Haipai cuisine

Haipai cuisine is a Western-style cooking, that is unique to Shanghai, China. It absorbed the traditions of several cuisines from other regions of China and of Western cooking and adapted them to suit the local taste according to the features of local ingredients. It is divided into several major types: French, Italian, Russian, British, and German,[1][2] among which the Russian-type dishes, such as the Shanghai-style borscht (luó sòng tāng), receive a great welcome as they are more affordable.[3] Today, the most famous dishes of Haipai cuisine are luó sòng tāng, fried pork chops (breaded cutlet), and Shanghai salad (a variety of Olivier salad). Apart from the above-mentioned common dishes, baked clams, baked crabs, and jin bi duo soup ("million dollar soup") are also popular among the Haipai dishes.

Hundred years since it opened to foreign traders, Shanghai has witnessed the increasing popularity of Haipai cuisine. However, since China began to implement its economic reforms in 1978, an increasing number of authentic Western restaurants set up in Shanghai. As a result, the number of Haipai restaurants gradually declined, and only a few are left by now. But luó sòng tāng and fried pork chops with Worcestershire sauce are still enjoyed and considered to be the flavor of "old Shanghai".[4]

History

After Shanghai opened to outside, Western culture was gradually brought into Shanghai, and West restaurants began to set up in the city. According to documentary records, the first Western restaurant, Xiang Fan, was founded in Fuzhou Road. At that time, Western dishes were also known as "Fan dishes". Although Western food became fashionable, it was still hard for the Chinese people to adapt to some types of Western cooking, such as medium rare beefsteak. Shanghai Western cuisine absorbed the essence of different Western cooking traditions and gradually formed different styles of food: French, Italian, Russian, British, German style, etc. French-style cuisine focused on fresh materials and exquisite food; British-style cuisine focused on seasoning, and Italian-style cuisine focused on the original flavor, so each has its own characteristics. After the October Revolution in the Soviet Union in 1917, a large wave of Russian white émigrés poured into China, and in particular in Shanghai. They were named luó sòng. The Shanghai Russians opened more than 40 Russian restaurants in the Xiafei Road (Avenue Joffre, now Middle Huaihai Road), in an area which at that time became known as "Little Russia". Their two dishes: borscht and buttered bread (butterbrot) gained a great popularity in Shanghai due to their low price. By the end of 1937, Shanghai had more than 200 Haipai restaurants, most of them were located in Xiafei Road and Fuzhou Road.

The establishment of the rule of the Communist Party of China was a turning point in the development of Shanghai Western cuisine. A large number of Western-style restaurants closed down during this period, and only in the Huangpu District 18 restaurants remained after adopting the pattern of public-private Joint Management.[5] Besides, due to a shortage of supplies at the time, "going to western restaurants" was not a common thing for ordinary people. However, the Shanghai people, whether because of love for Western food or memories of the ancient time, still tried every means to enjoy western food in this difficult era.[6] One way was to use a variety of local ingredients instead of importing Western ingredients, such as using Chinese mitten crabs instead of sea crabs, self-roll soda crackers instead of bread powder etc. Western food was completely removed from China after the Cultural Revolution.[7] Back then, the famous Western restaurant the Red House was renamed to the Red Flag Restaurant, and offered Chinese traditional dishes. Since the reform and opening up in China, the number of authentic Chinese restaurants in Shanghai has increased dramatically. On the contrary, the numbers of Western-style restaurants that offer Haipai dishes have been declined gradually, and a lot of Western restaurants shut off in the 1990s.

Tradional dishes

Shanghai-style borscht

Shanghai-style borscht

Being quite different from its Russian origin, the Chinese-style borscht (luó sòng tāng), originated in Harbin, close to the Russian border in northeast China, and has spread as far as Shanghai and Hong Kong.[8] A Shanghai variety appeared when the Russian emigries settled down in the former French Concession in the early 20th century. The recipe was changed by removing beetroot and using ketchup to color the soup as well as to add to its sweetness,[9] because Shanghai's climate was bad for planting beets and the soup's original taste of sour was alien for the local people. Later they usually fried the ketchup in oil to reduce its taste of sour, then put white sugar in the soup to make it both sour and sweet. Some recipe would contain beef soup, sausages and potatoes. As more and more people made borscht at home, its recipes changed to please the different tastes of its makers. The soup is often accompanied by rice.

Shanghai-style fried pork chops

Fried pork chop

The Shanghai-style fried pork chop is a local variety of breaded cutlet. It is particularly popular as street food. The pork chop is coated with bread flour before being fried to avoid too much greasiness and to be crispy outside but tender inside. Back to the old days when supplies were badly needed in Shanghai, soda crackers were crushed to replace bread flour, which produced a different unique flavor. In Shanghai, the pork chop is enjoyed together with the special local la jiang you sauce, whose taste and ingredients are somewhat different from the British Worcestershire sauce.[10]

Potato salad

Potato salad

Usually known as Shanghai-style salad, the potato salad is a local variety of the Russian Olivier salad. It is made by mixing salad dressing and shredded boiled potatoes and diced sausages. It also goes with minced turnips and diced peas. Nowadays, most people make Shanghai-style salad using the ready-made salad dressing bought from the supermarkets, while originally the dressing was prepared by patiently mixing salad oil, egg yolks and mayonnaise for a long time.[11]

Baked clams

The baked clams are famous among Shanghai-style western dishes. The dish was invented by the Maison Pourcel chef Yu Yongli from the French specialty escargots (snails au gratin). The invention was caused by the supply shortage of French snails since 1946. After times of trials, clams were chosen by Maison Pourcel to replace snails. To make baked clams, the clam is removed from its shell and washed clean, then it is placed back into the shell with salad oil, red wine, mashed garlic, minced celeries etc., and baked in the oven. The new dish was so loved by the customers that it was called a Chinese-born French cuisine by the French president Georges Pompidou when he tasted it during his visit in Shanghai.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 潘君祥，段炼. 话说沪商. 中华工商联合出版社. pp. 第136–138页. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  2. ↑ "《上海通志》>>第十九卷商业服务业>>第十章饮食服务业>>第二节 西菜行业". 上海市地方志办公室. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  3. ↑ 上海饮食服务业志-饮食业的形成和发展 上海市地方志办公室.
  4. ↑ "舌尖上的海派西餐". 上海热线. 2012-06-15. Archived from the original on 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  5. ↑ 黄浦区志-西菜、西咖业 上海市地方志办公室.
  6. ↑ "海派西餐和奶油菜心". 经济观察网. 2012-06-08. Archived from the original on 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  7. ↑ 卢湾区志-饮食业 上海市地方志办公室.
  8. ↑ Burlakoff, Nikolai (2013). "Chapter 3 and 8". The World of Russian Borsch: Explorations of Memory, People, History, Cookbooks & Recipes. North Charleston, SC: Createspace Independent Pub. ISBN 978-1-4840-2740-0.
  9. ↑ "一百个上海人有一百种罗宋汤". 新浪网. 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
  10. ↑ "真实第25小时20130417：我爱海派西餐". 上海电视台纪实频道. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  11. ↑ 陈丹燕 (2012-06-01). 《上海色拉》. 杭州: 浙江出版联合集团. ISBN 9787533934217.
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