Assamese cuisine is the cuisine of Assam. It is a style of cooking that is a confluence of cooking habits of the hills that favour fermentation and drying as forms of preservation and those from the plains that provide fresh vegetables and an abundance of fish and meat. Both are centred on the main ingredient — rice. The confluence of varied cultural influences in the Assam Valley has led to the staggering variety and flavours in the Assamese food. It is characterized by the use of an extremely wide variety of plant as well as animal products, owing to their abundance in the region. It is a mixture of indigenous styles with considerable regional variations and some external influences. The traditional way of cooking and the cuisine of Assam is very similar to other South-East Asian countri