A FOOD TRADITION
Shanghai cuisine
Shanghai cuisine reflects the foodways of the lower Yangtze delta, the city’s river and coastal setting, and long interaction with neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang traditions. It commonly uses rice, freshwater fish, crab, shrimp, pork, chicken, seasonal vegetables, soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar, often producing a characteristic balance of savory and gently sweet flavors. Red-cooking, braising, steaming, pan-frying, and quick stir-frying are central techniques. Representative dishes include hongshao pork, hairy crab preparations, and shengjian mantou. Shanghai cooking is both a local urban tradition and a meeting point for broader Jiangnan culinary practices, so boundaries with adjacent cuisines remain fluid.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
Shanghai fried noodles
Thick Shanghai-style wheat noodles stir-fried with pork, greens and a dark soy-based sauce.
Shanghai red-braised pork belly
Shanghai-style pork belly slowly braised with dark soy sauce and sugar to a glossy sweet-savory finish.
Shanghai shengjian mantou
Pan-fried Shanghai pork buns with a crisp base and a juicy filling, sometimes enriched with pork-skin aspic.
Shanghai steamed hairy crab
Shanghai's celebrated seasonal hairy crab, steamed whole and commonly paired with rice wine and ginger vinegar.
Shanghai sweet-and-sour spare ribs
Small pork ribs glazed in the sweet-and-sour style singled out as a notable Shanghai dish.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.