Jiangsu (Su) cuisine

What defines Jiangsu cooking

Jiangsu (Su, 苏菜) is one of the eight canonical cuisines, the cooking of the lower Yangtze and the Grand Canal cities — Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Wuxi. Slightly sweeter than other regional kitchens, with strong attention to knife-work and presentation.

Pillars: - **Knife skills as art** — Yangzhou tofu sliced into hair-thin threads is the canonical demonstration. - **Sweet-leaning** seasoning across many dishes. - **Slow-braised** meats and fish. - **Crystal-clear broths** as the test of technique.

Sub-traditions

Jiangsu cuisine subdivides: - **Yang-Huai** (Yangzhou and Huai'an) — knife-skill heavy, slightly sweet. - **Su-Xi** (Suzhou and Wuxi) — sweetest of the regional kitchens. - **Jin-ling** (Nanjing) — duck-focused, salty-savoury. - **Xu-hai** (Xuzhou) — northern Jiangsu, more rustic.

Canonical dishes

• Yangzhou-style fried rice (扬州炒饭) — the original; ham, prawns, peas, scrambled egg, scallion.
• Lion's-head meatballs (狮子头) — large pork meatballs in clear or stewed sauce.
• Crystal pork knuckle (水晶肴蹄) — chilled, jellied pork; Yangzhou speciality.
• Beggar's chicken (叫花鸡) — clay-baked whole chicken; from neighbouring Hangzhou but widely eaten in Jiangsu.
• Saltwater duck (盐水鸭) — Nanjing's signature dish.
• Sweet-and-sour mandarin fish (松鼠桂鱼) — squirrel-shaped knife-cut fish in sauce.
• Suzhou-style fried noodles (苏式炒面) with crab roe in autumn.

Where to eat

Suzhou, Yangzhou and Nanjing. The Pingjiang Road area in Suzhou and the streets behind the Confucius Temple in Nanjing have the strongest concentration.

Style notes

The cuisine is delicate compared to Sichuan or Hunan — diners new to Chinese food find Jiangsu accessible. Pair with Shaoxing rice wine.