Shanghai cuisine
Encyclopedia
Shanghai cuisine also known as Hu cai (沪菜, pinyin
: hù cài) is a popular style of Chinese cuisine
. The city of Shanghai
itself does not have a separate and unique cuisine of its own, but modifies those of the surrounding provinces, is Jiangsu
and Zhejiang
coastal provinces. What can be called Shanghai cuisine is epitomized by the use of alcohol
. Fish, crab, chicken are "drunken" with spirits and are briskly cooked/steamed or served raw. Salted meats
and preserved vegetables are also commonly used to adjuntify the dish.
The use of sugar
is common in Shanghainese cuisine, especially when used in combination with soy sauce
. Non-natives tend to have difficulty identifying this usage of sugar and are often surprised when told of the "secret ingredient". The most notable dish of this type of cooking is "sweet and sour
spare ribs" ("tangcu xiaopai" in Shanghainese). "Red cooking
" is a popular style of stewing meats and vegetables associated with Shanghai.
"Beggar's Chicken" is a legendary dish of a southern origin, called "jiaohua ji" in Mandarin, wrapped in lotus
leaves and covered in clay
. Though usually prepared in ovens, the original and historic preparation involved cooking in the ground. The lion's head meatball and Shanghai-style nian gao are also uniquely Shanghainese, as are Shanghai fried noodles
, a regional variant of chow mein
that is made with Shanghai-style thick noodle. Lime
-and-ginger
-flavoured thousand-year eggs and stinky tofu
are other popular Shanghainese food items.
Facing the East China Sea
, seafood in Shanghai is very popular. However, due to its location among the rivers, lakes, and canals of the Yangtze Delta, locals favor freshwater produce just as much as saltwater products like crabs, oyster
s, and seaweed
. The most notable local delicacy is Shanghai hairy crab.
Shanghainese people are known to eat in delicate portions (which makes them a target of mockery from other Chinese), and hence the servings are usually quite small. For example, notable bun
s from Shanghai
such as the xiaolong mantou (known as xiaolongbao
in Mandarin) and the shengjian mantou
are usually about four centimetres in diameter, much smaller than the typical baozi
or mantou
elsewhere.
are used to grabbing some food in small snack stores or having a bowl of pao fan (泡饭 | rice in soup or water) with pickled cucumbers, pickled vegetables or a salty duck egg
at home.
Sheng Jian Bao ("Sangjibo" - in Shanghainese)
Breakfast is commonly bought from corner stalls which sells pork buns, for the best xiaolongbao
(small steamer bun). These stalls also sell other types of buns, such as Shengjian mantou
(生煎饅頭, literally "fried bun") and Guo Tie (fried jiaozi
),all eaten dipped in black vinegar. And "luo bo si bing" (萝卜丝饼，radish-strips-stuffing pancake) is also delicious.
A typical breakfast combination is youtiao, a dough-like food that is deep fried in oil until crisp and is eaten in all parts of China, wrapped in thick pancake, accompanied by soy milk
.And you can also tear a loaf of youtiao into pieces and put them into soy milk to eat.
Xiao Long Bao
A notable Shanghai delicacy is the Xiao Long Bao
, sometimes known as Shanghai Dumplings in English-speaking countries Xiao Long Bao, or "small steamer bun" (literally translated) as mentioned above, is a type of steamed bun that is filled with pork (most commonly found) or minced crab, and soup. Although it appears delicate, a good xiao long bao is able to hold in the soup until the xiao long bao is bitten. They are steamed in bamboo baskets and served with black vinegar and in some places, shredded ginger. A common way of eating the Xiao Long Bao is to bite the top off, suck all the soup, then dipping it in vinegar before eating.
"Four Heavenly Kings"
The most well-known foods for breakfast are the “Four Heavenly Kings
” (四大金刚), which include da bing (大饼) (Chinese pancake), youtiao (deep-fried dough stick), ci fan tuan
(steamed sticky rice ball) and soy milk
.
Among “Four Heavenly Kings”, ci fan tuan belongs to typical Shanghai food. Ci fan tuan is made of warm steamed sticky rice. Shanghainese people like putting sugar and youtiao inside steamed sticky rice. People also put salty duck egg yolk, rousong
(crushed dried pork) or other stuffings in ci fan tuan.
Chinese mitten crab
(Da Zha Xie (大闸蟹) is a hairy crab found in the Yangcheng Lake. It is normally consumed during Winter (September to November every year). The crabs are tied with ropes/strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served.
Crispy chicken
Crispy chicken is made by first boiling the body of a chicken until its flesh is tender, then roasting it for long periods of time or until the skin goes dry and crispy.
Congshao crucian carp
This is rather involved and complex preparation for the common crucian carp
. The dish, congshao jiyu (蔥燒鯽魚, lit. scallion stewed crucian carp), requires long hours for preparation since the fish needs to be soaked in vinegar, and then deep-fried, stewed for a long prolonged period, and cooled to make the fish tender enough to consume together with all its bones. Due to the complexity of its preparation and the difficulty in perfecting it, the dish was sometimes used by families as a test when recruiting a cook.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: hù cài) is a popular style of Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
. The city of Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
itself does not have a separate and unique cuisine of its own, but modifies those of the surrounding provinces, is Jiangsu
Jiangsu cuisine
Jiangsu cuisine is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Jiangsu region in China. In general, Jiangsu cuisine's texture is characterized as soft, but not to the point of mushy or falling apart. For example, the meat tastes quite soft but...
and Zhejiang
Zhejiang cuisine
Zhejiang cuisine is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Zhejiang region in China...
coastal provinces. What can be called Shanghai cuisine is epitomized by the use of alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. Fish, crab, chicken are "drunken" with spirits and are briskly cooked/steamed or served raw. Salted meats
Salt-cured meat
Salt-cured meat or salted meat, for example bacon and kippered herring, is meat or fish preserved or cured with salt. Salting, either with dry salt or brine, was the only widely available method of preserving meat until the 19th century...
and preserved vegetables are also commonly used to adjuntify the dish.
The use of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
is common in Shanghainese cuisine, especially when used in combination with soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
. Non-natives tend to have difficulty identifying this usage of sugar and are often surprised when told of the "secret ingredient". The most notable dish of this type of cooking is "sweet and sour
Sweet and sour
Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It has long been popular in North America and Europe, where it is stereotypically considered a component of standard Chinese cuisine...
spare ribs" ("tangcu xiaopai" in Shanghainese). "Red cooking
Red cooking
In Chinese cooking, Red cooking is a slow braising cooking technique that imparts a red color to the prepared food....
" is a popular style of stewing meats and vegetables associated with Shanghai.
"Beggar's Chicken" is a legendary dish of a southern origin, called "jiaohua ji" in Mandarin, wrapped in lotus
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae...
leaves and covered in clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. Though usually prepared in ovens, the original and historic preparation involved cooking in the ground. The lion's head meatball and Shanghai-style nian gao are also uniquely Shanghainese, as are Shanghai fried noodles
Shanghai fried noodles
Shanghai fried noodles is a dish made from Shanghai-style noodles, which can be found in most Chinese food markets. The more commonly known Japanese udon can be used as a substitute. The noodles are stir-fried with beef cutlets, cabbage or spinach, and onion. The dish is a staple of Shanghai...
, a regional variant of chow mein
Chow mein
Chow mein is a Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties.-Etymology:...
that is made with Shanghai-style thick noodle. Lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
-and-ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
-flavoured thousand-year eggs and stinky tofu
Stinky tofu
Stinky tofu or chòu dòufu is a form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is a popular snack in East and Southeast Asia, particularly mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and in East Asian enclaves elsewhere where it is usually found homemade, at night markets or roadside stands, or as a...
are other popular Shanghainese food items.
Facing the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
, seafood in Shanghai is very popular. However, due to its location among the rivers, lakes, and canals of the Yangtze Delta, locals favor freshwater produce just as much as saltwater products like crabs, oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s, and seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
. The most notable local delicacy is Shanghai hairy crab.
Shanghainese people are known to eat in delicate portions (which makes them a target of mockery from other Chinese), and hence the servings are usually quite small. For example, notable bun
Baozi
A bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations...
s from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
such as the xiaolong mantou (known as xiaolongbao
Xiaolongbao
Xiaolongbao is a type of steamed bun or baozi from eastern China, especially Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, hence the name...
in Mandarin) and the shengjian mantou
Shengjian mantou
Shengjian mantou are a type of small, pan-fried baozi which is a specialty of Shanghai. It is usually filled with pork and gelatin that melts into soup/liquid when cooked. Shengjian mantou has been one of the most common breakfast items in Shanghai for the last century...
are usually about four centimetres in diameter, much smaller than the typical baozi
Baozi
A bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations...
or mantou
Mantou
Mantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
elsewhere.
Breakfast
Shanghainese people do not usually spend too much time on having breakfast, so breakfast in Shanghai is pretty simple. Shanghainese peopleShanghainese people
The Shanghainese people also commonly referred to as Shanghaiers refers to the people whose families are from Shanghai, China, who can speak the Shanghainese dialect of the Wu language. With the prosperity of Shanghai, more and more migrants have been moving to Shanghai for school and work which...
are used to grabbing some food in small snack stores or having a bowl of pao fan (泡饭 | rice in soup or water) with pickled cucumbers, pickled vegetables or a salty duck egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
at home.
Sheng Jian Bao ("Sangjibo" - in Shanghainese)
Breakfast is commonly bought from corner stalls which sells pork buns, for the best xiaolongbao
Xiaolongbao
Xiaolongbao is a type of steamed bun or baozi from eastern China, especially Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, hence the name...
(small steamer bun). These stalls also sell other types of buns, such as Shengjian mantou
Shengjian mantou
Shengjian mantou are a type of small, pan-fried baozi which is a specialty of Shanghai. It is usually filled with pork and gelatin that melts into soup/liquid when cooked. Shengjian mantou has been one of the most common breakfast items in Shanghai for the last century...
(生煎饅頭, literally "fried bun") and Guo Tie (fried jiaozi
Jiaozi
Jiǎozi 餃子 or 饺子 , bánh bột luộc , gyōza , Mo:Mo: or Momocha म:म: or ममचा , or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling widely spread to Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into...
),all eaten dipped in black vinegar. And "luo bo si bing" (萝卜丝饼，radish-strips-stuffing pancake) is also delicious.
A typical breakfast combination is youtiao, a dough-like food that is deep fried in oil until crisp and is eaten in all parts of China, wrapped in thick pancake, accompanied by soy milk
Soy milk
Soy milk and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water...
.And you can also tear a loaf of youtiao into pieces and put them into soy milk to eat.
Xiao Long Bao
A notable Shanghai delicacy is the Xiao Long Bao
Xiaolongbao
Xiaolongbao is a type of steamed bun or baozi from eastern China, especially Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, hence the name...
, sometimes known as Shanghai Dumplings in English-speaking countries Xiao Long Bao, or "small steamer bun" (literally translated) as mentioned above, is a type of steamed bun that is filled with pork (most commonly found) or minced crab, and soup. Although it appears delicate, a good xiao long bao is able to hold in the soup until the xiao long bao is bitten. They are steamed in bamboo baskets and served with black vinegar and in some places, shredded ginger. A common way of eating the Xiao Long Bao is to bite the top off, suck all the soup, then dipping it in vinegar before eating.
"Four Heavenly Kings"
The most well-known foods for breakfast are the “Four Heavenly Kings
Four Heavenly Kings
In the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.The Kings are collectively named as follows:...
” (四大金刚), which include da bing (大饼) (Chinese pancake), youtiao (deep-fried dough stick), ci fan tuan
Ci fan tuan
Cí fàn tuán is a kind of food in Chinese cuisine, originating from Shanghai. It is made by tightly wrapping a piece of youtiao with glutinous rice. It is usually eaten as breakfast together with sweetened or savory soy milk in Eastern China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.In Hong Kong, it is usually known...
(steamed sticky rice ball) and soy milk
Soy milk
Soy milk and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water...
.
Among “Four Heavenly Kings”, ci fan tuan belongs to typical Shanghai food. Ci fan tuan is made of warm steamed sticky rice. Shanghainese people like putting sugar and youtiao inside steamed sticky rice. People also put salty duck egg yolk, rousong
Rousong
Rousong , also sometimes called meat wool, meat floss, pork floss, pork sung, is a dried meat product that has a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from Fujian. Rousong is used as a topping for many foods such as congee, tofu, and savory soy milk. It is also used as...
(crushed dried pork) or other stuffings in ci fan tuan.
Main courses
Da Zha XieChinese mitten crab
Chinese mitten crab
The Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis is a medium-sized burrowing crab, named for its furry claws that look like mittens, that is native in the coastal estuaries of eastern Asia from Korea in the north to the Fujian province of China in the south...
(Da Zha Xie (大闸蟹) is a hairy crab found in the Yangcheng Lake. It is normally consumed during Winter (September to November every year). The crabs are tied with ropes/strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served.
Crispy chicken
Crispy chicken is made by first boiling the body of a chicken until its flesh is tender, then roasting it for long periods of time or until the skin goes dry and crispy.
Congshao crucian carp
This is rather involved and complex preparation for the common crucian carp
Crucian carp
The crucian carp is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, or the smaller minnows. They inhabit lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers throughout Europe and Asia. The crucian is a medium-sized cyprinid, which rarely exceeds a weight of over 3.3...
. The dish, congshao jiyu (蔥燒鯽魚, lit. scallion stewed crucian carp), requires long hours for preparation since the fish needs to be soaked in vinegar, and then deep-fried, stewed for a long prolonged period, and cooled to make the fish tender enough to consume together with all its bones. Due to the complexity of its preparation and the difficulty in perfecting it, the dish was sometimes used by families as a test when recruiting a cook.
See also
- Chinese cuisineChinese cuisineChinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
- List of Chinese dishes
- CookingCookingCooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
- Chinatown, FlushingChinatown, FlushingChinatown, Flushing, or Flushing Chinatown , in the Flushing area of the borough of Queens in New York City, is one of the largest and fastest growing ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia, as well as within New York City itself...
External links
- china.org.cn Top 10 most famous Shanghai snacks September 12, 2011