1 Salted Duck Gizzard
Ingredients:
- Duck gizzards: 500 grams
- Ginger: 20 grams
- Salt: 15 grams
- Sichuan peppercorns: 1 gram
- MSG: 3 grams
- Scallion (1 knot): 15 grams
- Shaoxing wine: 15 grams
Cooking Method:
- Wash the duck gizzards thoroughly, make shallow cuts on the surface, blanch briefly in boiling water, then rinse with clean water.
- Place the duck gizzards in a pot with about 2000 grams of water. Add scallion, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours until the gizzards are tender. Add Shaoxing wine and MSG, continue simmering until well flavored. Remove from heat.
- Allow the gizzards to cool in the broth. When ready to serve, remove the gizzards from the broth, slice thinly and arrange on a serving plate.
Key Techniques:
Clean the duck gizzards thoroughly inside and out, remove the tough membrane, cook until tender, slice thinly and evenly.
Flavor Profile:
Salted Duck Gizzard is a famous Shanghai-style dish, known for its light and refreshing taste without being greasy. It’s crispy and delicious, perfect as an appetizer with wine, and has been renowned in Shanghai for nearly a century, with the best preparation traditionally associated with Dexing Restaurant.
2 Dry Braised Four Treasures
Ingredients:
- Cleaned winter bamboo shoots: 50 grams (approximately 100 grams before cleaning)
- Soaked dried shiitake mushrooms: 50 grams
- Cornstarch: 25 grams
- Cooked chicken meat: 50 grams
- Sesame oil: 10 grams
- Shaoxing wine: 25 grams
- Soy sauce: 15 grams
- Salted vegetables: 50 grams
- Clear broth: 150 grams
- MSG: 2 grams
- Granulated sugar: 35 grams
- Vegetable oil: 500 grams
Cooking Method:
- Cut the winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken meat into small strips about 4 cm long and 1.5 cm wide each. Soak the salted vegetables in water for 15 minutes to reduce saltiness. Rinse thoroughly with clean water, drain, and sprinkle evenly with cornstarch. Place the winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken meat in a bowl, add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and MSG, mix well, and marinate for 3-5 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over high heat until it reaches about 70-80% hot. Fry the winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken meat until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain excess oil. Reheat the oil until about 80% hot again, then fry the salted vegetables until crispy and the fibers stand up. Remove and drain.
- Leave a small amount of oil in the pan, add the winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, chicken meat, and salted vegetables together. Stir in a little clear broth, add granulated sugar and MSG, stir-fry evenly, flip a few times, drizzle with sesame oil, and transfer to a serving dish.
Key Techniques:
Deep-fry the ingredients to crispy perfection while carefully controlling the oil temperature and cooking time. The dish should be flavorful and crispy without being burnt, followed by braising to enhance the unique taste.
Flavor Profile:
“Dry Braised Four Treasures” is a traditional Shanghai dish originating from Shandong and later passed on to Beijing. It features winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, meat strips, and salted vegetables, fried and then braised with seasoning to create its distinctive flavor. Renowned in Shanghai, this dish has been perfected over decades, with Yanyunlou on Nanjing East Road known for its exceptional preparation.
3 Red Fermented Rice Chicken
Ingredients:
- Whole hen: 1000 grams
- Shaoxing wine: 125 grams
- White radish: 400 grams
- Sorghum liquor: 50 grams
- Red chili pepper: 1
- Salt: 10 grams
- Red fermented rice: 75 grams
- White vinegar: 50 grams
- Five-spice powder: 1 gram
- MSG: 7.5 grams
- Granulated sugar: 75 grams
- Chicken broth: 75 grams
Cooking Method:
- Clean the chicken thoroughly, remove the feet, and lightly pat the knees with a knife. Place the chicken in a pot with 1500 grams of water. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. When the broth is almost hot (not boiling), flip the chicken and cook for another 2 minutes until just cooked through. Remove and let it cool. Finely chop the red fermented rice, steam until thoroughly cooked, then remove and mix into the chicken broth. Strain through a clean cloth to obtain the sauce.
- Once cooled, cut the chicken into four pieces, leaving the feet intact. Split the chicken head into two pieces and cut each wing into two segments. Place everything in a small bowl and add 3 grams of MSG, 5 grams of salt, 35 grams of granulated sugar, the fermented rice sauce, sorghum liquor, five-spice powder, and Shaoxing wine. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour. Remove the chicken and slice into strips about 0.8 cm long and 0.4 cm wide. Arrange on a plate, reconstructing the chicken shape with head, feet, and wings.
- While marinating the chicken, wash the white radish and cut into strips approximately 0.5 cm wide and thick. Make slanting cuts on one side of each radish strip and crosswise cuts on the other side to create a criss-cross pattern. Soak the radish strips in salted water for 10 minutes to remove bitterness, then rinse and drain well. Mix with the red chili pepper and add 40 grams of granulated sugar and white vinegar. Marinate for 20 minutes, then place alongside the chicken.
Key Techniques:
- Choose tender hen for best results. Clean thoroughly to remove any blood and maintain pure chicken flavor.
- Ensure the red fermented rice mixture is tightly sealed during marination for a stronger aroma.
Flavor Profile:
Red Fermented Rice is an essential seasoning in Fujian cuisine, produced from red yeast rice and high-quality glutinous rice wine. It has a vibrant color, rich fragrance, and deep flavor, enriched with various vitamins. It serves to preserve, enhance flavor, add umami, and improve color in dishes. In Fujian, it’s widely used in cooking, especially during festivals where dishes like fermented rice chicken, duck, fish, and meat are popular. In Shanghai, Red Fermented Rice Chicken has become a traditional favorite known for its light red color, tender texture, aromatic flavor, and the distinctive fragrance of fermented rice.
4 White Cut Chicken
Ingredients:
- Tender hen: 2000 grams
- Granulated sugar: 2 grams
- MSG: 2 grams
- Ginger paste: 5 grams
- Soy sauce: 35 grams
- Scallion knot: 1
- Salt: 1 gram
- Sesame oil: 25 grams
Cooking Method:
- Slaughter the chicken, drain the blood, scald in hot water at 80°C to remove feathers while hot, chop off the feet, and clean the inside thoroughly.
- Fill a pot with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Hold the chicken by the head and dip the entire body into the boiling water briefly. Immediately lift it out, pour out the water from inside the cavity, and repeat this dipping process 4-6 times, ensuring the chicken is evenly heated inside and out. Afterward, add a little cold water to the pot, place the chicken in, and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Flip the chicken over and simmer for another 10 minutes until the chicken floats to the surface. Remove the chicken, immerse it in cold water to cool, then drain. Rub sesame oil evenly over the chicken to retain moisture and give the skin a shiny appearance.
- Prepare a seasoning sauce by boiling soy sauce, MSG, salt, and granulated sugar with a little chicken broth. Add ginger paste and chopped scallions to the sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste. Slice the chicken and arrange on a serving plate. Serve with the prepared seasoning sauce.
Key Techniques:
Use a tender hen and control the cooking time carefully to ensure the chicken is just cooked through. Applying sesame oil evenly prevents moisture loss from the chicken meat.
Flavor Profile:
- White Cut Chicken, also known as “Three Yellow Oil Chicken,” is a traditional dish in the Shanghai region, often served as a cold appetizer during banquets and paired with wine. The name “white cut chicken” derives from the fact that the chicken is cooked without additional seasonings. Originating from the late Qing Dynasty in Shanghai, it was initially served in restaurants using locally raised Pudong Three Yellow Chickens. The cooked chickens were hung in display windows, sliced and served upon customer request. Later, various restaurants in Shanghai began offering this dish, enhancing it with refined ingredients and serving it with a special shrimp soy sauce for dipping, making it even more flavorful.
- Xiao Shaoxing Chicken Congee Shop, located near Yunnan South Road and Ninghai East Road in Shanghai, is renowned for its chicken dishes both locally and internationally. Their White Cut Chicken is beautifully shaped, with golden skin and tender, delicious meat, making it highly appetizing. In 1958, Xiao Shaoxing’s self-cut chicken was recognized by the Ministry of Commerce as a nationally superior product.
5 Leisure Chicken
Ingredients:
- Free-range chicken: 1500 grams
- Sand ginger: 5 grams
- Maltose: 10 grams
- MSG: 2 grams
- Shaoxing wine: 25 grams
- Amomum villosum: 5 grams
- Fennel seeds: 5 grams
- Peanut oil: 1000 grams
- Salt: 10 grams
- Star anise: 5 grams
- Chinese angelica (dang gui): 5 grams
- Chinese prickly ash (dou kou): 5 grams
- Ginger slices: 10 grams
- Granulated sugar: 10 grams
- Clear broth: 10 grams
Cooking Method:
- Slaughter the chicken, scald to remove feathers, gut, clean thoroughly with water, drain, and place in a bowl. Marinate with salt and MSG for 30 minutes. Parboil briefly in boiling water, then remove and drain. While still hot, apply a thin layer of maltose evenly over the entire chicken and let it dry.
- Heat peanut oil in a frying pan over high heat until it reaches about 70-80% hot. Fry the chicken until the meat tightens, the skin wrinkles, and turns golden brown. Remove the chicken from the oil.
- Pour out the frying oil from the pan and place it back on the heat. Add all the spices, salt, sugar, MSG, Shaoxing wine, and clear broth. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.
Key Techniques:
- It is best to use a live chicken for this dish to achieve optimal flavor.
- Avoid over-frying the chicken; it should be cooked to a tender, half-done state.
- Ensure the whole chicken is simmered in chicken broth until fully submerged.
Flavor Profile:
Leisure Chicken is a signature dish from Shanghai’s Xiao Yao Lou. It combines the traditional Anhui method of cooking chicken with over a dozen types of seasonings tailored to Shanghai tastes. The dish is known for its excellent aroma and flavors, with tender meat that falls off the bone, making it highly favored by diners.
6 Chicken and Pork Intestine Medley
Ingredients:
- Chicken breast meat: 250 grams
- MSG: 1.5 grams
- Pork ribs: 250 grams
- Pork broth: 250 grams
- Cooked pork intestines: 150 grams
- Potato starch: 15 grams
- Green onion (cut into sections): 2.5 grams
- Soybean oil: 25 grams
- Shaoxing wine: 15 grams
- Sesame oil: 50 grams
- Soy sauce: 90 grams
- Granulated sugar: 28 grams
- Cooked pork shoulder: 60 grams
Cooking Method:
- Cut tender chicken breast meat into approximately 3 cm cubes. Cut cooked pork intestines into segments about 2 cm long. Cut pork ribs into 2 cm square pieces.
- Heat 10 grams of pork fat in a frying pan over high heat. Add 3 grams of granulated sugar and stir-fry until it turns deep red and glossy. Add 5 grams of Shaoxing wine, 70 grams of soy sauce, and 20 grams of water. Stir-fry the meat until it is evenly colored. Add about 150 grams of water and simmer until cooked.
- Heat a clean pan over high heat. Add soybean oil and heat until it is 80% hot. Stir-fry the chicken pieces until they shrink and become glossy. Add pork intestines, 10 grams of Shaoxing wine, 20 grams of soy sauce, 1.5 grams of MSG, 25 grams of granulated sugar, and reduce heat to low. Stir-fry until the chicken and intestines are evenly colored. Add cooked pork shoulder, pork broth, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender. Increase heat to thicken the sauce, add MSG, and thicken with potato starch slurry. Stir in 50 grams of sesame oil for shine, sprinkle with green onions for aroma and color. Serve hot.
Key Techniques:
Pork intestines and pork are tougher than chicken meat and require longer simmering until tender, combined with chicken pieces to create a harmonious dish called Chicken and Pork Intestine Medley.
Flavor Profile:
Chicken and Pork Intestine Medley is a traditional Shanghai dish combining chicken, pork intestines, and pork, giving it its name. The dish features a thick and rich sauce with a deep red color. The chicken meat is tender and juicy, the pork intestines are rich and glutinous, and the pork adds a savory aroma. The dish balances savory and sweet flavors, highlighting the distinctive taste of Shanghai cuisine.
7 Eight Treasure Duck
Ingredients:
- Tender duck: 1 whole (approximately 1750 grams)
- Green peas: 30 grams
- Diced ham: 75 grams
- Shrimp: 75 grams
- Diced bamboo shoots: 40 grams
- Soy sauce: 60 grams
- Diced chestnuts: 50 grams
- Green onion and ginger (tied together): 10 grams
- Diced dried scallops: 50 grams
- MSG: 5 grams
- Pork fat: 50 grams
- Granulated sugar: 10 grams
- Glutinous rice: 250 grams
- Diced soaked dried mushrooms: 90 grams
- Diced chicken: 50 grams
- Cooking wine: 10 grams
Cooking Method:
- Split the tender duck along the back, remove the trachea, esophagus, and internal organs, and trim the feet. Blanch the whole duck in boiling water, remove and wash thoroughly, pat dry, and rub with soy sauce, cooking wine, and sugar. Place the duck with the belly facing up into a large bowl.
- Heat a frying pan, add pork fat, briefly sauté the green onion and ginger, deglaze with cooking wine, then add diced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ham, diced chestnuts, diced dried scallops, and diced chicken. Add soy sauce and sugar, cook until fragrant, then add glutinous rice and mix well. Stuff the duck cavity with this mixture, cover the bowl with glass paper, and steam the duck until tender. Remove from the steamer, discard the glass paper, and place the duck on a large round plate.
- Pour the original marinade into a saucepan, add shrimp and green peas, bring to a boil, thicken with cornstarch slurry, drizzle with sesame oil, and pour over the duck.
Key Techniques:
- Choose a plump and tender duck weighing about 1750 grams.
- Cover the bowl with glass paper to prevent water from getting in during steaming.
Flavor Profile:
- Eight Treasure Duck is a famous Shanghai dish, best prepared at the Lao Ban Zhang restaurant in the City God Temple area of Shanghai, highly favored by diners.
- This dish is unique because it uses high-quality ingredients such as dried scallops, ham, pork fat, chicken, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, chestnuts, glutinous rice, shrimp, and green peas. Unlike traditional methods of deboning, the duck is split open along the back, filled with ingredients, placed in a bowl, covered with glass paper, and steamed. This method produces a product that is not only flavorful but also visually appealing, with a rich and colorful presentation enhanced by the shrimp and green peas in the duck marinade.
- The broth is rich and thick, the duck is tender, aromatic, and deliciously flavorful.
8 Taro Duck in Clear Broth
Ingredients:
- Light duck: 1 whole (about 1000 grams)
- Ginger (sliced): 1 piece
- Taro: 500 grams
- Shaoxing wine: 15 grams
- Raw ham: 25 grams
- Salt: 5 grams
- Fresh bamboo shoots: 25 grams
- MSG: 1 gram
- Pea shoots: 6 sprigs
- Rendered pork fat: 15 grams
- Green onion (tied into a knot): 1 piece
Cooking Method:
- Slice the raw ham and bamboo shoots into approximately 0.2 cm thick slices. Clean the light duck by removing feathers and internal organs, blanch it in boiling water to remove blood stains, then wash it thoroughly. Using a knife, make several cuts along the back of the duck, evenly chop at the spine, break the leg bones, and cut off the duck head and neck. Chop the duck neck into approximately 3 cm long pieces and split the duck head into two halves. Place both the neck and head inside the duck’s cavity with the breast side down in a medium-sized frying pan. Add the ham slices, bamboo shoot slices, green onion knot, ginger slices, Shaoxing wine, 3 grams of salt, and about 100 grams of water. Steam over high heat for 2 hours until tender. Place the duck, ham, and bamboo shoots into a large soup bowl, and pour the duck broth into the frying pan.
- Before steaming the duck, wash the taro thoroughly and boil it in water until cooked. Peel off the skin and cut it into round pieces approximately 2.5 cm in diameter. Add the taro pieces into the duck broth in the frying pan, along with 2 grams of salt and 1 gram of MSG. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim off any foam, blanch the pea shoots until tender, drizzle with rendered pork fat, and pour everything into the large soup bowl with the duck.
Key Techniques:
First, steam the duck with seasonings until tender, then cook the taro in the duck broth separately, combining them to achieve a fresh flavor and bright color.
Flavor Profile:
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s customary in the Jiangnan region to cook duck with taro. The cool autumn weather pairs well with fresh taro and plump ducks, making this dish a favorite seasonal delicacy in Shanghai.
9 Stir-Fried Duck Gizzard
Ingredients:
- Fresh duck gizzard: 250 grams
- Sesame oil: 57 grams
- Peeled shrimp: 150 grams
- MSG: 1 gram
- Tender pea pods: 30 grams
- Rendered pork fat: 300 grams
- Water starch: 20 grams (approximately 65 grams when prepared)
- Salt: 1.5 grams
- Meat broth: 75 grams
- Green onion, ginger, and wine mixture: 10 grams
Cooking Method:
- Split open the duck gizzards, remove any impurities, peel off the tough skin, then wash them thoroughly. Slice off the surrounding tendons and slice the gizzards into thin, round pieces. Blanch the tender pea pods in boiling water for a moment, then remove and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Mix the green onion, ginger, and wine mixture with salt, MSG, meat broth, and water starch to form a thickening slurry. Heat a clean wok over high heat, add the rendered pork fat, and heat until it reaches medium heat. First, add the shrimp and stir until they turn pale white. Then add the duck gizzard slices and tender pea pods, stir-frying until the gizzard slices turn from purple-red to light pink and become milky white. Immediately drain the oil using a ladle.
- Leave a small amount of base oil in the wok, return all the ingredients to the wok, pour in the thickening slurry, and stir and flip with a spatula to coat the ingredients evenly with the slurry. Add 10 grams of rendered pork fat to enhance the glossiness, drizzle with sesame oil, and quickly remove from the heat.
Key Techniques:
The distinct feature of this dish is its crispy and tender texture with a tightly enveloping sauce. Ensure the gizzard slices are uniformly sliced for consistent cooking. Prepare the thickening slurry beforehand and quickly coat the ingredients with it once added to the wok.
Flavor Profile:
Stir-fried duck gizzard is a traditional Shanghai delicacy known for its crispy tenderness. Achieving the desired texture requires skillful slicing for even cooking and precise timing over high heat. The dish boasts a blend of brown and white colors, pairing crispy texture with smooth tenderness, delivering a refreshing and excellent taste experience.
10 Salt Water Duck
Ingredients:
- Whole duck: 2000 grams
- Green onion (white part): 1 piece
- Salt: 25 grams
- Ginger: 2 pieces
- Vinegar: 25 grams
- Five-spice powder: 2 grams
- Sichuan peppercorns: 1 gram
- Star anise: 2 pieces
Cooking Method:
- Clean the whole duck, remove the wing tips and feet, make a small incision under the right wing about 8 cm long, remove the internal organs, trachea, and esophagus. Soak the duck in water to remove any blood stains, then wash and drain it. Mix salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and a little five-spice powder, rub the duck inside and out, and marinate for about 2 hours. Then soak the duck in salt water for 1-2 hours, remove and wash thoroughly.
- In a wok, add water, duck, vinegar, green onion, ginger, and star anise. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Flip the duck over and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the duck meat is tender and falling off the bone. Remove from heat and let cool. When serving, slice the duck and arrange on a plate.
Key Techniques:
It’s crucial to thoroughly clean the duck and remove any kidney odor to avoid any undesirable taste.
Flavor Profile:
- Hong Chang Xing Lamb Restaurant was the first halal restaurant in Shanghai specializing in lamb hot pot. It opened in 1891 when there were very few Muslims and northerners in Shanghai. Apart from a few vendors selling beef and lamb products, there were no authentic lamb restaurants. The uncle of the famous Peking Opera actor Ma Lianliang, who was a Beijing halal chef specializing in cooking lamb, opened this small lamb restaurant in Shanghai. Initially, they served simple dishes such as lamb noodles and pies, but later expanded to include beef dishes as their business grew. In 1918, Ma Lianliang had become a renowned Peking Opera actor, and when he left Shanghai to return to Beijing, his uncle handed over the restaurant to his northern friend Hong Sanba to manage, renaming it Hong Chang Xing Lamb Restaurant. Their lamb hot pot, like Beijing’s Donglaishun, became famous both domestically and internationally, beloved by customers in China and praised by foreigners. Consuls and businessmen from the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, Germany, and Southeast Asian countries stationed in Shanghai became regular customers of Hong Chang Xing.
- Salt Water Duck is a signature dish of Hong Chang Xing Lamb Restaurant. It is based on the traditional Jinling Salt Water Duck recipe with improvements, marinating before cooking to achieve its unique flavor. The duck meat is tender and shiny, with flavorful fat and bones, highly appreciated by customers.