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.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.