Shanghai Food - Top 10 Dishes to Eat
A thick and rich sauce is what defines Shanghai food. The sauce is made primarily from soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar.
The marriage of these flavors results in a savory taste that you'll yearn for. Most would think that the mixture would turn out sweet, but the rice wine and vinegar manage to neutralize the sauce's sweet properties.
1. Xiao Long Bao
Xiao Long Bao (小笼包), it's also known as Shanghai soup dumplings. It is filled with hot soup and pork, bamboo shoots, shelled shrimp, or crab meat, according to seasons.
Traditionally 10 soup dumplings are steamed in one xiaolong, a kind of small bamboo steaming basket, hence the name. Xiao Long Bao is often served with black vinegar or shredded ginger.
Xiao Long Bao
Where to Get Xiaolongbao?
- Jia Jia Tang Bao (佳家汤包): 90 Huanghe Road, Shanghai
- Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant (南翔馒头店): 720 Nanjing East Road (near Guizhou Road), Shanghai
2. Smoked Fish
Smoked Fish is a must-eat Chinese New Year dish for locals.
- The main ingredient is grass carp, which is marinated with scallions, ginger, cooking wine, and sugar for 2-3 hours.
- Boil 8-star anises, 8 bay leaves, and 6g cinnamon in a wok with water for 15 minutes.
- Then remove the spices, add rock sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, and vinegar in the water, and stew it into a flavored sauce.
- Next, fry the marinated grass carp in oil until it turns golden.
- And then put it into the flavored sauce and soak for 2 minutes. Here comes the Shanghainese smoked fish!
Shanghainese Smoked Fish
Where to Get Smoked Fish in Shanghai?
- Shanghai Classical Restaurant (上海老饭店 ): 242 Fuyou Road (near Yu Garden), Shanghai
- Lao Zheng Xing Restaurant (老正兴菜馆 ): 556 Fuzhou Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
3. Sheng Jian Bao
Shen Jian Bao (生煎包), or pan-fried dumplings, is a traditional Shanghainese food that originated in the 1920s.
Topped with sesame and scallions, it looks golden and has a crunchy bottom and juicy stuffing. Locals prefer to eat Shengjian accompanied by a bowl of hot beef noodle soup taken from the pan. The fillings of Shengjian include minced pork, shrimp, beef, and chicken.
Shen Jian Bao
Where to Get Sheng Jian Bao?
- Da Hu Chun (大壶春): 136 Sichuan Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
- Yang's Dumpling (小杨生煎): 97 Huanghe Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
4. Braised Pork Belly
Braised Pork Belly, or Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉), is a popular Chinese dish. Using fat and lean pork belly as the main ingredients, it takes at least 90 minutes to stew the meat. The delicacy looks red and tastes salty, very fluffy, and soft.
Shanghai people prefer sweet flavors. Thus, the seasonings of Shanghai-style Braised Pork Belly feature caramel sugar and red sauce.
Braised Pork Belly is also called Dongpo Pork. Legend has it that a prestigious Chinese poet in the 11th century, Su Dongpo, came up with a new way to cook pork, which made the meat tasty and fragrant.
The popularity of new dish was quickly spread and became famous throughout the country.
Braised Pork Belly, or Hong Shao Rou
Where to Get Shanghainese Braised Pork Belly?
- Shanghai Grandmother (上海姥姥): 70 Fuzhou Road (close to the Bund), Shanghai
- HOME'S Shanghainese Restaurant (Home's私房菜): 791 Julu Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai
5. Hairy Crab
Hairy crab, or Chinese Mitten Crab, is widely used in Shanghai cuisine, especially in Sep. and Oct. when the crabs are of their best quality. Chinese traditional medicine believes that the meat from the female crab roe has a "yin" or cooling effect on the human body.
So it would be better to steam the hairy crab with fresh ginger and yellow rice wine to dispel coldness and remove the fishy smell of crabs.
Hairy Crab
Where to Get Steamed Hairy Crab in Shanghai?
- Wang Bao He Restaurant (王宝和酒家): 603 Fuzhou Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
- Cejerdary (蟹家大院): 59 Guangdong Road (near the Bund No.3), Shanghai
6. Shanghai Breakfast
Shanghainese breakfast is characterized by four iconic foods:
- Dou Jiang (豆浆): Soybean milk, a beverage made by soaking and grinding soybeans. Then boil the mixture with sugar or salt after filtering.
- You Tiao (油条): A Deep-fried dough stick, as known as like a Chinese cruller, Chinese donut, or Chinese oil stick
- Ci Fan Tuan (粢饭团): Sticky rice rolled around sugar, sesame, meat floss, and wrapped in dough, and fried dough stick.
- Da Bing (大饼): Chinese pancake made of flour, yeast, water, salt, and scallion oil.
Doujiang and Youtiao
Where to Get Shanghainese Breakfast?
Shanghai's "Four Icon Breakfast Foods (四大金刚)" can be found at any stalls around old neighborhoods like Tilanqiao (提篮桥). They are local, cheap, and easy to get to, presenting the most authentic glimpse of Shanghai life.
Check out more about Shanghai breakfast and eateries.
7. Scallion Oil Noodles
Scallion Oil Noodles, Congyou Banmian (葱油拌面), is many locals' favorite staple food.
- Fry the scallions in hot lard until discolored translucent.
- Then stew the scallion oil with soy sauce and sugar to form a heavy saucepan sauce.
- Mix the cooked noodles with the sauce. Finally, top the dish with some chopped green scallions.
- Here comes this, you have the flavorful Shanghainese Scallion Oil Noodles.
Scallion Oil Noodles
Where to Get Scallion Oil Noodles?
- Longtang Xiaohuntun (弄堂小馄饨食府): 714 Weihai Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai
- Lao Di Fang Noodles Restaurant (老地方面馆 ): 233 Xiangyang South Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai
8. Pork Ribs with Rice Cake
Nian Gao, or Chinese New Year cake, is popular throughout China. But it has various flavors in different regions areas. The Shanghainese way is to stir-fry sliced Niangao with pork ribs in red sauce.
The sauce is made by combining soy sauce, bean paste, rice wine, sugar, and spices; including five-spice, black cardamom, fennel seeds, cassia, and star anise. The delicacy tastes a little sticky, and a bit sweet and spicy.
Pork Ribs with Rice Cake
Where to Get Shanghai-style Niangao?
- Xian De Lai (鲜得来排骨年糕): 46 Yunnan South Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
- Lao Shanghai (老上海排骨年糕): 311 Xiangyang South Road, Shanghai
9. Sautéed Shelled Shrimp
Sautéed Shelled Shrimp, or Crystal Shrimp, originated from Guangdong Cuisine. It was once rated as "Shanghai's top 1 traditional cuisine".
The main ingredients are shelled shrimps and eggs with very simple seasonings. So the shrimp meat is crystal bright, soft, and crunchy, with a fragrant smell.
Sautéed Shelled Shrimp, or Crystal Shrimp
Where to Get Local Crystal Shrimp?
- Shanghai Classical Restaurant (上海老饭店 ): 242 Fuyou Road (near Yu Garden), Shanghai
- Grandma's Home (外婆家): 168 Shangnan Road, close to Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center
10. Shanghai Snacks
Every city has its own special snacks, while in Shanghai, there are 3 street foods you shouldn't miss:
Crab-Yellow Pastry, Xie Ke Huang (蟹壳黄), is a crispy pastry filled with sweet or salty stuffing. It gets its name because it looks like a crab shell in both shape and color.
Sticky Rice Balls, Gaotuan (糕团), is made of sticky rice flour and filled with sweet ingredients like red bean paste and brown sugar. Shanghainese adore them as their soft flavors and lucky meaning "continuous promotions at every step".
Scallion Oil Pancake, Congyou Bing (葱油饼), is simply made by frying a flat cake of 1cm-thin batter on both sides with scallion and oil on a stove. It tastes salty and smells good.
Scallion Oil Pancake, or Congyou Bing
Where to Get Street Foods in Shanghai?
- Shouning Rd Food Street (寿宁路美食街): Shouning Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
- Yunnan S Rd Food Street (云南南路小吃街): Yunnan South Road (near People's Square), Shanghai
Shanghai Food Tour Recommendation
3-hour Shanghai Night Street Snack Food Adventure