Henan as one of the sources of China's ancient civilization has a long history and an old culture with relatively rich cultural heritages. From Xia, Shang through to the Northern Song, many dynasties built their capitals in Henan. Luoyang located in the west of the province had been the capital of nine dynasties, Zhengzhou in central Henan a capital for five times in the periods of Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States, and Kaifeng in eastern Henan the capital of seven dynasties. The long and brilliant history leaves not only abundant historical relics, but also splendid cultural wealth. And Yu Cuisine (Henan Cuisine) is part of it.
Among the antiques unearthed in Zhengzhou Municipality, Henan Province are the kitchen wares used in the early Neolithic Age, and shown in the frescos found in the Tombs of the Han Dynasty at Dahuting, Xinmi City are vivid scenes of cooking fish, boiling meat, butchering chicken and goose. It is in Henan that the earliest ancestor of the Chinese cuisine Yi Yin was born, and one of the earliest famous banquets in the Chinese history 'Banquet of Juntai' was also held here. In the Zhou Dynasty the rules with regard to cookery had been preliminarily formed; till the Northern Song Dynasty when 'All of the exotic flavors could be prepared in the kitchens', Henan cuisine had developed a complete system with the characteristics of the imperial courts and with all the five factors of color, fragrance, taste, design, table wares stressed; later, the Yu Cuisine gradually spread outside the province, and restaurants specialize in the Yu Cuisine were opened in major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an, Jinan, Lanzhou, Kunming, Harbin and so on.
In the long cooking practice, the cooks in Henan have summarized many valuable tips: in selecting materials, 'Carp is best to eat when it is one chi long, and crucian carp eight cun long', 'Chicken is best to eat when millet is ripe, and fish in October', and 'Whip-rod-thin eel and hoof-sized turtle are best to eat in every March and April'; in terms of cutting and slicing skills, the Yu Cuisine possesses the traditional skills described as 'All cutting must be neat, slicing even, dividing more than half, chopping not messy'. The unique cutting techniques in the Yu Cuisine also include that 'Cut the front part, slice the middle, and chop the rear', by so doing multiple effects can be reached. Surely much of the other expertise has been summarized. 
As indicated by the local, colloquial expression in Henan that  'an opera singer depends on a good voice, a cook on the skill in preparing soup', the Yu Cuisine attaches great importance to soup preparing. In the Yu Cuisine, soup is classified into appetizer soup, white soup, mao soup and clear soup. The materials for cooking soup must be 'washed twice, put into the pot twice, and the scum be skimmed off twice'. When high-grade clear soup is needed, extra materials will be added so as to reach the effects that when it is clear, the bottom should be seen, the taste must be refreshing; when thick, white nutrients should float on the surface and be able to stick to the lips when enjoyed.
The Yu Cuisine totally has more than 50 cooking techniques, many of them, such as stewing, frying, deep-frying, quick-frying, quick-boiling, stir-frying and Qiang, are unique. Among such techniques, stewing is the most distinctive, has all the time been highly spoken of as the technique can make a desirable dish with sticky juice even without adding cooking starch. In addition, high heat is often used when quick-boiling dishes: with hot pot and cool oil, and quick operation, the dish looks milky white and tastes crisp and tender. The historical dishes like 'Quick-fried Yellow River Carp in Sweet and Sour Sauce Covered with Baked Noodles', 'Stir-fried Three Not Sticky', 'Skin and Shreds with Osmanthus Flowers' and 'Carp in Sweet and Sour Sauce' are still well known far and wide and highly favored by people both at home and abroad.