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This popular Hangzhou dish with a sweet and sour flavor is traditionally made with cleaned grass carp that is poached or steamed with ginger, then covered with a sauce consisting of black vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, corn flour, water, and stock.
When served, the fish is usually topped with sesame oil and finely chopped spring onions. Some sources date West Lake vinegar fish to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), when it was supposedly prepared by a woman named Sister Song in her restaurant near the West Lake.
Beggar's chicken is a Chinese delicacy and the city of Hangzhou's most famous dish, consisting of only one ingredient - a whole chicken. The secret is in the preparation method: the stuffed chicken is tightly wrapped in lotus leaves, packed in clay, and baked in a special oven or over an open fire, resulting in tender, moist, and aromatic meat, along with being one of the visually most interesting dishes in existence.
Once the dish has been served, the hard outer shell is often cracked open with a hammer. Legend has it that a starving beggar was in possession of a chicken but had no means to prepare it, so in a stroke of genius, he covered it with mud and baked it over an open fire.
MOST ICONIC Jiao hua ji
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A dim-sum classic, fried stuffed bean curd paste is an exceptionally delicious and nutritious Chinese dish. This dish enhances the otherwise subtle flavor of bean curd by stuffing hollow bean curd pieces with a prawn-and-pork mince filling. The stuffed bean curd pieces are then pan-fried until nicely browned and crispy on the outside.
Typically garnished with chopped scallions or coriander, the dish is often served with a dipping sauce made with chicken stock, oyster sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, and sesame oil.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Dim sum
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Hangzhou-style duck pickled in soy sauce is a delectable specialty dish of Hangzhou cuisine that delivers the authentic flavors of the region. This dish consists of duck meat cooked in a marinade, and it is then covered with soy sauce and served alongside rice or noodles.
Deliciously crispy on the outside while remaining tender and moist on the inside, the duck is commonly served chilled. This dish is aromatic, predominantly savory, and slightly sweet in flavor. It is traditionally prepared and consumed during the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
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