Jiangsu and Zhejiang cities, led by Hangzhou and Suzhou, are one of the few cities in China famous for their sweetness. Sweet and sour pork ribs, sweet taro seedlings, clear water oil gluten, honey knife, one tenth of these dishes come from syrup, which is sweeter than first love and free.
There is a historical basis for people in southern Jiangsu to love sweets. As the largest plain in China, it is a place where wealthy businessmen gather. In the generally cold China, sugar has always been a rare substance from the southernmost tip. Only the royal family and wealthy businessmen can buy in large quantities, and the rich show their identity in order to "burn money". So more and more sugar will eventually cultivate Sunan people who love "sweet mouth". Even if you cook vegetables, you should put sugar in them. Pepper fried meat is also sweet, and Hunan people say it tastes bad.
Migrant workers from southern Jiangsu came to Shanghai along the Yangtze River and successfully made Shanghai food "sweet and greasy". However, as Shanghai is a port city, influenced by western food, there will be fried pork chops and other foods on the table.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine loves to put sugar in order to be "fresh", and there is another reason, such as "the four famous dans in the Yangtze River", such as shad, squid, swordfish and Spanish mackerel; "Three Whites in Taihu Lake" whitebait, white shrimp and white fish are all delicious fish for cooking purposes, and Huaiyang cuisine is the freshest. As the appearance of Yangzhou, the big perm-dried silk, a seemingly tasteless soup, combines the natural flavor of more than a dozen ingredients, allowing you to return to nature in one bite.
What really makes Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine unacceptable to outsiders may not be sweet, but smelly. Jiangsu and Zhejiang are hot and humid, and food is easy to get moldy. People in Zhejiang have to love rotten vegetables. For example, stinky amaranth pickled with amaranth stalks is difficult to swallow. After pickling, it is regarded as waste. You can squeeze out the meat in the middle with a little chewing, and the remaining salt water can also be used to soak stinky tofu and mold.
However, there are still several dishes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine that foreigners can accept, such as West Lake vinegar fish, Song Saoyu soup, etc., which are bright and smooth, taste like crab meat, and the famous "Dongpo meat". Dongpo meat is an unusual dish in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but after all, Su Shi who invented it is from Meishan, Sichuan, and Dongpo meat originated in Huanggang, Hubei. It is also a "side dish" to raise one person with soil and water.
Pot meat and sauce bone stick, the reason why the north loves to eat meat is because it is cold in the north and needs more calories; Sichuan and Hunan love to eat Chili because the air humidity is high, and eating spicy food can drive away the moisture in the body; Yunnan people love to eat wild mushrooms, but they belong to the mountain. Different food cultures are actually summed up in four words: "vast territory and abundant resources"!