Order Like a Local: 9 Anhui Dishes Worth Pointing At
So What Exactly Is Anhui Food?
Anhui cuisine — 皖菜 (wǎncài), or Hui cuisine — is one of China's eight great regional cooking traditions, and it's criminally under-exported. While Sichuan food went global and Cantonese food conquered takeout menus, Hui cooking stayed home, built around wild mountain vegetables, freshwater fish, mushrooms, and slow braising with rice wine. It's rustic, deeply savory, and perfect for Anhui's humid summers and chilly winters.
Hefei, as the provincial capital, is the best possible place to eat your way through it. Here are nine dishes to hunt down — with prices, flavor notes for American palates, and the characters to flash at a confused vendor.
1. Stinky Mandarin Fish (臭鳜鱼, chòu guìyú)
The famous one. The fish is deliberately fermented until it smells, well, funky — think blue cheese meets brine — but the flavor is mild, sweet, and wonderfully tender. If you love funky cheese or fish sauce, you'll get it immediately.
Cost: ¥68–¥128 ($10–$18) at a proper Hui restaurant.
2. Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork (鱼香肉丝, yúxiāng ròusī)
No fish involved — "fish-fragrant" is a classic sauce of pickled chili, garlic, ginger, and a sweet-sour tang. Imagine a cross between sweet-and-sour pork and a garlicky stir-fry, served over rice. Comfort food with a kick.
Cost: ¥18–¥30 ($3–$4).
3. Fried Dumplings, Hefei Style (生煎包, shēngjiānbāo)
Pan-fried pork buns with a crisp, golden bottom and juicy filling. Picture a soup dumpling and a gyoza having a delicious baby. Find them at breakfast carts all over town — grab a paper bag and eat them standing up like a local.
Cost: ¥6–¥10 ($1–$1.50) for four.
4. Duck Oil Baked Cake (鸭油烧饼, yāyóu shāobǐng)
A Hefei signature. Flaky sesame-crusted pastries baked with rendered duck fat and scallions — savory, buttery, shatteringly crisp. The closest American cousin is a scallion pancake crossed with a croissant.
Cost: ¥3–¥5 (under $1) each. Buy three. You will.
5. Li Hongzhang Hodgepodge (李鸿章大杂烩, Lǐ Hóngzhāng dàzáhuì)
Named after Hefei's most famous statesman, this is a rich stew of chicken, sea cucumber, ham, tofu, and more, all simmered together. It's like a deluxe gumbo without the roux — savory, gelatinous, celebratory. Order it for a group.
Cost: ¥88–¥150 ($12–$20) per pot.
6. Lu'an Melon Slices Tea-Braised Duck (卤味鸭, lǔwèi yā)
Anhui loves its braised "red-cooked" meats, and duck is king here. Dark soy, star anise, rock sugar, and time produce meat that tastes like Thanksgiving meets five-spice beef jerky — in a good way. Get it sliced at any braised-meat counter (卤菜店).
Cost: ¥25–¥40 ($4–$6) for a generous portion.
7. Sansan Noodles (三河米饺, sānhé mǐjiǎo)
From the ancient water town of Sanhe an hour south of Hefei: dumplings wrapped in rice-flour dough and deep-fried until blistered. Crispy outside, chewy inside, filled with pork and tofu. Think arancini's Chinese cousin.
Cost: ¥5–¥8 ($1) each.
8. Wushan Goose (吴山贡鹅, wúshān gòng'é)
A Hefei-area specialty: goose dry-cured and braised with herbs until the meat is dense, salty, and faintly smoky. Slice it thin, eat it cold, pair it with rice and a cold beer. Deli-counter goose with a thousand years of pedigree.
Cost: ¥40–¥60 ($6–$8) per half bird.
9. Chao Hu Shrimp (巢湖虾仁, cháohú xiārén)
Lake Chao is practically Hefei's backyard, and its tiny sweet shrimp get stir-fried with just egg white, scallion, and rice wine. Delicate, clean, slightly sweet — the dish that converts people who think they don't like Chinese seafood.
Cost: ¥48–¥70 ($7–$10).
How to Actually Order This Stuff
Screenshot the characters above and show them to a server or vendor — it works wonders. A few bonus phrases:
- 这个,谢谢 (zhège, xièxie) — "This one, thanks" (point and go)
- 不要辣 (búyào là) — "Not spicy" (use wisely; some of these dishes need their heat)
- 买单 (mǎidān) — "Check, please"
Start at the breakfast carts near your apartment, work up to the braised-meat counters, and save the stinky fish for when you've got adventurous friends in town. Hefei's food scene rewards the curious — and at these prices, curiosity is cheap.
