苏州印象.docx

苏州印象.docx

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苏州印象

ClassicCuisine

Suzhouisaparadiseforgourmets,withhundredsofyearsofculinaryexperimentation.SuzhoucuisineislightintasteandsweeterthanneighboringYangzhou’sHuaiyangCuisine.Eachcourseisindividuallypreparedandtheemphasisisontheuseofqualityingredientsandattentiontodetailmeaningthedishesarealluniqueincolor,aroma,shapeandtaste.

TherearemanysignaturedishesofSuzhouthatmakeupaformalbanquetSuzhoustyleandwhicharerenownedthroughoutChina.Squirrel-ShapedMandarinFishisthemostfamous,legendarybothhomeandabroad.TheMandarinFishischaracterizedbyitslackofbonesandthesoftnessofitsmeat.Theheadofthefish,itsmouthpositionedwideopen,andthetailbentupwards,givestheoveralllookofasquirrel.Thefishisalsocutintospikesresemblingthefur.Itisfinishedwithshrimp,driedbambooshootsandasweet-and-soursauceandthustheSquirrel-shapedMandarinFishiscompleteincolor,shape,andflavor.TheseconddishofatypicalSuzhoubanquetisWhitebaitSoup.Whitebait,notedforitssofttexture,appearsontheSuzhoufishmarketeveryfall.Thislight,delicioussoupisseasonedwithham,bambooslices,greenvegetableleaves,andincludesthewhitebait’sliver.BiluoShelledShrimpsarenamedafterBiLuoChuntea,arguablythefinestgreenteainallofChina,whichcomesfromSuzhou.Thisdishispreparedusingtheteatoflavortheshrimp,allowingforauniquetaste.ThefourthdishonanymenuisCrackingEelPaste,wherericefieldeelsarebroiled,stir-friedorquick-boiled.Thecrackingreferstothesoundoftheoilhavingbeenservedimmediatelyaftercooking.WatermelonChickenisadishthatisbraisedandthenmarinatedbyusingthewatermelon.Thisallowsacombinationofbothsweetandsavoryflavors.

Inadditiontotheseformalbanquetdishes,SuzhoualsohasfoodfromTaihuLakewithadifference.WiththeTaihuLakeasabackdrop,youcanexperiencewhathascometobeknownasTaihuBoatDishes.TaihuBoatDishesfirstappearedintheTangDynasty,over1,000yearsago,whenrichofficialsandmerchantsheldbanquetsonboatssotheycouldenjoythebeautifulscenerywhiledining.Since1994,BoatDisheshavebecomeawell-establishedtraditioninGuangfutownontheeasternbankoftheTaihuLake.Therearenow13magnificentboatrestaurantsalongthefishingharborofferingwidevarietiesoffreshseafood.SteamedWhiteFishandWaterShieldSoupwithEggFlakesaresomeofthebest-knowndishes.WhitefishisaspecialtyoftheTaihuLake,steamedwithshreddedgingerandredandgreenpeppers,itisawonderfuldishintexture,look,aromaandofcourse,taste.WaterShieldSoupwithEggFlakesisjustaspopular,especiallyasitisanutritioussoupwhilestillbeingextremelyappetizing.

Furthermore,Suzhouhasvarioussnacks,idealforateaorcoffeebreak.Theymaynotappearinlargerestaurantsbutyoucanstillfindtheminordinarystandsorshops.DragonHeadSweetPotatoeswithSugarJuice,GorgonFruitwithOsmanthus,PlumBlossomCakes,andBoiledLotusRootswithOsmanthusarethebestoftheseuniquetreats.

BiluochunTea

Suzhou'sBiluochunTeaisoneofthetenmostfamousteasinChina.Itislocallyknownas"FearfulIncense"duetothestrongaromaofthebrew!

DuringtheQingdynasty,EmperorKanxivisitedSuzhouandpraisedtheflavorofthisaromatictea.ThetealeavesarepickedfromtheBiluoMountainnearTaiLake,andarecollectedtraditionallyinearlyspringbetweenwhatisknownas"Tomb-sweepingDay"and"GrainRainDay"!

Thetechniqueforcollectingtealeavesisverycomplex.Onlythetendertipoftheleafisusedfortheteamakingprocess.Thispartoftheleafshouldbenolongerthanoneinchlongandshapedlikethetipofaspear.Onetinofteauses60thousandspears!

It'snosurprisethen,thatsomeofthefinestChineseteasareveryexpensive.Thenextstepintheprocessistorepeatedlyknead,rubandrolltheleavesbyhand.TheBiluochunteainvolvesaparticularlylaborintensiveprocessbuttheendresultareleavesthatarecompact,tenderandwonderfullyfreshandaromatic.

IfyouhaveneversampledChinesegreentea,theBiluochunisagoodonetostartwith.Chineseteanotonlysmellsandtastesgreatbutisreportedlyverygoodforyou!

Takeafewtealeavesandsprinklethematthebottomofyourcup.Next,coverthemwithboilingwateruntilthetealeavessink.Leaveittorestforaminuteandthenfillthecuptothetop.Theteawillthenchangecolor,toalightgreenshadeandshouldtastedelicious!

Itisanacquiredtastebutcertainlyonethatgrowsonyou,andismuchhealthierandmorerefreshingthanblacktea.TheteaisquiteexpensiveandcancostbetweenRMB200andRMB5000forakilogram.Therearenumerousteahousesaroundthecitysellingtheleaves,particularlytrysomeoftheshopsnearRenminLu.

Squirrel-shapedMandarinFish

TraditionhasitthatoncestoppingattheCraneHouseduringhissouthYangtzetour,EmperorQianLongsawacarpfriskingontheholytableandordereditcookedforhim.Thechef,knowingitwastheemperor'sorder,sparednoeffortinflavoringandseasoning.Inordertobeexemptedfromthesinofkillingthe“holyfish”,hemadethecarpintotheshapeofasquirrelwithitsheadandtailsoaringhigh.Thedarkreddishbrownfish,crispoutsideandtenderamid,wassourandsweetenoughtothetasteofemperor,whoseappreciationraisedthenameofSquirrel-shapedMandarinFishtotheworld. 

Beingtherawmaterial,themandarinfishischaracterizedbyitstendernessofthefleshandsparsenessofthebonesaswell.Afterscalingandfrying,theheadofthefishlooksbigwithitsmouthwideopen,thetailbendsupwards,andthefleshimitatestheerectinghairofasquirrel.Itwouldbesqeakinglikeasquirrelifitissprinkledwithshrimpmeat,driedbambooshootsandtomatoketchup.ThustheSquirrel-shapedMandarinFishiscompleteincolor,smell,flavourandsound,anditistoarousetheappetiteofwhoeverseesit.

CrunchySesameCandy

Crunchysesamecandy,includingmainlycrunchyrose-hempcandy,crunchyrose-lardcandy,crunchyspiced-salt-lardcandy,isthetypicalSuzhoupastrythatismadefoldinglystuffedwithsteamedpowder.Beingaspecialityofsuzhou,crunchysesamecandyischaracterizedbyitsthinrind,exquisitelines,purehoneyandsoftnessandcouldservebothasdessertsandaspresents.

DriedBeanCurdWithSoySauce

Suzhoudriedbeancurdwithsoysaucecanbeservedbothasdessertandasdishforsimplemealsorbanquets.ItisafamedspecialityofSuzhou. 

ThemostpopularbrandisJinjinfeaturingdarkreddishbrowncolor,specialflavorandabundantgravy.Ittastesfresh,sweet,softandglutinous,embodyingflavorsofbothgravydishandcandiedfruit.In1983,itwonthetitleof“JiangsuProductofQuality”andgolden-dragonprizefornewproductsawardedbyNationalEconomyCommittee.ItenjoysgreatpopularitythroughoutChinaincludingsuchcitiesasBeijing,Tianjin,Shenyang,Xi'an,Harbin,etc.

TaihuLakeWhitebait

Whitebait,alsocallednoodledish,aremainlydistributedineasternAisa,inwhichChinaboaststhehighestyieldandthemostkinds.IthasbeenoneofthechiefexportaquaticproudctsofChina.ThegrowingareasofwhitebaitsinChinaaremainlytheswallowlakesonthelowerreachesoftheYangtzeRiverandHuaiRiver,amongwhichthewhitebaitsfromTaihuLakeenjoythegreatestfame.TaihuLakewhitebait,some10cmlong,isfamedforitswhitetenderfleshandsparsebones.ItiscalledoneofthethreeTaihuLaketreasuresandhasbeenlistedasoneofthemainnationalprotectiveaquaticresources. 

TherearefourkindsofTaihuLakewhitebaits:

bigwhitebait,Leiwhitebait,Taihushort-mouthwhitebaitandtoothlesswhitebait,amongwhichthebigwhitebaitandTaihushort-mouthwhitebaitareattheedgeofextinction.ThefishingtimeofTaihuwhitebaitsisfromthemidofMayuntilthelateJune.Mostofthewhitebaitsarefrozenforexport.TheTaihuLakeBrandfrozenfreshwhitebaithasbeenafamousbrandinJapan.ThedriedwhitebaitsnotonlysellwellintheAisiancountriesbuthaveareadymarketinEurope&America.

TaihuLakewhitebaitisnutritiousforitsprotein,fat,carbohydrate,calcium,phosphorus,iron,vitaminB1&B2,etc.ItcanbemadeintovariousdeliciousdishessuchasFriedWhitebaits&Eggs,BoiledWhitebaits&Eggs,FriedWhitebaits,etc.

YangchengLakeCrab

Therearemanykindsofcrabs,amongwhichthefreshwaterlakesboastmorethan20,whichinturnarehighlightedbythegolden-clawcrabsinYang-chengLake.AftertheMid-autumn,freshplumpYang-chengcrabsappearonthemarketsinlargequantities,addingtothedining-boardsanotherdeliciousthroughoutchina. 

YangchengLakeliesinthenortheastofsuzhou,traversingthecitiesofWuXian,ChangshuandKunshan.Ithasanareaofsome80squareli.Theclearwaterandabundantinsectsandgrassesprovideanexcellentenvironmentforthecrabs.Crabisakindofmigrationfish.ItstaysinfreshwaterlakesbeforeSeptember.AboutafortnightafterthecrabscasttheirshellsinSeptembercomesthematingandspawningseason.AtthistimetheywouldcrawleastwardtothejunctureoftheYangtzeRiverandthesea,thusmakinganannualcrabbingseason.ThewaterwaysinKunshancityeasttoYangchengLakearetheonlywayofthesemigrationcrabs,sotheplacetherebecomesthemaincrabbingarea.EachyearduringtheperiodofSeptemberandOctober,thefishermengotherecrabbingwithnets,fishinggrates,baskets,andevenbamboopoles,makingascenerybustlingwithexcitement.

Aftershellingappearsthewhitejadeofgreaseandthesnow-whiteflesh.Goingwithwineorford,thecrabtastesdeli