Jiangsu Cuisine

Jiangsu cuisine, one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese Cuisine, is sometimes simply called Su cuisine and consists of Jinling dishes, Huaiyang (the region surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze rivers) dishes, Suzhou-Wuxi dishes and Xuhai (originating from Xuzhou and Lianyungang) dishes. Jiangsu cuisine has also received national and even international acclaim.

It is characterized by mild, fresh, salty, and slightly sweet flavors. Special care is given to retaining the natural flavor and juices of the ingredients, as well as seasoning of the soup.

In terms of cooking methods, Jiangsu cuisine is uses stewing, dry braising, simmering and warming. It makes great use of a variety of ingredients. In the imperial court, Jiangsu cuisine ranks second while state banquets today predominately serve Jiangsu style cuisine.

Jiangsu cuisine is known to be elegant and subtle, refined in both flavor and presentation, as well as versatile and exquisite in knife work. From artistic cold dishes, decorative hot dishes, vegetable and fruit sculpturing, to deboning the animal without damaging the overall shape, the knife skill of Jiangsu cuisine chefs is clearly exquisite.