea into a wok and stir-fry them, and then add some water. After the water is boiled, filter the tea, and add some salt in the water. After that, put the popped rice or fried soybeans into the water. Thus tea is ready. The fried tea can also be made sweet, which depends on the taste of different people.

Guilin Rice-flour Noodles

It is the most famous snack food in Guilin and all over Guangxi. The rice-flour noodles are pure white, delicate, soft and pliant. The mixed ingredient is odorous, the meat and the vegetables are soft, and the thick gravy delicious.

Wuzhou Fried Paper-wrapped Chicken

The chicken has a freshness and delicacy of its own. It tastes delicious, smooth but not greasy. It is a famous traditional dish in Wuzhou.

Rolled Rice Pancake

Put the ground thick liquid rice into a tray, spread it out into a thin pancake, cast some minced meat and chopped green onions over it. After it is cooked, roll it up and put it into a plate, mix it with paste-like thick sauce and sesame oil. It tastes soft, smooth and delicious.

(CRIENGLISH.com December 12, 2008)