this is fantastic. how do you eat these? whole? i eat them whole, because i really like this. that works. oh, they re good. yeah. i think they cook it a few seconds. that s the secret. yoba sha are tiny little shrimp, deep fried first, then quickly tossed in the wok with garlic, ginger, salt, and soy. what is classic shanghainese food? what s distinctive about it? this for instance. it s often black or dark and heavily inflected with oil, soy and sugar. shanghai is and has been for some time a city of immigrants. and the food reflects that genealogy. a combination of people from neighboring zhejiang province known for their liberal use of sugar, soy, and vinegar and jiangsu province, known for its ingredients and intension of preserving the aliveness of its dishes. it s the best of both worlds, great sauces, great ingredients. there s hung shao ro, braised pork belly in a glaze of soy sauce, cinnamon, sugar, and anise. hung shao cha yu, a small fish poached first in rice wine
blanched and then reheated, smothered in a sauce made from the reduced drippings left in the walk with dark soy, salt and sugar and this to round things out. yandushin, salted pork belly, tofu ribbons and bamboo shoots. oh, good flavor. this is a socialist country, supposedly. or a communist country, supposedly. it is in fact from the evidence that i ve ever seen the most dynamic country on earth. what do you think about that? i think a lot of my western friends come here thinking china is a post version of north korea or the party controls everything, but they come here and they re surprised it s actually not that much. they do seem to be promoting the