If you want to choose a dish that best represents Jiangyin, then fat pepper must be among the best. In the old days, there were many reeds along the Jiangyin River. Jiangyin people broke off two pliers and set them free. Then they washed the pliers, cut off a corner, and cooked them in marinades made of various spices.

According to its characteristics, it looks like a parrot's mouth when cooked, and scholars and writers have given it a nice name: "parrot's mouth", which has become a famous dish in Jiangyin. Jiangyin people have a special liking for fat angle pliers. As the saying goes, relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to draft. Going to the river to catch pangs in summer was once the happiest memory of many people's childhood.

2. Grass soles

Legend has it that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Jiangyin people specially made sesame cakes into straw sandals and mixed them into the besieged Jiangyin city for the military and civilians to resist the Qing Dynasty. Although the enemy was defeated in the end, the city was destroyed and people died, but this method of making sesame cakes was passed down and named "Kusanagi". Shaped like straw and as thin as a sole, this is Jiangyin's characteristic sesame seed cake "grass sole".

Sprinkle with fragrant sesame seeds, and the roasted "Kusanagi" is freshly baked, emitting an attractive fragrance. Taking a bite seems to make people go back to childhood and experience the simple happiness brought by food again.

3. Drag crabs on the surface

Crab is recognized as delicious food, and there is a folk saying that "a plate of crab is the top grade". In Jiangyin, in addition to steaming, eating crabs can also be made into noodles to pull crabs, which is a different taste, and for many Jiangyin people, noodles to pull crabs have a deeper and stronger human touch. In summer, hairy crabs are not on the market yet, and a crab commonly known as "June Yellow" is maturing.

So, someone can't wait to pick it up and taste it after cooking. In order to taste the delicious crab, they add some thin batter and tender beans when the crab is half cooked. In view of its batter-dragging, people commonly call it "noodle-dragging crab". "Crab mixed noodles" has also become a famous dish widely loved by Jiangyin people.

Step 4 cross the bridge eel

The eel crossing the bridge, shaped like an arch bridge, symbolizes a step-by-step ascent and the apprentice, and is a favorite dish of Jiangyin people. To do a good job of crossing the bridge eel, it is necessary to choose the eel, change the knife accurately, fry it repeatedly at the temperature of 80% hot oil, add chicken soup, sugar and soy sauce to boil, and then stew it on low heat.

For outsiders, this bridge is more like a link between their hometown and Jiangyin. They learned about Jiangyin through delicious food and fell in love with Jiangyin.

5. Oily meat

In Jiangyin, "oily meat" is a main course of traditional New Year's Eve dinner. Fat but not greasy, crispy and delicious. However, it is estimated that many old Jiangyin people don't know that the famous dish "Zouyourou" originated in Jiangyin and has been passed down from generation to generation, and now it has become a famous dish with all colors and flavors.