Shaoxing local cuisine recipes

Shaoxing cuisine has a rich flavor and charming heritage, and has always been favored by many diners. Shaoxing cuisine is an important part of China's famous eight major cuisines, and it is an important part of Chinese food culture. Shaoxing cuisine is made from freshwater fish, shrimp and fresh river food, poultry and beans. It focuses on crispy, light oil and fresh taste. Among them, steamed chicken and pickled mustard greens are famous dishes in Shaoxing cuisine. Let’s take a look at the Shaoxing local dishes.

Braised pork with mustard greens

When traveling to Shaoxing, you must try the braised pork with fermented dried vegetables. This is the most famous home-cooked dish in Shaoxing. It is fragrant, tender, oily but not greasy, and has the pastoral flavor of the Jiangnan water town.

Bad Chicken

Shaoxing is a famous historical city that produces a lot of rice wine. For thousands of years, it can be said that "every household in the countryside collects and brews rice wine, and the aroma of wine wafts everywhere on the post roads." During the winter brewing season, every family brews their own wine.

Yue chicken is regarded as a nourishing dish in Shaoxing. People rub the chicken with salt, wrap it with gauze, and then marinate it with wine lees for a few days. This will not only prevent the chicken from spoiling, but also add a wine aroma to the chicken.

Taste: It is salty and fresh, with a mellow aroma and a long aftertaste. It is famous for its salty and fresh flavor and the aroma of the fermented rice.

Braised Shrimp

Shaoxing wine is famous both at home and abroad for its mellow texture and fragrance. Vinasse is a by-product of wine. It has a mellow flavor and a unique fragrance. Using wine lees to season food has a long history and unique flavor.

“Shrimps in Wine Sauce” is made with fresh river shrimps cooked in wine sauce. The shrimps are white and tender, and the aroma of wine is appetizing. It has been listed in the “Famous Chinese Recipes”.

Vietnamese Chicken in Clear Soup

"Yue Chicken in Clear Soup" is a dish made with "Yue Chicken", a famous specialty of Shaoxing.

Shaoxing was the ancient capital of the Yue State during the Spring and Autumn Period, and Yuewang Terrace was built on the east side of Wolong Mountain (now Fushan). According to legend, the Yue chicken was originally a fancy chicken provided for the emperor and his concubines to watch and enjoy, but later it spread to the people and was carefully raised and bred as a purebred. It was allowed to drink water from two springs every day (namely the "Longshan" and "Mengquan" springs near Taiqingli on the east side of Wolong Mountain) and prey on insects at the foothills. It gradually became an excellent edible chicken breed, and people mostly stewed it for food.

It is said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty traveled extensively in the south of the Yangtze River. When he arrived at a side gate of Shaoxing, it was noon and he felt hungry, so he walked into a villager's house and asked for a quick meal. When the country woman saw that it was a visitor from afar, she slaughtered a chicken, put it into a large bowl, and placed it on the rice rack. She waited until the water boiled, the rice was cooked, and the chicken was stewed. Qianlong dipped the chicken in soy sauce, chewed the bones and sucked the marrow, and drank all the soup. He ate with gusto and praised it highly. After returning to Beijing, I still couldn't forget it.

In October 1933, Liu Yazi and his wife came to Shaoxing. After tasting the dish, they summarized the characteristics of "Clear Soup Yue Chicken" in eight words: "thin skin, tender meat, loose bones, and delicious soup."

Dried Herring

It is a custom in Shaoxing that every winter people like to buy fish and dry them in the sun. The dried fish can be given to relatives and friends as gifts, or enjoyed by oneself. Historically, it has been listed as a tribute.

"Dried Herring with Wine" is made from herring produced in Yangcha Lake in Shaoxing. It is pickled and dried, and made with wine lees, so that the aroma of wine is integrated into the dried fish. It is not only durable and not easy to change its taste, but also full of unique fragrance. Its characteristics are rosy red meat, tangy wine aroma, tender and delicious, oily and palatable, and it is a top-quality cold dish.

Drunken Crab

"Drunken Crab" is said to have been created by a Shaoxing lawyer who worked in Anhui.

At that time, there were many crabs on both sides of the Huai River, but the local people did not know how to eat them. Their crops were damaged and they had no way to drive them away, so they were very frightened. The lawyer then proposed to the state magistrate to encourage the people to catch the crabs and hand them over to the government. He prepared many large vats, salt and rice wine, cooked the crabs, and then sold them to various places. In Shaoxing, they were commonly known as "Huai crabs".

"Drunken Crab" is improved on this basis. It is refined through processes such as crab selection, crab breeding, brine making, soaking, and pickling, and pays attention to the production cycle and consumption period. It has the characteristics of fresh fragrance, fresh meat and delicious taste.

Drunken River Prawn

"Drunk River Shrimp" originated from the folks. In spring and autumn, people have the custom of making and eating it themselves. Mr. Lu Xun wrote about "drunk shrimps" in his "Ma Shang Zhi Diary" and "Answer Mr. You Heng", saying that a plate of drunken shrimps were placed on the table "alive", and "the fresher the shrimps, the happier and more enjoyable the eaters will be."

This dish uses fresh male shrimps from Jianhu Lake and is seasoned with Shaoxing wine, fermented bean curd and other intoxicating ingredients. Its characteristics are that the bright meat is separated, it is crispy and tender, and it has a mellow fragrance and a unique charm.