Zhejiang cuisine
Encyclopedia
Zhejiang cuisine is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

 region in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Food made in the Zhejiang style is not greasy, having instead a fresh and soft flavor with a mellow fragrance.

Styles

Zhejiang cuisine consists of at least three styles, each originating from a city in the province:
  • Hangzhou
    Hangzhou
    Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...

     style
    : Characterized by rich variations and the utilization of bamboo shoots. Which is served by the well known restaurants such as the Dragon Well Manor
    Dragon Well Manor
    Dragon Well Manor is a restaurant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China preparing and serving food based on the ideals of sustainable slow food, serving seasonal produce sourced from local purveyors...

     (龙井草堂).
  • Shaoxing
    Shaoxing
    Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It was once known as "越"...

     style
    : Specializes in poultry and freshwater fish
  • Ningbo
    Ningbo
    Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...

     style
    : Specializing in seafood, with emphasis on freshness and salty dishes.

Some sources also include the Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....

 style as a separate subdivision (due to its proximity to Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

), characterised as the greatest source of seafood as well as poultry and livestock.

Representative dishes

  • Dongpo pork : Fried pork belly
    Pork belly
    Pork belly is a boneless cut of fatty meat derived from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is popular in Asian cuisine, and forms a part of many traditional European dishes such as the Alsatian Choucroute garnie, the Swiss Berner Platte, and the German Schlachtplatte...

     stewed in 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...

     and wine.
  • Beggar's chicken
  • West Lake vinegared fish


About half the dishes on a Hangzhou menu contain bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

 shoots, which add a tender element to the food.

Ningbo cuisine is regarded as rather salty.

Qing dynasty

Ningbo confectionery
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 was celebrated all over China during the Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

.

In the "Reports from the consuls of the United States, Issues 124-127", the following REPORT BY CONSUL FOWLER, OF NINGPO*, "SHEEP AND WOOL IN CHINA.", an account is given which suggested that the people of Hanzhou learned to eat muttom from the muslim community-

Wool in China is simply called "sheep's hair." While sheep, in the neighborhood of Hang-Chow-Foo and the coast ports, maybe obtained in large quantities—in fact, are a staple article of food—not a pound of mutton can be had 120 miles to the north, and, although it is sometimes used as a fertilizer, yet in some parts of this same district, especially near Kin-wha (in this district), wool is so scarce that the boatmen in winter wear stockings made of human hair. The Chinese do not attempt to explain this. Rev. R. V. Lancaster, an American missionary, gives as a possible explanation that in Hang-Chow-Foo there is a colony or church of Mohammedans with a large mosque, and they, eating mutton, have taught the other Chinese.

Sheep in this district are kept only for food, not for the wool. The variety of sheep which alone is seen here is the bent-nose, broad-tailed variety; the tail is a lump of fat, sometimes weighing 2 pounds or more.

JOHN FOWLER, United States Consulate, Consul. Ningpo, January 28, 1891.
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