What’s the taste of Jiangsu cuisine?

River shrimp dishes in Nanjing cuisine are also very famous, especially the various image dishes made by modern Nanjing chefs using shrimp, such as phoenix tail shrimp, palace lanterns and so on. Moreover, river shrimps are especially used to make puree (commonly known as shrimp paste in Nanjing, which can be divided into hard paste, soft paste, and tender paste), and then shaped into dishes with different shapes and unique flavors, such as the lifelike sweet-scented osmanthus shrimp. Pancakes, apple shrimp, fried shrimp balls, etc.

Suxi cuisine is mainly composed of Suzhou and Wuxi. It is good at cooking river fresh food, lake crabs, vegetables, etc. The dishes focus on the shape, the dishes are fresh and colorful, pay attention to the heat, good at seasoning, and the taste is slightly sweet. The cooking in the Suxi area has a high level of accomplishment as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period more than 2,500 years ago. "Feng Tu Zhi" records that "the daughter of King Wu Helu was arrogant and unruly. She tried to compete with the king for fish and died of resentment." Fighting over the roasted fish, he died of resentment. King Wu also built a fish city to raise fish and an icehouse to store food. "Gusu Zhi" records: "Wu produces fish, and Wu people are good at food management. They have been around for a long time."

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Grand Canal was opened, and merchants from Gusu gathered, and boat banquets became popular. Wujun presented honey crabs to Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, "pasted with golden dragons, phoenixes, flowers and birds, making them the first food." The "Exquisite Peony Grasshopper" of the Five Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, people used lotus leaves to wrap food to increase the flavor. Bai Juyi wrote a poem: "Wrap fish and grasshoppers on lotus leaves." According to "Huqiu Mountain Chronicles", Bai Juyi was appointed as the governor of Suzhou in the first year of Baoli (825) by Emperor Jingzong of the Tang Dynasty. He built water villages and "Baigong Dike", and took boat tours to Huqiu for banquets from the government to the private sector, which further developed Suzhou's boating spots. . The Suxi area is densely covered with rivers and lakes, rich in fish and shrimp. To the west of Suzhou is Taihu Lake, a vast 36,000-hectare Taihu Lake that is rich in whitebait and other freshwater products. This makes Suxi cuisine, which is mainly aquatic fish dishes, popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The period is basically formed. As the political center moved southward in the Song Dynasty, Suzhou's catering industry flourished. At that time, Suzhou's government-run restaurants included Huayue, Lijing, Kuajie, Qingfeng, Huanghe, etc.

The economy of Jiangnan further developed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Zhou Lvjing said in the preface of the book "Yi Ya Yi Yi" written by Han Yi, a Suzhou native, that he followed the method in "Yi Ya Yi Yi". The dishes are "not greasy but not greasy, light but not tongue-tingling", which is consistent with the style of today's Suzhou cuisine that is fat but not greasy, light but not bland. Suzhou's catering industry was very prosperous during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty. Chang Hui's "Lanfang Notes" written during the Qianlong period said that "nothing in the world is as luxurious as those in Suzhou". During Qianlong's six voyages to the south of the Yangtze River, he always stopped in Suzhou. The Qing Dynasty's "Qing Bai Lei Chao" pointed out that Suzhou was one of the ten places with "dishes that have their own characteristics", which shows the development of Suzhou's cuisine at that time.

"There is heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below", "Eat in Suzhou, wear in Hangzhou", Suzhou with "two bridges as soon as you go out", "Suzhou is beautiful, Wuxi is rich", the shore of Taihu Lake The famous city of Wuxi is also a famous tourist and food destination. The Suxi area has always been a popular destination for many literati, officials and businessmen due to its beautiful scenery. Now it is one of the key tourist cities in the country, so the reputation of Suxi cuisine is increasing day by day at home and abroad.

Among Suxi’s famous dishes are water shield Yutang fish fillet, braised seabass fillet, and four-gilled seabass soup, all of which are very popular. Taihu water shield, known as "the best dish in Jiangdong", is delicious, smooth and tender, and fragrant. It is often used in soups or stir-fries, and is "especially suitable for water shield fish soup" ("Wu Jun Zhi").

In the history of our country, there is a famous story of "The Thoughts of Water Shield". According to the "Book of Jin·Biography of Zhang Han", Suzhou native Zhang Han (named Li Ying) was an official in Luoyang, "because he saw the autumn wind blowing. He thought about Wuzhong wild vegetables, water shield soup, and sea bass, and said: "Life is so important that you can have ambitions. How can you travel thousands of miles to get a good name?" Then he returned home." From then on, "Thoughts on Water Shield" became a reality. Words about homesickness. Dishes such as water shield pond fish fillet and four-gill seabass soup are not only exquisite dishes, but also popular with customers from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese because of their association with homesickness.

The traditional famous dishes of Suxi include cherry meat that existed during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty; the beggar's chicken that became a famous dish from legend; Wuxi's typical Kung Fu dishes: chicken minced eggs and Liangxi crispy eel; Fragrant pine whitebait made from the famous whitebait; large crucian carp in white soup, a must-have dish on a lightless boat, etc.

Xuhai cuisine refers to the local cuisine from Xuzhou along East Longhai Road to Lianyungang (Lianyungang was called Haizhou in ancient times, so this area is called Xuhai). It is located in Xuzhou and Lianyungang areas in northern Jiangsu Province, adjacent to Shandong in the north. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, the main anti-Qin figures in Xuzhou, and Zhang Liang, Xiao He, Han Xin and other figures who were later known as the Three Heroes of the Han Dynasty gathered here to gather troops. For a time, traders gathered and the market and food were revitalized.

The "Book of Han" records: "Yin Xian of Han Yingchuan was the governor of Xuzhou. He used a small copper cauldron to cook ten meals a day." At that time, there were "Dragon and Phoenix Banquet" and "Eight-plate King Gui". wait. Among the Han portraits unearthed in Xuzhou in recent years, there are many scenes related to cooking, such as chicken, fish, rabbit, wild goose, deer, etc. as cooking ingredients; there are scenes of cooks slaughtering animals on the table and cooking over fires. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Han Yu served as the magistrate of Xuzhou, and after cooking his own fish, it was called "Yuzhiyu"; Su Dongpo, who claimed to be an "old gourmet", served as prefecture pastor in Xuzhou for two years, and his four dishes were called "Dongpo's Four Dishes". Jane". Therapeutic dishes appeared widely in Xuzhou in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, there was a Yi Ya restaurant in Xuzhou, which was named after Yi Ya settled in Xuzhou. It is said that the restaurant had four flavors. The dishes that are popular in the world are Yangxin duck, Sidi meatballs, Almond tofu, Sanzheng chicken.

The flavor of Xuhai is mainly fresh and salty, with a combination of five flavors and Qilu flavor. Famous dishes include Farewell My Concubine, Peigong dog meat, Pengcheng fish balls, etc.