Chinese Jiangsu Cuisine – The Hall Of Elegance

History of Chinese Jiangsu Cuisine

Jiangsu cuisine (Su cuisine for short). Starting from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, economic development promoted the prosperity of the catering industry, and Su cuisine became one of the two pillars of “Southern Food”. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Jiangsu cuisine developed more rapidly along the canal from north to south and along the Yangtze River from east to west. The geographical advantage of the coast has expanded the influence of Su cuisine at home and abroad.
Su cuisine consists of Jinling cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, Suxi cuisine and Xuhai cuisine. Its taste is fresh and fresh, salty and slightly sweet, with five spicy flavors, focusing on the original taste, and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad.

Features of Chinese Jiangsu Cuisine

Su cuisine is good at stewing, stewing, steaming, and frying. It pays attention to adjusting the soup and keeping the original juice. taste. Jiangsu cuisine uses a wide range of ingredients, mainly fresh seawater from rivers, lakes, rivers, lakes, rivers, lakes and sea water; it has exquisite knife skills and various cooking methods, and is good at stewing, stewing and simmering; it pursues the original taste, fresh and peaceful, and has strong adaptability; the dishes are elegant in style and beautiful in shape and quality.
At the same time, Jiangsu cuisine is very particular about knife skills, and the knife skills are relatively fine, especially famous for its melon carving. The dishes are exquisite in shape and mellow in taste; in cooking, they make good use of heat, pay attention to fire skills, and are good at stewing, braising, simmering, warming, steaming, roasting, and frying; the raw materials are mostly aquatic products, focusing on freshness, mild taste, and freshness And slightly sweet. Famous dishes include stewed lion head with crab powder, boiled dried shredded silk, three sets of duck, long fish with soft pockets, crystal meat, squirrel mandarin fish, Liangxi crispy eel, etc. Its dishes are delicate and exquisite, with elegant style.

Representative dish of Chinese Jiangsu Cuisine

Farewell My Concubine

The original name is dragon and phoenix stew. When Xiang Yu held the founding ceremony of Pengcheng (Xuzhou), the king’s capital, a “Dragon and Phoenix Banquet” was prepared for the ceremony. According to legend, it was designed by Empress Yu Ji herself. “Dragon and Phoenix Stew” is the main piece in “Dragon and Phoenix Banquet”. The material uses “turtle” (the turtle belongs to the aquatic family, the head of the dragon family) and pheasant (the pheasant belongs to the feather family, the head of the phoenix family), so it is named after the meeting of the dragon and the phoenix. Turtles and pheasants are now replaced by soft-shelled turtles and chickens. This dish has been passed down from generation to generation. It is a famous dish in Xuzhou and has become an indispensable dish at festive banquets.

Braised Pufferfish

Braised puffer fish in soy sauce is a famous dish in Jiangsu Province. Its color is bright red, with a lingering aroma. The puffer fish skin is the most nourishing to the stomach. When eating, roll it upside down to prevent the small thorns on the skin. The taste is slightly sticky, soft, glutinous and tender. The fishy smell of the internal organs, the puffer fish meat is very firm, and the mouth is soft and chewy.

Meat Ball With Soy Sauce

Braised lion head is one of the most popular Suzhou dishes, that is, big meatballs. Chop pork ribs that are fat, seven and thin, into pomegranate granules and make meatballs. After simmering over low heat, the fat on the surface of the meatballs is mostly melted but not completely melted, while the lean meat is relatively raised, giving people a rough texture. The feeling is rough, because the meatballs are big and the surface is rough, so they are called lion heads. This dish has a long history and is delicious and attractive. A poet from the Song Dynasty said: “If you pair one crab with two crabs, there really are Yangzhou cranes in the world.” The lion’s head dish was recognized by the society in the Qing Dynasty.

Squirrel Mandarin Fish

The dish of squirrel mandarin fish originated in the Qianlong period. It is a famous Subang dish. Someone vividly described it as: “the head is raised and the tail is up, the color is funny, the shape is like a squirrel, and the stew is squeaking. This dish Because the bones are eaten, it is especially popular with the elderly and children. The sweet and sour sauce usually makes people feel delicious and can’t stop eating.

Jinling Salted Duck

Salted duck is a famous specialty of Nanjing. It belongs to Jinling cuisine and is one of the representatives of Jinling cuisine. Also known as sweet-scented osmanthus duck, it is a Chinese geographical indication product. Because Nanjing is also known as “Jinling”, it is also called “Jinling Salted Duck”. It has a long-standing reputation and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Nanjing salted duck has tender skin, white meat, fat but not greasy, delicious taste, and has the characteristics of fragrant, crisp and tender.

As a native of Jiangsu, Su cuisine is my favorite. I hope that Su cuisine can become the most colorful stroke in the history of Chinese cuisine and be carried forward. I hope you will have the opportunity to taste the delicious Su dishes.