Hangzhou, the host city of September’s Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, has long been admired for its cuisine culture. And the city of gourmet food will soon greet the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies with its locally-developed Hang Bang dishes, known for fresh ingredients, elaborate preparation and natural flavors.
Beggar's Chicken (Jiao Hua Ji)
How would you cook a chicken without equipment or seasoning?
In Hangzhou, people choose to follow a beggar’s legendary method. Usually, there’s a ritual before serving a beggar’s chicken. Visitors are asked to give a ceremonial thump on a big clay mold, inside of which is, to people’s surprise, a well-stewed chicken clothed by layers of mud and lotus leaves. As a beggar was said to be the inventor of the dish, it was thus named.
Braised Dongpo Pork (Dongpo Rou)
Dongpo Pork is another famous dish in Hangzhou. The half fat, half lean pork meat is cut into lumps and then put into soup with soy sauce, scallions, ginger and sugar. After being stewed in a sealed earthen pot, the mouthwatering dish is served. It tastes oily but not greasy. According to legend, Dongpo Pork was created by Su Dongpo (1037AD-1101AD), a great poet in the Song Dynasty.
Longjing Prawns (Long Jing Xia Ren)
Hangzhou’s Long Jing Tea, or Dragon Well in translation, is widely accepted by connoisseurs as the best tea in China, and possibly the world. This dish marries the tea with another specialty of the city - freshwater shrimp. As the prawns are stir-fried with the tea, the subtle tea flavor gently reveals itself alongside the sweetness of the prawn meat. Foodies love to describe this dish as the one that best combines the historic cultures of tea and cuisine.
Drunken Shrimp (Zui Xia)
Submerge shrimps in a bowl filled with wine and seasoning - and the cooking is done! It’s a dish that not everyone dares to try, but the combination of fresh shrimps with the special fragrance of local wine can’t be tasted elsewhere. Live shrimps are drenched in a marinade of strong liquor to stun, sterilize and flavor, all at the same time. This is the one no foodie can miss!
West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy (Xi Hu Cu Yu)
Named after Hangzhou’s main attraction, the West Lake, this may be the city’s most famous dish. Poached grass carp is blanketed with a thick vinegar sauce. The fish has to be starved for several days to release unwanted waste from its body and the “smell of soil”, according to local people.
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