Henan or Yu cuisine is an umbrella term used to define the native cooking styles of the Henan province in China. Henan (河南, or Honan) is a province located in Central China and is often also referred to by the names Zhongzhou or Zhongyuan, which means ‘midland’. Being landlocked on all sides, the influence of localized culinary styles are plentiful to be observed in Henan Cuisine. It incorporates a blend of culinary styles from Jiangsu and Beijing, which gives it a unique mix of taste. Henan Cuisine is well known for its taste variety including a blend of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty. There are a wide variety of Henan dishes, including Carp with Fried Noodles in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Grilled Head and Tail of Black Carp, Bianjing Roasted Duck, Stewed Noodles with Mutton, and Spicy Soup. Despite its mix of flavours within its culinary forms, Henan cuisine is not known to take them to the extreme. Rather, Henan cuisine is known for inducing a very moderate and balanced mix of flavours in its dishes. Henan has a long cultural history, which not only left us precious cultural relics and historical sites but also Henan cuisine. Henan is in the central part of China, so it is a fusion of the characteristics of both southern and northern, resulting in a unique local cuisine. Henan cuisine, also known as Yu cuisine, has the honor of being one of China's oldest and most traditional cooking styles. There are more than 50 kinds of cooking methods in preparing Henan cuisine. The history of the province shows its relation to the affinity towards food culture among the people of Henan, where the motive to bring together the different tastes from the north and the south to blend it into one dish. History of Henan Cuisine The History of Henan Cuisine dates back to the late Xia Dynasty in the 21st to the 17th century BC. Within this period, the entirety of Henan Cuisine underwent rapid and robust changes to accommodate the different emerging culinary cultures from the surrounding regions. By the end of the Xia dynasty, there was an entire banquet system based on Henan dishes. By the time the Shang Dynasty began in the 17th century BC, Henan Cuisine was redesigned with the new seasoning including all different flavours to bring a more harmonious element to it. This formed the base