Family Feast of Shen Wansan

Rural eel & carp cuisine [Photo from Kunshan Tourism Resort]

Rural eel & carp cuisine is also called Zhouzhuang Ah-Po Dish, and is famed in regions south of the Yangtze River. Up to the present, old ladies staying at home often gathered together to drink tea. Ah-Po is a kind of tasty tea snack made by pickling common vegetables. When oilseed rape bolts in late spring, local people pick their tender shoots, wash them, let them dry in the sunshine, and pickle them in small urns. The urns are then sealed with chequer-shaped indocalamus leaves and yellow mud, and inverted in ceramic basins to avoid air leakage. After several months, the yellow mud and chequer-shaped indocalamus leaves are removed, and the pickles featuring a fragrant aroma are taken out. It can be eaten directly or served for soup or stir-fried. The dish in sections and in the shape of eels and carps symbolizes promotion to a higher position. Now, the Ah-Po dish is not only a kind of tea snack, but also a unique tasting dish in Zhouzhuang.