Shanghai Street Foods: the unique cuisine you must eat

Shanghai is the epicentre of China’s street food culture. In the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, it is where merchants and migrants have travelled to for centuries, bringing different regional dishes from all across the country. From steaming baskets of dumplings to pungent stinky tofu, our Shanghai street food guide takes you around the city’s backstreets to unearth the tastiest delights.

Shāokǎo

Follow your nose or the long plumes of smoke rising from vendor stands to find these meat skewers being hawked on street corners across Shanghai. Marinated in herbs and spices, meats like spare ribs, chicken legs or fish and vegetables are lovingly barbecued over hot coals and known as shāokǎo.

Shansi Leng Mian (Eel Noodles)

Shanghai is famous for its eel dishes, and you can't get more Shanghainese than shansi leng mian, or 'eel thread cold noodles,' the street food hybrid of a restaurant classic. The dish arrives as two separate components that you can choose to mix together or savor separately. First, fine wheat noodles, a little flat rather than round, served cold so they have a firmness to the bite, with a splash of light brown vinegar on the bottom and a slick of sesame sauce on the top. Second is the eels, by way of contrast served hot, swimming in the most marvelous sweet, oily, gingery, soy braising liquid.

The flavor is complex, slivers of sweet ginger, pieces of rich, oily eel, shreds of salted bamboo shoot and little wilted, caramelized pieces of scallion. But the real draw is that contrast of textures and temperatures, going from the firm, cold noodles and the viscous, warm eel sauce.

Tofu Flower Soup 

Made by curdling soy milk, this smooth tofu soup contains the subtle flavor of soybeans beneath a colorful mixed dressing of dried shrimps, pickled radish, seaweed, scallion, soy sauce and chili oil.

Cifantuan (Sticky Rice Dumplings)

Dubbed to be the champion of breakfast food, sticky rice dumplings are much in demand as an early morning meal in Shanghai. In a piece of fried dough (called as ‘youtiao’ in Mandarin), wrapped tightly with glutinous rice, and cooked in a steamer, you can add ingredients like preserved Sichuan pickles, black bean sauce and dried pork floss. The cifantuan combines plenty of flavours, including sweetness from the glutinous rice and saltiness from the pickles. Children are fond of pinching it while taking a bite to taste its softness, chewiness, and crispness.

Scallion Pancake

Scallion Pancake is a staple food for the Shanghainese. Pan-fried with lard oil then baked in a stove that is made from a tar bucket, the scallion pancakes of the old Shanghai style are stuffed with fresh chives. The pancakes are flattened and browned to perfection on the grill. A perfectly grilled or baked scallion pancake is a study in contrasts, the outside is crispy and crunchy while the inside is fluffy and tender. Finding a food stall serving handmade scallion pancake is as easy as pie.

See more: Explore the best of Shanghai

Dou Hua

Dou hua (literally 'bean bloom') is made by pouring hot fresh soy milk into a dish containing a coagulant (usually gypsum, or calcium sulfate) and dissolved cornstarch. The starch gives duo hua its silken, just-set texture. After a few minutes, the tofu 'blooms,' setting in the center of the bowl in a quivering flower surrounded by yellow whey.

Dou hua is very delicate, scooped gently into a bowl with a spoon. The flavor is subtle and mild, but this is a dish you enjoy for its soft, silky texture. Choose toppings like finely trimmed scallions, la jiao chilli paste, or tiny dried white shrimp for a texture contrast.

Source Internet