Fab Food Stories: Zhejiang Food - China Food Road Project

To continue with the China Food Project, we visited the Zhejiang province government restaurant, on the north third ring road, Beijing.

Lotus roots stuffed with rice infused in osmanthus sauce

Zhejiang cuisine is one of the eight great culinary traditions in China, together with Hunan, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong, Shandong and Anhui.

The flavours of Zhejiang are more subtle than say, Sichuan or Hunan, and being a coastal area, seafood is a prominent ingredient. Zhejiang cuisine has a reputation for being fresh, tender, and smooth. Another characteristic of this cuisine is the slight touch of sweetness, which gives dishes mellow undertone.

Eileen Wong explains in her book 'Beijing Eats' that food from this region is renowned for the hongshao cooking method, 'red cooking' or braising, which involves bringing to boil a mixture of soy sauce, Shoaoxing rice wine and crystal rock sugar, adding cuts of meat and then simmering. By the time the liquid reduces to a thick glossy sauce, the meat will be tender and thoroughly infused with the flavour of wine and soy sauce. Another key ingredient of this cuisine is yellow wine, huangjiu, a sweet mellow brew distilled from glutinous rice.

This Zhejiang authority eatery is the most elegant restaurant we have visited so far and it gets booked up quickly, just like all other provincial houses. It is beautifully decorated with fine porcelain vases and other ornaments.

Eric, our regional expert, ordered delicious food and we all enjoyed it very much, with 'Ooohs and Aaahs' every time a dish was brought to the table. He told us about life in the Shanghai/Zhejiang area, the difference in personality with his friends from other parts of China and we laughed at how mothers behave in a similar protective way all over the world!

The Menu

- Tofu cooked in a special sauce and sliced, served cold with soy sauce and wasabi 素鲍鱼 SU BAO YU

- Soup dumplings, 小笼包子　XIAO LONG BAO ZI (these delicious little dumplings have a little bit of stock inside - be careful when you eat them, the juice can be very hot)

- Pork ribs in a rich, smokey, sweet and sour sauce - 糖醋小排　TANG CU XIAO PAI

- Lotus roots filled with sticky rice, infused in a fragrant osmanthus sauce - 桂花糖藕
GUI HUA TANG OU

- Stir fried mushrooms with garlic and chillies 手撕杏鲍　SHOU SI XING BAO GU

- Braised aubergines, in a rich burgundy sauce (burgundy in colour, not taste) 酱爆茄子 JIANG BAO QIE ZI

- Glass rice noodles with shrimps - 鲜虾粉丝煲 XIAN XIA FEN SI BAO

- Bean-curd with green chillies and special pickled vegetables - 梅菜炒香干 MEI CAI CHAO XIANG GAN

- Pork belly cubes braised in yellow wine, 红烧肉 HONG SHAO ROU

- Tofu and crabmeat claypot xiefen doufu. A soupy dish, with very light and airy balls 清汤鱼圆 QING TANG YU YUAN

- Pork and fish dumplings, served in a clear soup decorated with thin omelette strips - 鲜虾云吞 XIAN XIA YUN TUN

- And we washed it down with Chrysanthemum tea

Here are the photos. Thank you Eric for providing the Chinese names and pinyin!