Jiangnan · rice
Yangzhou Fried Rice
扬州炒饭 · Yángzhōu Chǎofàn
The original Yangzhou fried rice — ham, prawns, peas, scrambled egg, scallion, in a light non-greasy stir-fry.
Yangzhou fried rice is the most-imitated Chinese fried-rice dish worldwide. The Yangzhou original combines diced ham, small prawns, green peas, scrambled egg, scallion, with day-old rice in a quick stir-fry. The Yangzhou-style is light and grain-separate (each rice grain glistens individually); the international 'Chinese-restaurant' version has often drifted into heavier soy-and-oil territory. Yangzhou houses serve the canonical version.
Where to try
Yangzhou: any local restaurant. Shanghai and Suzhou Jiangnan restaurants.
Dietary notes
Egg, shellfish, pork.
Cities to try Yangzhou Fried Rice
Other east dishes
- Beggar's Chicken叫花鸡
A whole chicken stuffed with aromatics, wrapped in lotus leaves and clay, then slow-baked until the meat steams in its own juices.
- Beggar's Chicken — Jiaohuaji叫花鸡 (江苏式)
A Jiangsu-province variation of clay-baked chicken with a lotus-leaf wrap and a mushroom and pork stuffing.
- Dragon Well Tea龙井茶
China's most celebrated green tea — pan-fired flat leaves from Hangzhou's West Lake district with a sweet, chestnut flavour.
- Drunken Chicken醉鸡
Chicken steamed and marinated in Shaoxing rice wine, served chilled. A Shanghai banquet starter.