Local delicacies

Wuxi Pork Rib

Wuxi pork ribs is one of the city's most iconic dishes and a cooking staple found in many homes and local restaurants. The sticky ribs embody many characteristics of Wuxi food, made with quality ingredients including soy sauce and rock sugar, giving the ribs their famous salty-sweet taste. The ribs are first marinated in soy sauce for several hours and then braised with the spices until the sauce becomes sticky and thick.

Liangxi Crispy Eel

Liangxi is the name of a river in Wuxi and the crispy eel is a traditional dish in the Taihu Lake area. With a history of more than 100 years, the Liangxi crispy eel has become a pearl in Wuxi cuisine. For cooking this dish, it is necessary to select fresh eels as the raw ingredient and fry them twice to make the eel meat crispy. After being mixed with the seasoning of Shaoxing yellow wine, soy sauce and other spices, the finished dish looks brown and shiny.

Yangshan Honey Peach

Due to its beautiful shape, fragrance and sweet taste, the Yangshan honey peach is the most famous fruit in Wuxi. The trees are grown in volcanic soil with zero pesticides. Every June or July, the skin of Yangshan honey peaches turns red. This means they're ready to be eaten. Not just to be enjoyed raw, they can be made into delicious treats such as smoothies, ice cream or juice.

Taihu Lake Silver Fish

The Taihu Lake silver fish is 7-10 centimeters long with a slightly round body. It seems to have no bones or scales, so it is called "ice fish" and "glass fish" by local people. The silver fish has tender flesh and can be easily cooked into various delicacies, such as the silver fish egg soup and the fried silver fish. Dried silver fish, which is convenient for transportation and storage, is also favored by Chinese and foreign consumers.

Taihu Lake White Shrimp

The Taihu Lake white shrimp is known as one of the "Three Whites" in Wuxi. The other two are white fish and silver fish. The shell of the white shrimp is thin and its body is crystal-like. The white shrimp can be added to more than 100 different dishes, the most famous of which is Drunken Shrimp. People love the dish because it retains the flavor of fresh shrimp while offering a taste of the liquor it is cooked in.

Taihu Lake White Fish

The Taihu Lake white fish is also called Taihu silver knife, because it has silvery scales and a narrow, long and flat body, like a knife. Its meat is delicate and fine with much fat. The history of white fish in Taihu Lake traces back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when it was sent to the royal family as a gift. At present, the white fish has become a favorite of local people due to its rich nutrition and tender taste.

(China Daily 09/07/2019 page22)