Shanghai cuisine is the melting pot of the East—sweet-savory braises, fresh river shrimp, and the legendary xiaolongbao soup dumplings, born of a cosmopolitan trading city.
必吃招牌菜 — Signature Dishes
No.1 — Eight-Treasure Duck (Babao Ya)
口味 · ：
Shanghai's banquet showstopper — a whole duck deboned, stuffed with 'eight treasures' of glutinous rice, diced ham, chestnuts, mushrooms, lotus seeds, ginkgo nuts, winter bamboo shoots, and chicken gizzards, then steamed for 8 hours until the duck melts and the rice absorbs every drop of duck fat. Dark, glossy, and decadently rich.
历史典故 · History：Originated from the Qing Dynasty court dish 'Glutinous Rice Eight-Treasure Duck,' brought south by the Suzhou Imperial Textile Commissioner during the Qianlong era. In the 1930s, Shanghai Old Restaurant (上海老饭店) refined it by steaming the duck on the bone and standardizing the 'four meat, four vegetable' filling. In 2018, it was named one of Shanghai's Ten Classic Dishes and is a recognized intangible cultural heritage dish of Benbang cuisine.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Select a Zhejiang white-feathered duck, clean and make an incision at the neck, keeping the skin intact. Marinate with salt, cooking wine, ginger-scallion water for 2 hours. 2. Soak glutinous rice, prepare filling: diced ham, shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts, ginkgo nuts, winter bamboo shoots, chicken gizzards, and pork. Season with salt, light soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine. 3. Stuff the duck cavity with filling, sew the neck tight with cotton string, seal openings with toothpicks. 4. Blanch in boiling water to tighten skin, hang to air-dry for 2 hours. 5. Brush skin with dark soy sauce, deep-fry until golden. 6. Place in a clay pot with stock, soy sauce, and rock sugar. Bring to boil, simmer 1.5 hours. 7. Steam for 8 hours until the duck is fall-apart tender and the rice is perfectly soft. Plate and drizzle with thickened sauce.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.2 — Shrimp Roe Braised Sea Cucumber (Xiazi Da Wushen)
口味 · ：
The crown jewel of Benbang cuisine — a massive dried sea cucumber, rehydrated over 3-4 days, then braised in a dark, glossy sauce of red-cooked pork braising liquid, premium soy sauce, rock sugar, and dried shrimp roe. The result: a jiggly, gelatinous, deeply savory dish so tender it must be eaten with a spoon. Known as 'the world's finest sea cucumber.'
历史典故 · History：Created in the 1930s by Benbang cuisine master Yang Hesheng. The dish was born from necessity — foreign trading firms in Shanghai had warehouses of unsold sea cucumbers that nobody knew how to cook. Yang used the shrimp roe to elevate the sea cucumber's mild flavor and the 'red-braising' (红烧) technique to give it the signature Shanghai dark gloss. It became an instant classic and remains Benbang cuisine's most prestigious dish, a test of any Shanghai chef's skill.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Take dried sea cucumber and scorch the skin over an open flame until blackened, then scrape clean. Soak in cold water for 12 hours. 2. Repeatedly bring to a boil, then turn off heat and let soak for 2-10 hours each cycle. This process takes 3-4 days until the sea cucumber is plump, soft, and elastic. Slit open, clean, and set aside. 3. Heat lard in a wok, fry scallion whites until fragrant, remove. Heat oil to 80%, place sea cucumber belly-up and fry until skin slightly cracks. Drain. 4. Place sea cucumber back-down in a pot, add Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, red-braised pork master stock, stock, rock sugar, and dried shrimp roe. Bring to boil, simmer 40 minutes. 5. Reduce sauce until thick, glossy, and deep mahogany. Plate and pour the concentrated sauce over the top.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.3 — Oil-Blasted River Shrimp (Youbao Hexia)
口味 · ：
The quintessential Benbang quick-fry — live local river shrimp, no larger than a fingertip, flash-fried at extreme heat for exactly 15 seconds until the shells turn crimson and crisp. Tossed in a secret sweet-savory glaze of soy sauce, rock sugar, honey, and maltose, each shrimp is a crunchy, juicy, caramelized bite. Shell on, head and all — the ultimate Shanghai drinking snack.
历史典故 · History：Dating to the Qing Dynasty, oil-blasted river shrimp became a Shanghai banquet staple by the Republican era. It's the purest expression of Benbang's 'red-braising in oil' (油爆) technique and the 'rich sauce, sweet finish' philosophy. Listed in Lu Xun's household recipes and preserved in Shanghai Old Restaurant's century-old techniques, it's a core dish of the Benbang intangible cultural heritage cooking tradition.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Select green-shell, white-belly live river shrimp — approximately 80 per jin (500g). Wash and drain thoroughly. 2. Prepare the secret glaze: combine light soy sauce, premium soy sauce (六月鲜), and dark soy sauce with rock sugar, honey, and maltose. Add water, bring to boil, then simmer until thick and syrupy. 3. Heat oil to approximately 280°C (smoking hot). Add shrimp and flash-fry for exactly 15 seconds until shells redden, heads burst open, and tails spread. Remove and drain immediately. 4. Leave a small amount of oil in the wok, sauté scallion and ginger until fragrant. Return shrimp to wok, toss over high heat. 5. Pour the prepared glaze over the shrimp, toss for 30 seconds until each shrimp is evenly coated and glistening red-brown. Serve immediately.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.4 — Fermented Grain Hot Pot (Zao Botou)
口味 · ：
Shanghai's ultimate nose-to-tail dish — a clay pot of pork lung, stomach, intestine, liver, and trotters slow-simmered for 3 hours, then finished with fermented grain mash (香糟卤) that transforms a humble offal stew into an aromatic, deeply comforting masterpiece. The fermented grain adds a wine-like complexity that cuts through the richness — no gaminess, just pure, soul-warming flavor.
历史典故 · History：Born in the Qianlong era (mid-18th century) in Shanghai's Jiading district, farmers originally made this dish with leftover pig organs — a thrifty way to use every part of the animal. By the Guangxu period (late 19th century), Shanghai Old Restaurant elevated it to a clay pot dish with added ham, bamboo shoots, and tofu puffs. The gangster kingpin Du Yuesheng missed this dish so much after moving to Hong Kong that he reportedly had ingredients flown in.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Prepare pork lung, stomach, large intestine, liver, trotters, plus ham, winter bamboo shoots, and oil-blanched tofu puffs. Scrub and rinse the organs repeatedly, blanch in boiling water, then boil until cooked and cut into pieces. 2. Slice liver, chop trotters, slice bamboo shoots and ham. Soak tofu puffs in light salt water to remove alkaline taste. 3. Layer sliced ginger and scallion in the bottom of a clay pot. Add lung, stomach, intestine, and trotters with Shaoxing wine, stock, and a touch of lard. Bring to boil, skim foam, reduce to low and simmer 3 hours until all ingredients are meltingly tender. 4. Remove the ginger and scallion. Add liver, bamboo shoots, ham, and tofu puffs. Simmer another 10 minutes. 5. Season with salt and MSG, pour in fermented grain brine (香糟卤), sprinkle with garlic sprouts, and bring the whole clay pot to the table.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.5 — Spring Bamboo Shoot Soup (Yan Du Xian)
口味 · ：
Shanghai's ode to spring — 'yan' (salt-cured pork), 'du' (slow-simmer), 'xian' (fresh bamboo shoots and pork). A milky-white broth achieved through hours of patient simmering, where cured pork belly and fresh pork release their essence into tender spring bamboo shoots. No seasoning needed — the salt-cured meat does all the work. Every Shanghainese family has their own recipe, but all agree: it only counts when spring bamboo shoots are in season.
历史典故 · History：A quintessential Jiangnan seasonal dish. Folk saying: 'Spend Qingming without Yan Du Xian, and you've wasted spring in Jiangnan' (清明不吃腌笃鲜，枉做江南人). Its roots trace to Huizhou-style cured pork stews, refined by late Qing merchants who added Jinhua ham and fresh bamboo shoots. It became a spring ritual across Shanghai, Suzhou, and the entire Yangtze Delta.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Cut salt-cured pork and fresh pork belly into chunks. Blanch in cold water to remove scum, drain. 2. Blanch spring bamboo shoots briefly to remove bitterness. 3. Place all meats and shoots with ginger and scallion in a clay pot, cover with boiling water. Bring to a vigorous boil, then reduce to the gentlest simmer — this is the 'du' (笃), the slow, patient bubbling. Simmer 1 hour. 4. Add tofu skin knots (百叶结) and celtuce (莴笋), simmer another 20 minutes until the broth is milky white, the meat is tender, and the bamboo shoots are still crisp.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.6 — Nanxiang Soup Dumplings (Xiaolongbao)
口味 · ：
The most famous food export from Shanghai — tissue-thin wheat wrappers pleated into 14+ folds, each cradling a pork-and-gelatin filling that transforms into a spoonful of scalding, savory broth when steamed. Invented in Nanxiang town in 1871 and perfected at Shanghai's City God Temple since 1900. In 2014, it was inscribed on China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
历史典故 · History：Created in 1871 (Tongzhi 10th year) by Huang Mingxian, owner of Rihuaxuan in Nanxiang Town. Huang transformed the large 'meat buns' (大肉馒头) into smaller, thin-skinned versions. In 1900, the recipe was brought to Shanghai's City God Temple and became an instant sensation. The Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant (南翔馒头店) at Yu Garden has been serving them continuously since 1900.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Mince pork front leg into a fine paste, mix with minced ginger, salt, soy sauce, sugar, and aspic made from chicken stock — this is the 'soup' that will melt during steaming. 2. Make a semi-leavened dough with fine wheat flour and warm water, rest 20 minutes. Roll into circles — thin edges, slightly thicker center. 3. Fill each wrapper and pleat at least 14 folds to seal. 4. Steam over high heat for exactly 5 minutes. The aspic melts into the signature broth, and the wrapper becomes translucent.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.7 — Osmanthus Sticky Rice Lotus Root (Guihua Nuomi Ou)
口味 · ：
A jewel of Jiangnan cold cuisine — tender lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice, slow-cooked in a syrup of brown sugar and rock sugar until the root turns a deep rose-gold, then sliced and drizzled with osmanthus flower syrup. Each slice reveals a flower-like pattern of rice-filled holes. Sweet, subtly fragrant, and visually stunning — the perfect end to a Shanghai banquet.
历史典故 · History：Origins trace to the Tang Dynasty, when poet-governor Bai Juyi promoted 'simmered lotus root' in Suzhou. By the Ming-Qing period, stuffing lotus root with glutinous rice was a standard technique, recorded in 'The Scholars' (儒林外史). By the Republican era, it had become a signature cold appetizer at Nanjing's Confucius Temple and Shanghai's City God Temple, symbolizing 'abundance year after year' (连年有余).
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Select a thick, starchy seven-hole lotus root (七孔粉藕). Wash and peel. 2. Cut off one end (about 2 cm) to use as a 'lid.' Rinse the holes thoroughly. 3. Soak round glutinous rice for 2 hours until crushable. 4. Using chopsticks, patiently stuff each lotus root hole with rice. Replace the lid and secure with toothpicks. 5. Place in a pressure cooker with water to cover, add brown sugar, rock sugar, and red dates. Pressure cook for 40 minutes. Or use a regular pot: simmer 2 hours until fork-tender. 6. Cool, slice into thick rounds, arrange on a plate, drizzle with the thickened cooking syrup and osmanthus flower syrup.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
No.8 — Pork Chop with Rice Cakes (Paigu Niangao)
口味 · ：
Shanghai's ultimate street comfort food — a golden, crispy fried pork chop paired with chewy, soft rice cakes, both swimming in a glossy, sweet-savory Benbang sauce. The contrast between the crunchy breaded chop and the tender, slippery rice cakes makes every bite a textural party. Born in the alleyways of the old Chinese City, it's been a Shanghai after-school and late-night staple for generations.
历史典故 · History：Born in the Republican era around Shanghai's City God Temple and Shiliupu dock area. Street vendors sold fried pork chops alongside flat rice cakes (年糕) — someone had the genius idea to combine them. The dish represents the best of Shanghai street food culture: affordable ingredients elevated through technique. Today, it's still found at traditional snack shops in Yu Garden, Yunnan South Road, and neighborhood eateries across the city.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Select fresh pork loin chops. Pound repeatedly with the back of a cleaver until tender and slightly flattened. Marinate with cooking wine, light soy sauce, salt, white pepper, and minced scallion-ginger for 30 minutes. 2. Coat marinated chops in flour, then batter, then fry in oil at 170°C (medium-high) until golden brown and crispy on both sides. Drain on paper towels. 3. Cut local water-milled rice cakes (年糕) into strips, boil in water until soft. 4. In a separate pan, combine light soy sauce, sweet bean paste (甜面酱), a little sugar, and water. Simmer until thick and glossy. 5. Add the fried pork chops and boiled rice cakes to the sauce, simmer briefly on low heat until everything is coated. Serve immediately.
在哪吃 · Where to try：小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
推荐菜馆 — Where Local Foodies Go
南翔馒头店(豫园) — Nanxiang Mantou
南翔小笼包发源地。
Birthplace of Nanxiang xiaolongbao.
饮食贴士 — Dining Tips
小笼包先咬小口吸汤再吃；本帮菜偏甜，红烧肉、油爆虾是经典。人均 80–200 元(参考)。
At a xiaolongbao, bite a small hole, slurp the hot broth, then enjoy the skin. Shanghainese food leans sweet—pair rich dishes with a cold appetizer.
一方水土养一方味。
上海市 这几道代表性美食,藏着最地道的人间烟火。
来 Shanghai,从这一碗一盘开始,吃懂这片土地。