Where to eat Chaohu specialties

Chaohu Lake is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in my country and also a relatively important lake in Anhui Province. As the saying goes, live by the mountain, eat from the mountain; live by the water, eat from the water. Many of Chaohu’s specialty foods are lake seafood, such as Chinese mitten crab, Chaohu whitebait, Chaohu white shrimp, etc. In addition, Wuwei pressed duck and other foods are also well-known foods in Chaohu area. Next, I will introduce to you the special foods of Chaohu!

1. Chinese mitten crab

The Chinese mitten crab usually weighs about 4 taels each, with a slightly round shell, strong claws, smooth fuzz, and tender, crispy meat. Baishan Town, Lujiang County, known as the hometown of aquatic products, is located on the south bank of Chaohu Lake, one of the five largest freshwater lakes. It is 10 kilometers north of Lucheng and 50 kilometers from Hefei, and passes by the Hetong Highway. The water area in the territory is vast and the water is clear, and the Baishitian River directly leads to Chaohu Lake. Its geographical conditions are unique. The town of aquatic products is especially famous for its river crabs, with 250 tons of Chinese mitten crabs caught annually. Each crab weighs about 4 taels, with a slightly round shell, strong claws, smooth fuzz, and tender and crispy meat, making it a rare delicacy on people's tables.

2. Wuwei Pressed Duck

Also known as "Wuwei Smoked Duck", it is a traditional halal delicacy in Wuwei County with a history of more than 100 years. The dish is made from Chaohu duck, which is usually fat duck weighing more than 4 jin in the same year, and is paired with about 30 kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs and seasonings such as ginger, star anise, pepper, cloves, and cumin. It is smoked first and then braised. It has a golden and shiny color, thick and moist skin, tender meat, mellow and delicious flavor, and a long aftertaste, making it famous throughout the country. (Chaohu) During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, more than 50 Hui Muslim families who moved from Xinjiang and other places to Wuwei County first created this dish. It has a history of more than 200 years, and the most famous one is the pressed duck run by Lin Hongxing at Guloukou.

3. Chaohu Whitebait

Chaohu Lake is famous for its abundance of whitebait. Whitebait, formerly known as "leftover fish", is commonly known as "noodle fish" and "embroidery needle fish". It has a small and slender body, a flat head, one dorsal fin and one adipose fin. It is scaleless and translucent milky white in color. It shines silver under the sunlight, hence the name "silverfish". Although Chaohu whitebait is small, it has tender meat, delicious taste, high nutritional value, and rich protein, and can be used to cook a variety of delicious dishes.

4. Chaohu White Shrimp

Chaohu white shrimp, scientific name is white shrimp. White shrimps are processed into dried shrimps, also known as shrimp meat, and those produced in freshwater are called lake shrimps. The two major producing areas of lake rice in my country are Chaohu Lake and Hongze Lake. At present, Chaohu shrimps are exported to Hong Kong, Macao, Japan and Southeast Asia. Among the shrimp species in Chaohu Lake, white shrimps account for about 80%, with an annual catch of thousands of tons. There has long been a saying among the Chinese people that dead shrimps turn red, but this is not the case with Chaohu white shrimps. They do not turn red even when cooked and remain white all over.