Wandering through the streets of Shanghai, the modernity of the Bund and the elegance of Yu Garden complement each other. The authentic delicacies hidden in the downtown area can help you better understand the daily warmth of this city. Among Shanghai’s local cuisines, Zhaohuo (fermented preserved food) occupies an important position. Among them, Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame are the most well-known classic combinations——Drunken Chicken is mellow with wine aroma and tender meat, while Braised Edamame is crispy, sweet and full of fermented fragrance. Both are daily side dishes on Shanghai people’s dining tables and an excellent window for foreign visitors to explore Shanghai’s food Culture. A bite of fermented fragrance in the mouth is the most authentic taste of Shanghai.
The history of Shanghai Zhaohuo can be traced back to before the Qin and Han dynasties. At that time, wine and fermented grains were already used for seasoning and flavoring in meals. After thousands of years of development, by the Tang and Song dynasties, the fermented preservation technology had expanded to various ingredients such as meat and vegetables, becoming a common home-cooked dish in the Jiangnan region. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the craftsmanship of Zhaohuo became more mature, distinguishing different methods such as raw fermentation and cooked fermentation. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, with the acceleration of Shanghai’s urbanization, time-honored stores such as Shaowan Sheng emerged as the times require. The exquisite fermented preserved foods were popular and famous across the country. Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame are the most representative categories among them, inherited to this day and becoming an important part of the food related to Shanghai’s intangible cultural heritage.
For Shanghai people, Zhaohuo is not only a delicacy, but also carries the health wisdom of adapting to the seasons. In the plum rain season in Jiangnan, it is rainy and humid, and the spleen and stomach are easily affected by damp heat. Zhaohuo has a unique flavor and can relieve greasiness and stimulate appetite, which is just suitable for the seasonal needs, becoming Shanghai people’s taste choice to cope with the plum rain season. This custom has continued to this day, making Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame a delicacy across four seasons——cold eating in summer is refreshing and relieving summer heat, while hot eating in autumn and winter is warm and comforting, connecting Shanghai people’s three meals a day and four seasons. Today, whether it is the refined Zhaohuo in time-honored stores or the homemade delicacies in ordinary families, they all adhere to the traditional craftsmanship and retain the purest fermented fragrance, becoming a memory engraved in Shanghai people’s taste genes.
The soul of Shanghai Zhaohuo is Zaolu (fermented brine). The unique flavor of Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame comes not only from high-quality Zaolu, but also from strict ingredient selection and cumbersome traditional craftsmanship. The core raw material for making Zaolu is Xiangzao (fragrant fermented grains), which is the distiller’s grains of grain distilled wine. After multiple processes such as screening, drying and fermentation, it is sealed and soaked for dozens of days with rice wine, rock sugar, cinnamon, star anise, licorice and other seasonings to make Zaolu with mellow aroma, moderate saltiness and sweetness. No artificial flavors or preservatives are added, and every drop is full of natural fermented fragrance and wine aroma, which is the key to distinguishing Shanghai Zhaohuo from the braised food in other regions.
As a representative meat dish among Zhaohuo, the production process of Drunken Chicken is extremely exquisite, showing the ingenuity of Shanghai people in every step. It uses free-range Sanhuang Chicken locally raised in Shanghai. This kind of chicken has tender meat, moderate fat content, fresh and not dry, which is an excellent raw material for making Drunken Chicken. During production, first clean the Sanhuang Chicken, put it into a pot, add ginger slices, scallion sections and cooking wine, simmer over low heat until it is 80% to 90% cooked, take it out and quickly cool it with purified water to lock the tender taste of the chicken and avoid dry meat. After the chicken is completely cooled, cut it into uniform pieces, put it into an airtight container, pour in the secret Zaolu, ensure that the Zaolu completely covers the chicken, seal it and put it in the refrigerator to soak for 4 to 6 hours, allowing the chicken to fully absorb the aroma and wine aroma of the Zaolu. No turning is needed during the period to let the fermented fragrance and the freshness of the chicken blend deeply. The Drunken Chicken made in this way is white in color, tender in meat, with intertwined wine aroma and fermented fragrance, salty and sweet, not fishy or greasy, melting in the mouth, without any heavy greasiness.
Different from the mellow taste of Drunken Chicken, Braised Edamame, as a classic vegetarian dish among Zhaohuo, focuses on crispness and freshness. Although the production process seems simple, it hides subtlety. It uses fresh edamame grown locally in Shanghai, selecting plump and green grains. There is no need to remove the shells, just cut off both ends of each section of edamame, which can not only remove impurities, but also allow the Zaolu to penetrate better. Then wash it repeatedly to remove the floating hairs on the surface. When boiling edamame, you can choose to boil it in cold water directly or put it in after the water boils, add a little salt, and cook for about 5 minutes to take it out. It is necessary to remove the beany flavor and ensure the crispy taste of edamame, avoiding overcooking which will make the beans mushy and yellow. After taking it out, quickly cool it with cold water to keep the edamame’s green color and crispy taste. Then drain the water, put it into the Zaolu, and soak it in the refrigerator for more than 2 hours to let the fermented fragrance fully integrate into the beans. The Braised Edamame made in this way has green shells, tender meat, strong fermented fragrance, crispness and sweetness, and becomes more fragrant as you chew.
It is worth mentioning that Shanghai people have a small trick in making Zhaohuo: the Zaolu used for vegetarian Zhaohuo can be reused from the Zaolu used for meat Zhaohuo. For example, after the Drunken Chicken is soaked, the drained Zaolu can be used to soak Braised Edamame, which can blend the bean aroma with the meat aroma and make the flavor of Braised Edamame better, showing the true taste of the ingredients. In addition, there are many precautions for making Zhaohuo: the ingredients must be fresh and fully cooked; purified water or boiled cold water should be used for cooling to avoid tap water; it should be sealed and refrigerated when soaking and eaten as soon as possible to ensure food safety and taste.
For foreign visitors, tasting Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame can not only experience the unique Chinese fermented fragrance, but also unlock a variety of eating methods that fit the local life, easily integrating into the daily warmth of Shanghai. The most classic collocation is the daily eating method of Shanghai people: a bowl of porridge, a plate of Drunken Chicken and a plate of Braised Edamame. The light porridge aroma neutralizes the wine aroma of Drunken Chicken and the saltiness of Braised Edamame. A bite is refreshing and relieves greasiness, awakening the taste buds. This is also a common collocation for Shanghai people’s breakfast and dinner. Foreign visitors can experience the most authentic daily life of Shanghai through this.
In addition, Drunken Chicken can also be paired with rice, noodles, or cut into small pieces as a cold dish with rice wine. The wine aroma and fermented fragrance set off each other, highlighting its mellow flavor; Braised Edamame can be used as a snack, chewed a few times in the spare time of the trip to relieve greasiness and cravings, or paired with beer, juice, or as a salad ingredient to unlock Western eating methods, adapting to different taste needs. If you want to try hot food, Drunken Chicken can also be made into a casserole with pork tripe, heated with Zaolu, warm and comforting, especially suitable for eating in autumn and winter. A bowl of Zaolu soup can also be used to blanch vermicelli and vegetables, serving multiple purposes and showing Shanghai people’s food wisdom.
When coming to Shanghai, if you want to buy authentic Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame, it is recommended that foreign visitors go to Shanghai’s time-honored stores and local vegetable markets, avoiding assembly line products in Internet-famous check-in spots to taste the most authentic traditional flavor. The first choice is the headquarters of Shaowan Sheng on Nanjing East Road in Huangpu District. As a time-honored Shanghai Zhaohuo store, Shaowan Sheng inherits the century-old fermented preservation technology. Its Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame are of high quality and complete varieties. There are also many kinds of Zhaohuo such as Osmanthus Drunken Chicken and Braised Peanuts for choice. The clerks are enthusiastic and can introduce the history and eating methods of Zhaohuo to visitors. The store has a simple environment full of old Shanghai atmosphere. There are also scenic spots such as No.1 Food Store and Yu Garden nearby, which you can visit along the way to experience Shanghai’s food and Culture immersively.
In addition, Wanyouquan in Jing’an District and Sanlintang Old Street Vegetable Market in Pudong New Area also sell authentic Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame. Most of the Zhaohuo here are handmade, adhering to traditional craftsmanship, with affordable prices and authentic taste. You can also feel the urban daily life of Shanghai. At the same time, packaged Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame are also sold in large supermarkets in Shanghai (such as Lianhua, China Resources Vanguard and Hema). The packaging is exquisite, easy to carry and store, with a shelf life of about 3-7 days, suitable for foreign visitors to take home as souvenirs to share with family and friends, allowing relatives and friends far away to taste the fermented fragrance of Shanghai.
It should be noted that Drunken Chicken contains a small amount of alcohol. Although the alcohol content is not high after long-term soaking, foreign visitors who are not good at drinking are advised to eat it in moderation; both Braised Edamame and Drunken Chicken are refrigerated foods, no need to heat before eating, and the taste is better if left at room temperature for a while. Heating will make the meat soft and the beans mushy, affecting the flavor. When buying, you can observe the appearance of the ingredients: high-quality Drunken Chicken is white in color, firm in meat and free of peculiar smell; high-quality Braised Edamame is green in color, plump in grains, free of mold and peculiar smell. Such Zhaohuo is the authentic Shanghai flavor.
Drunken Chicken and Braised Edamame, though simple home-style snacks, carry thousands of years of food Culture and daily warmth of Shanghai, and are the epitome of Shanghai’s local cuisine. For foreign visitors, when coming to Shanghai, in addition to visiting iconic scenic spots such as the Bund and Yu Garden, you may wish to take a little time to walk into time-honored stores, taste the tenderness of Drunken Chicken, eat a crisp Braised Edamame, feel the fermented fragrance and wine aroma lingering on the tip of your tongue, and understand Shanghai people’s persistence and love for food. This fermented fragrance spanning thousands of years will become the most unforgettable taste memory of your Shanghai trip, and also allow you to deeply understand Shanghai’s folk culture and unlock a different Shanghai travel experience.
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