Authentic Hangzhou Reunion Dinners

By Hou Huihui

Braised Duck with Soy Sauce

Among the Hangzhou locals’ special purchases for the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival， the soy-sauce-braised food is the closest to heart， especially the ducks. And the Spring Festival in Hangzhou usually starts with the preparation of soy-sauce-braised ducks. Every year after xiaoxue （a solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar which usually begins around November 22 and ends around December 7）， the dropping temperature and humidity with sufficient sunlight mean it is the ideal period for making soy-sauce-braised ducks — and for housewives to get busy. They would go to the market and return with the best ducks they could find， prepare a large pot of soy sauce， and wait till it gets cold to marinate the ducks. When the ducks are left in the sauce for a right amount of time， they would be picked out to cool and dry outside the window， waiting for time and sunlight to finish the job.

Such home-cooked ducks tend to have various flavors， yet they always look the same — the invariable thick and heavily brown from the soy sauce. When the Spring Festival is approaching， you can find in the old downtown area that many households have hung outside their windows several soy-sauce-braised ducks， which smell quite delicious.

However， since people nowadays are living a fast-paced life， many choose to buy packaged soy-sauce-braised ducks instead.

But a small duck is nothing simple at all. The soy-sauce-braised ducks on sale are commonly made of three types of duck with different meat textures， fat contents and flavors.

To select a good soy-sauce-braised duck， the first step is to see the color. A quality one often has very natural color， not particularly red but close to the color of soy sauce， and the body will appear more oily. The second step is to determine if the duck has good smell or not. The third step is to feel the meat texture — tighter meat often ensures better quality.

Since a soy-sauce-braised duck is already delicious in its own， the simplest and best way to cook it is to steam. It is suggested that you clean and chop it first， then add some scallion， ginger， cooking wine and a little sugar before steaming it for about an hour， and wait to be impressed by its fragrant， salty and rich flavor.

Fish Ball

The reunion-symbolizing fish ball is also a popular home-cooked dish in Hangzhou cuisine. In farmers’ markets of different sizes， you can always find fish balls on sale： a small one for about one yuan （$0.16）， a large one for about two yuan. Get three to five large ones， ask the vendor to hit you a spoonful of soup， then you have a dish for dinner.

Senior residents know their way in making fish balls： take the body of a white chub， a grass carp or a big-head carp， scrape out the flesh， chop it up and remove the thorns， add some scallion， ginger and water， then let the fish paste get al dente — in an old-school recipe， some lard will be added to make the fish balls shinier. Then boil some water in a pot， hand-make some fish balls and drop them into the warm water to cook slowly; gently roll the fish balls with a spoon to make them rounder. When the fish balls float， they are ready to serve. A good fresh fish ball is big and round， and does not break even after long time cooking.

Fish balls are usually cooked in clear soup， or you can cook them with more sophistication： add three pieces of mustard greens， three slices of bamboo shoots， three slices of ham， and a shiitake mushroom. Some locals love to cook fish balls with chuncai， a nutritious green vegetable which has a slippery texture but does not have a particular flavor.

Xiang Braised with Pork

Although braised pork itself is delicious enough， the xiang， a kind of wine-preserved dried fish popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces， will make it even more tasty. Far back in the Southern Song dynasty （1127-1279）， xiang had already been sold by some special stores in the streets of Hangzhou.

The cool， dry autumn is suitable for the storage of xiang， and it is also the time to search for the largest amount and the most varied kinds of xiang on the market. After dipping in rice water， the xiang with its thick flesh goes perfectly with pork， for the rice soup could bring out its salty taste and make its meat firmer.

To cook xiang with pork， you need to first heat some oil in a pan， add some scallion， ginger， and chop the dried fish into 3-cm cubes， which will then be pan-fried until their surface turn golden brown; put some pork belly into the pan， stir-fry until the meat shrinks and gets oily， add an adequate amount of wine and simmer — wine is the key to unlock the aroma of the dish， because it removes the fishy taste of the pork; simmer until the meat is forty or fifty percent cooked， and add the pan-fried xiang to be slowly stewed. After cooked together for some time， the pork and the xiang adsorb the flavors of each other， which create a special taste of salty umami.

Apart from making a hot dish， xiang can also be turned into a cold dish — meat jelly， which has a uniquely delicious flavor and goes well with hot rice.

Yellow Croaker with Rice Cakes

The freshly made hot rice cakes are full of rice fragrance. When you bite into them， you will taste the soft and elastic texture. This is a kind of food that signifies good luck for the coming year.

Rice cakes are often cooked together with yellow croakers in Hangzhou， a major dish all year round on local family tables or in restaurant menus.

Cooking this dish is not that difficult. You could always start by heating some oil in a pan， then slide a yellow croaker into the pan， add some sliced ginger and cooking wine to remove the fishy odor， pan-fry it on both sides until it gets golden brown and take it out. Next， add some fish bone broth with moderate soy sauce and other ingredients to simmer together， put the pan-fried fish in， let them braise slowly over low heat， add the Hangzhou farmhouse-made long-shape rice cakes and reduce.

When the yellow croaker with rice cakes is brought to the table， you will be captivated by the delicious and inviting smell. But in this dish， it is always the rice cakes on the side that are finished first， not the yellow croaker. Because the rice cakes， already soft and glutinous in texture， have absorbed the freshness of the fish and the richness of the bone broth and thus become even more tasty. The garlic-shaped flesh of the fish is firm and flavorful， and， with its crispy broth-absorbed skin， also goes very well with rice.

The Chinese New Year reunion dinner is ultimately a taste of home. Whether it is the soy-sauce-braised ducks， the fish balls， the xiang， or the yellow croaker with rice cakes， they are all soul food that comforts people’s hungry heart.