orange chicken

[Gary Soup]

I'm from Toisan/Guongdong, and  have also been taught to balance the salt with a bit of sugar.

But I bet you don't put the sugar in FIRST!

[Dejah]

I'm from Toisan/Guongdong, and  have also been taught to balance the salt with a bit of sugar.

But I bet you don't put the sugar in FIRST!

That would be like adding salt before tasting!

Must be a Wuxi thing then

[Jeannie]

Shanghainese cooks has also been accused of putting sugar in everything, which isn't true!

.... unless they happen to hail from Wuxi. My wife is a Wuxiren, and she adds a bit of sugar to nearly every dish "to balance the salt."

When I visited America years ago we visited an old family friend who is lao shang hai "old shanghainese" who emigrated to America in the 50s and 60s who soaked her dried shiitake mushrooms in sugar water before stirfrying them with sugar!

I don't think they do that even in Shanghai anymore.

And I think her family is from Pudong, like my dad's family, very very old Shanghainese, almost you can say the original Shanghainese as a lot of Shanghainese families are from other parts of China. For example my mum's dad is from Ningbo and she still says that she is Ningbo Ren when people push her even though she's never been there in her life. Her mother is from Suzhou, my uncle in law's family is from Guangdong etc etc. The origins of their families are still remembered even though they've lived in Shanghai for generations.

[Gary Soup]

And I think her family is from Pudong, like my dad's family, very very old Shanghainese, almost you can say the original Shanghainese as a lot of Shanghainese families are from other parts of China.

Well, let's hear it for Pudong! The linguistic scholars say that Pudong is the source of the original Shanghai dialect. And of course, the prized "Shanghai Chicken" is called the "Pudong Chicken" in China.

Actually, our apartment is in the middle of Pudong (Jinqiao area).

[pyrguy]

Chicken or beef, I can go both ways on this also.

We have a local place that serves the beef dish lightly battered in a not too sweet not too hot but spicy sauce.

[jo-mel]

Simoond's "Food in China" has some interesting bits about the use of sugar in China, and it's use as one of the 'five-flavors'. Balance is a key, but some dishes are sweet -- like Almond Float and Lotus Seed Soup.