Food in Shanghai

Chinese cooking is one of the greatest methods of cooking. It enjoys a high reputation in the world due to its abundance,exquisite and delicious taste and charming appearance. Since ancient time, many factors that have influenced its development. Confucius once said: "Eating is the utmost important thing in life." Cooking Chinese food requires more time and effort, and is considered a very sophisticated art. A number of different styles contribute to Chinese cuisine, but perhaps the best known and most influential are Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine and Guangdong (Cantonese) cuisine. These styles are distinctive from one another. One style may favour the use of lots of garlic and shallots over lots of chilli and spices, while another may favour preparing seafood over other meats and fowl. Jiangsu cuisine favours cooking techniques such as braising and stewing, while Sichuan cuisine employs baking, scalding, and wrapping, just to name a few. Hairy crab is a highly sought after local delicacy in Shanghai, as it can be found in lakes within the region. Beijing Roast Duck is another popular dish which is well known outside China. Many traditional regional cuisines rely on basic methods of preservation such as drying, salting, pickling and fermentation. Flour and rice are the two main food staples in China. Tea is a major part of Chinese life. Dim Sum is a Cantonese term for small snacks. The Cantonese style of dining, yum cha, combines the variety of dim sum dishes with the drinking of tea. Yum cha literally means ‘drink tea’. Tofu is another popular product often used as a meat or cheese substitute. It is a soy-based product which is highly nutritious, inexpensive and versatile. Noodles are another important part of their diet and are symbolic of long life and good health according to Chinese tradition.

 

Hairy Crab

Hairy Crab or Da Zha Xie is a special type of crab found in rivers, and is normally consumed in the winter. The crabs are tied with ropes or strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served. There is little artificial ingredient added to the dish yet it tastes fantastically good. Da Zha Xie is usually consumed with vinegar. Locals are also quite fussy about when to consume male crabs and when to consume female crabs. The crab meat is believed by the Chinese to have a "cooling" (yin) effect on the body.

 

Smelly Tofu

Tofu, made of soybean, is a traditional Chinese food known throughout the world. Think of smelly tofu as Chinese version of blue cheese. It’s definitely an acquired taste and not for the faint hearted. Smelly tofu is made of high quality soybeans containing high protein, under a series of processes such as immersing, grinding, leaching, halogen treatment, initial fermentation, pickling curing, juicing and final fermentation etc. That's why the smelly tofu smells stinky. Moreover, with the decomposition of proteins, tasty amino acids come into being. The smelly tofu is a popular local food mainly found on Shanghai streets. Despite their odour, most foreigners love it after tasting it. It is cheap.

 

Preserved Eggs

Preserved duck eggs are a traditional Shanghainese delicacy, and although known as "1000-year-old eggs" they are rarely more than 100 days old. It is done using a traditional method. Pidan is now very common in China, and some Chinese households cut them up into small chunks and cook them with rice porridge or congee. Century eggs can be eaten without further preparation, on their own or as a side dish. As an hors d'œuvre, the Cantonese wrap chunks of this egg with slices of pickled ginger root (sometimes sold on a stick as street food). A Shanghainese recipe mixes chopped century eggs with chilled tofu.

 

Little Dragon Buns

Xiaolongbao is a type of a steamed bun, traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets. Xiaolongbao are traditionally filled with pork, but variations include other meats, seafood and vegetarian fillings, as well as other possibilities. One popular and commonly seen variant is pork with minced crab meat and roe. Traditionally the xiaolongbao is a kind of dim sum or snack item, but nowadays have also become popular as a main dish.

 

Chinese Tea

China is the homeland of tea. Different types of tea such as Wulong (Wu-long or Oolong), green tea and black tea are consumed by it's population on daily basis. People throughout China drink tea daily. Because of the geographic location and climate, different places grow various kinds of tea. The most conspicuous content in China's tea culture is the popular phrase "Ke Lai jin Cha" which means when a guest arrives, a cup of tea will be brewed for him. Tea drinking is so popular in every part of the country that there is a museum specially dedicated to the tea culture in China. It is located in Hangzhou, the hometown of Longjin Tea (dragon well tea), the only national museum of its kind.

 

Anhui Cuisine

Anhui cuisine, one of the eight most famous cuisines in China, features the local culinary arts of Huizhou. It comprises the specialties of South Anhui, Yanjiang and Huai Bei. Its highly distinctive characteristic lies not only in the elaborate choices of cooking materials but also in the strict control of cooking process. Most ingredients in Anhui cuisine, such as pangolin, stone frog, mushroom, bayberry, tea leaves, bamboo shoot, dates, games, etc., are from mountain area. Huangshan Mountain has abundant products for dish cooking. The dishes help relieve internal fever and build up vital energy. The white and tender bamboo shoots produced on Huangshan Mountain can be made into very delicious food. Xianggu, a kind of top-grade mushroom grows on old trees, is also very tasty. Anhui cuisine chefs pay more attention to the taste, colour of dishes and the temperature to cook them, and are good at braising and stewing. Anhui dishes preserve most of the original taste and nutrition of the materials. Generally the food here is slightly spicy and salty. Ham is often added to improve the taste and sugar candy added to gain freshness. High up on the menu are stewed soft shell turtle with ham, Huangshan braised pigeon, steamed stone frog, steamed rock partridge, stewed fish belly in brown sauce, bamboo shoots cooked with sausage and dried mushroom.

 

Cantonese Food

Cantonese cuisine originates from the region around Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China's Guangdong province. One Cantonese saying goes that anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies is edible. Another says that the only four-legged things that Cantonese people won't eat are tables and chairs. Cantonese cuisine includes almost all edible food in addition to the staples of pork, beef and chicken, such as snakes, snails, insects, worms, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails. Unlike other Chinese cuisines, the Cantonese usually serves soup before a meal. Some Cantonese dishes are Dim Sum, Shark Fin Soup and  BBQ Pork.

 

Apart from the cuisines mentioned above, there are more Chinese flavours such as Hunan, Beijing, Jinagsu, Sichuan, Dongbei, Shandong etc. that can be savoured. You need not worry about dining in Shanghai. Shanghai has delicacies from all over the world. Today  many foreigners work, study or live in Shanghai. Many foreign tourists choose Shanghai to be their must destination during their stay in China. Additionally more and more locals want to try foods from foreign countries and experience the exotic customs and cultures. Therefore there are a number of foreign restaurants and they are very popular. If you are on a tight timetable, fast food chain restaurants are to be found all over Shanghai. These offer quality food at very reasonable prices. Vegetarian and Muslim restaurants are also available for diners who have special dietary requirements. You can enjoy all the best food from home and abroad, for all budgets, when in Shanghai.