How to Eat like a Local in Ningbo - Local Dishes to Savour during a Tour of Ningbo
Ranked among China's top destinations for culinary enthusiasts, Ningbo is the home of traditional Zhejiang cuisine. As one of the main 8 cuisines in the country, this culinary style can best be described as a combination of the flavours and cooking methods of Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Ningbo. The city's cuisine is also known for its heavy use of seafood and stir-frees, so there's plenty of delicious delight to dig into during your next trip to Ningbo.
1. Stay Close to the Best Restaurants
Authentic Dining Venues in Ningbo | Image via Pan Pacific Ningbo Official site
Those who are heading to Ningbo to experience the city's rich culinary heritage should ideally do their homework prior to the trip to determine where the best eats are found.
While there are a great many Ningbo restaurant establishments in every neighbourhood, those who stay close to some of the area's top eateries will surely enjoy far more satisfactory dining encounters on holiday. Whether you choose to stay at Pan Pacific Ningbo or any other hotel, ensure that the venue is close to some of the city's top restaurants and dining venues, especially if your stay in Ningbo is brief or does not exceed a few days.
2. Dig into Fried River Eels
Called Guoshao Manyu in Chinese, Ningbo's Dry Fried River Eels are considered a delicacy by most locals although the rivers and lakes of the district are teeming with river eels. Although the dish's flavours are simple, the cooking process involved in preparing this classic dish is rather complex. Local chefs first boil the eels until soft and remove the bones before marinating the eels in spices. Deep fried to perfection, the eels are soft and succulent on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside. A tad sweet in flavour, deep-fried river eels are both a starter and a meal in local restaurants.
2. Try Some Yellow Croaker with Sea Cucumbers
This local dish which is listed as Huangyu Haishen on restaurant menus is made using sea cucumbers and yellow croaker fish. Cooks are known to steam yellow croakers until their bones are soft enough to remove when creating this dish, which involves cooking the fish with sea cucumbers. A special seasoning gives the dish its unique flavour while Ningbo diners often pair it with a glass of wine as the two go well together.
3. Order Some Taicai Xiaofangkao
Also known as Fried Lichen Cubes, Taicai Xiaofangkaois are made using pork belly fat and lichen, which are sliced into thin strips.
Coated and seasoned in Shaoxing wine, the marinade also includes sugar and red preserved bean curd, which differs from the white bean curd that we commonly call tofu. Frequently ordered with a bottle of wine, locals love to dip into this delicious snack while sipping on their favourite wine in the late evenings.
4. Try Goose Liver
As one of the oldest dishes in the Ningbo culinary canon, Wangyou Bao'e'gan or goose liver fried with veal fat is a wholesome dish packed with nutrients.
Tracing its origins back 2000 years, this mouth-watering dish is prepared the old-fashioned way in Ningbo households and restaurants alike. Goose liver is fried and then seasoned with a variety of Chinese spices before being infused with papa powder and scallions.
5. Dig into Some Fupi Bao Huangyu
Another fried yellow croaker dish, this variation is unique to Ningbo as it is only prepared by chefs with a certain level of skill. Although the process is not too complicated, the act of wrapping yellow croakers on bean curd sheets must be performed with great delicacy. Fried and served dipped in vinegar, the fish is cut into cubes before they are plated.
6. Explore Ningbo's Favourite Broth
Fans of chicken soup will find Huozhong Quanji the perfect fix during a stay in Ningbo. Steamed with bamboo shoots, mushrooms and other edible tree fungi, this dish is revered among local diners for its rich flavour.
