沪菜 (hù cài) or 本帮菜 (běn bāng cài) in Shanghai dialect – Shanghai (上海) Cuisine
Lying at the mouth of the Yangtze River by the Yellow Sea, Shanghai is by far, China’s most cosmopolitan and international city. In the 1940s it had around 100 foreign restaurants and by the end of the 20th century that had risen to 650 restaurants selling foreign food from over 40 different countries. Of course, it also has food from all over China. As of November 2023, it has two-three star Michelin restaurants, neither of which are Chinese; eight 2-star and forty-one 1-star.
https://guide.michelin.com/en/shanghai-municipality/shanghai/restaurant/taian-table
https://guide.michelin.com/en/shanghai-municipality/shanghai/restaurant/ultraviolet-by-paul-pairet
Of course, there are thousands of other restaurants offering both regional Chinese food as well as foreign.
What I’m struggling with is identifying any examples of any food that truly originated in the city! Every time I think I’ve found something, a little research leads me elsewhere. I mentioned in a previous post that Shanghai’s famous xiaolongbao are actually from Jiangsu but I’ve found many dishes I suspected might be Shanghainese that turned out to come from provinces far away.
I’m unsure why it’s included in Jiangnan cuisine, either. It doesn’t really fit.
For a long time, people from all over China have moved to Shanghai in search of fame and fortune, and taking their dishes with them. I have three good friends in Shanghai – two are from Hunan and the other, Guangxi. Few people move in the other direction.
红烧 (hóng shāo), Red Cooking or braising in soy sauce is a very popular technique in the city, but I can find no evidence that it originated there. Chairman Mao’s favourite food was famously said to be 红烧 肉 (hóng shāo ròu), Red Cooked Pork and he was a Hunan native. I’ve been to what I was told was Mao’s favourite restaurant in Changsha, Hunan’s capital, but I’ve been to his favourite iPhone store, too! Mao died in 1976. However, the dish is as popular and common in Hunan, too. Whether this or the Shanghai version came first is uncertain, but I’d bet on Hunan. Alternatively, it may be just a variation on Dongpo pork as described in the last post (or vice versa). They certainly use similar techniques and look alike.
Shanghai away from the Michelin stars is renowned for its street food, but again most if not all is imported from elsewhere China.
I’m told the city is also better than most in China for its many vegetarian options but again, that doesn’t mean they are exclusively Shanghai cuisine.
Shanghai is a great place to eat at any level or price bracket. As I said, it is very cosmopolitan. Even more so, I think than Hong Kong.
