Never wanting to be outdone by their northern neighbours in Beijing, the Shanghai culinary elite created their own cuisine: Hu Cuisine!
Shanghai cuisine is the youngest among the ten major cuisines in China though with a history of more than 400 years. Traditionally called Benbang cuisine (“local tastes”), it originated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1840). In the later part of 19th century after Shanghai became a major domestic and international trading port, Benbang dishes underwent some substantial changes by adopting certain merits of other cuisines.
Nowadays, Shanghai dishes usually look red and shiny, for they are often pickled in wine and their cooking methods include baking, stewing, braising, steaming, deep-frying, etc. 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 enhance the dish. Sugar is an important ingredient in Shanghai cuisine, especially when used in combination with soy sauce. Another characteristic is the use of a great variety of seafood. Rice is dominantly served over noodle or other wheat products.
Shanghai cuisine stresses on using condiments and keeping the original flavours of the materials and has features of being fresh, smooth and crispy. It aims at lightness in flavour, and beautifulness in decoration. The raw materials of Shanghai dishes are well cut, and the colours harmoniously arranged. Now, special attention is being paid to low-sugar and low-fat food, a good quantity of vegetables and nutritional values. Generally Shanghai cuisine is mellower and slightly sweet in taste. Sweet and sour is a typical Shanghai taste.
Braised Eggplant
Braised Eggplant is one of the more famous dishes in the Shanghai region, but is in fact eaten all over China, especially in Sichuan province. The Shanghai-style braised eggplant, is a firm favourite in the kitchens of Shanghainese housewives, and is usually topped with garlic and soy sauce, whereas Sichuan-style has considerably more spice!
Live Crawfish
Crawfish is a weird kind of crustacean that is sometimes eaten alive, but usually boiled like a crab or a lobster and eaten as delectable seafood.
Caramel & Strawberry Kebabs
Caramel and Strawberry Kebabs are a delicious snack food that can be found all over Shanghai. Sometimes meats are caramelised, but usually it is marshmallows that are topped with creamy caramel and served to delighted punters!
Shengjianbao
Shengjianbao are dumplings specific to the region of Shanghai, although the like of which can be found all over China. Reputed as greasier and heartier rival of the xiao long bao, the Shengjianbao is equally as tasty. To make the filling, people often use a blend of minced pork and pork jelly, or gelatine, that melts when the shengjianbao are fried, creating a greasy and scalding hot broth. Mini wontons in soup Piping hot bowls of tiny wontons suspended in broth, decorated with cilantro, dried shrimp and strips of egg regularly starts off locals’ morning. In the morning skilful wonton sellers would make these little treats in rapid fire by clasping mini-wrappers and minced pork together in their hands.
Chinese Mitten Crab is arguably the most famous Shanghainese dish in this article. They are considered a luxurious treat, and have since been exported all over Asia. Sometimes known as steamed crab or hairy crab, the Chinese Mitten Crab is a special type of crab found in rivers, and is normally consumed in late autumn. The popular species of crab is a medium-sized burrowing crab that is named for its furry claws, which resemble mittens. Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, with green shells and white bottoms, rich in fat and ovary, are reputed to be the best-quality hairy crabs. The crabs are tied with ropes or strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served. When they are properly cooked, the fragrance appeals to diners’ palate. Da Zha Xie focuses on bringing out the natural crab flavour. The meat is tender, juicy and delicious. It is usually consumed with vinegar. Locals are also quite fussy about when to consume male crabs and when to consume female crabs. Believed to have the cooling yin (of yin and yang) effect on the body, the female crab roe is regarded as a treasure among locals.
Hongshou Rou
Hongshao Rou is a sumptuous dish of braised pork and is a very popular dish with families in the Shanghai and eastern China regions. As the English name suggests, the melt in the mouth texture is formed as a result of a long braising process, using relatively little liquid. The pork belly, with a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chili peppers, sugar, light and dark soy, and rice wine, is cooked until the fat and skin are gelatinous so that it can melt easily in the mouth, while the sauce is usually thick, sweet and fairly sticky.
Lion Head Meatballs
Lion’s Head Meatballs may have a strange-sounding name, but don’t let that put you off! They are large pork meatballs that are stewed with fresh vegetables! The name derives from the shape of the meatball which is supposed to resemble the head of the lion and the cabbage (or other vegetables), which is supposed to resemble the lion’s mane. Usually, there are two varieties served on the table: the white (or plain), and the red (cooked with soy sauce). The plain variety is usually stewed or steamed with napa cabbage. The red variety can be stewed with cabbage or cooked with bamboo shoots and tofu derivatives. Lion head meatballs might not be as big as a lion’s head, but they are delicious anyway, sort of like the foie gras of meatballs with indulgent crab meat and a creamy texture. The delicate, porky nuances of these meatballs are quite irresistible with lots of rice.
Congee
Congee is popular all over Asia, but nowhere more so than on the streets of Shanghai.
Green Onion Pancakes
Green Onion Pancakes are a fantastic way to start your meal, or even to have as a snack in between meals.
Egg Tarts
Egg Tarts are one of the more famous snack foods in this part of China. The base is made from batter, much like a Yorkshire Pudding from the UK (though a little crispier), and filled with egg yolks.
Hanging Roast Duck
Hanging Roasted Duck is a Shanghainese rip off of the inimitable Peking Duck you can find up in Beijing.
I hope I have whetted your appetite for some Hu Cuisine, and remember to check out my other articles on Chinese food, such as Imperial Beijing Foodporn, Sichuan Foodporn, and Cantonese Foodporn! Thanks for reading!