Jiangsu cuisine is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the Jiangsu region in China. In general, Jiangsu cuisine's texture is characterized as soft, but not to the point of mushy or falling apart. For example, the meat tastes so soft but would not separate from the bone when being picked up. Other characters includes the strict selection of ingredients according to the seasons, emphasis on the matching color and shape of each dish and emphasis on using soup to improve the flavor. Although sometimes simply called Yang cuisine, named after its major style, the Huaiyang cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine actually consists of several styles, including:

• Nanjing cuisine: its dishes emphasize an even taste and matching color, with excellent dishes incorporating river fish/shrimps and duck.
• Suzhou cuisine: emphasis on the selection of material, stronger taste than Nanjing cuisine, and with a tendency to be sweeter than the other varieties of the cuisine
• Wuxi cuisine: famed for the numerous types of congee.

The main characteristics of Jiangsu cuisine:

• Distinguished for exquisite ingredients, freshness, and aliveness.
• High cutting techniques.
• Have a good command of duration and degree of heating and cooking.
• Good at keeping the original taste, one particular taste for one dish.
• Pay great attention to soup, which is strong but not greasy, and delicious.

Famous dishes:

Butterfish in Creamy Juice, Santao Duck, Steamed Large Meatballs, Fragrant and Soft Silverfish, Crystal Pig‘s Trotters, Steamed Hilsa Herring, King Bids Farewell to His Consort, etc. Well-known snacks include Dumplings with Juicy Crab Meat Filling, Noodles in Clear Soup, Jadeite Steamed Dumplings with the Dough Gathered at the Top, etc.

Huaiyang cuisine

one of the major traditions of the Cuisine of China. It is derived from the native cooking styles of the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze Rivers, and centered upon the cities of Yangzhou and Huai'an in Jiangsu province, hence the name. This style is characterized in that for every dish, the work is emphasized on the major material, and the way the material is cut is very important in how successful the dish is cooked, and consequently, the taste. The cuisine is also well-known for utilizing its famous Chinkiang vinegar, which is produced in the Zhenjiang region.

Huaiyang cuisine is the most popular Jiangsu cuisine, and sometimes it is viewed as the representation of the entire Jiangsu cuisine, and hence, Jiangsu cuisine is sometimes simply called Yang cuisine, short for Huaiyang.

Nanjing Style Dried Salty Duck

It has a long history of over 1,000 years. Apart from its plumpness in appearance, the duck tempts people with characteristics of tasting crisp, fresh, fragrant, and rich but not greasy. The cooking method of the duck was invented 600 years ago. The salted duck is slathered with roasted salt, steeped in clear brine, baked dry and then kept under cover for some time; the finished product should have a creamy-colored skin and red, tender flesh. It was the tribute to the royal palace during the Qing Dynasty.

Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish

Tradition has it that once stopping at the Crane House during his south Yangtze tour, Emperor Qianlong saw a carp frisking on the holy table and ordered it cooked for him. The chef, knowing it was the emperor's order, spared no effort in flavoring and seasoning. In order to be exempted from the sin of killing the "holy fish", he made the carp into the shape of a squirrel with its head and tail soaring high. The dark reddish brown fish, crisp outside and tender amid, was sour and sweet enough to the taste of emperor, whose appreciation raised the name of Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish to the world. Being the raw material, the mandarin fish is characterized by its tenderness of the flesh and sparseness of the bones as well. After scaling and frying, the head of the fish looks big with its mouth wide open, the tail bends upwards, and the flesh imitates the erecting hair of a squirrel. It will be squeaking like a squirrel if it is sprinkled with shrimp meat, dried bamboo shoots and tomato ketchup. Thus the Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish is complete in color, smell, flavor and sound, and it is to arouse the appetite of whoever sees it.

Yangzhou Style Fried Rice:

Rice is the main ingredient in this dish. It is first pounded and then stir-fried with shrimp, ham, egg, peas, and seasonal vegetables. Because a variety of seasonal vegetables are used, you taste a variety of wonderful flavors and textures!

Lion-Head Meatball with Crab Roe:

This dish is the symbol of Huaiyang cuisine and it requires very complicated procedure. First mix the ground pork, egg white, crabmeat, rice wine, salt, scallions and ginger into a rather stiff mixture. Then divide it into 4 portions and roll each portion into a meatball. Add cabbage, chicken broth together with meatballs into casserole and place on low heat and simmer for long time until its done. It has the fragrance of the pork and crab and the color of the dish is as bright as orange. It tastes rich but not greasy.

Wuxi Sweet and Salty Spare Ribs

Wuxi Spare Ribs is the most popular local dish and is the specialty to look out for people come to Wuxi. It features the common eastern technique of "Red cooking" in a stock of rice wine and soy sauce and spiced with ginger, anise, cloves and black peppercorns and has unique red-sweet sauce on the top in order to give rich taste.

Yangcheng hairy crab:

Yangcheng Da Zha Xie” in Chinese, this huge crab is far better than that of other places in meat and taste, which is reputed as "King Crab". The ordinary one weighs around half catty while the bigger one around 0.7 to 0.8 catty. It is renowned for its tender meat, rich nutrition, fat ovary and digestive glands and dainty taste at home and abroad.

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