Shaoxing's Fresh Fermented Food and Sauce: 10 Local Treasures from Fushan Straight Street and Dayun Market

The true essence of Shaoxing's flavors isn't found on restaurant menus, but rather in two old markets: the Fushan Straight Street Morning Market, which stretches along the street and is at its freshest every morning; and the Dayun Farmers Market, a long-established indoor market in the city center, with stable stalls and many regular customers. If you want to take away or enjoy Shaoxing food on the go, pay attention to the following 10 items categorized into four groups: cooked dishes, handmade snacks, pickled and preserved vegetables, and seasonal fruits.

Cooked food stall: braised duck and sausage, pickled chicken and pork, crispy fish

Soy-braised duck and Chinese sausage are representative of Shaoxing's preserved foods. For soy-braised duck, choose one with a deep reddish-brown, glossy skin, firm, elastic legs, and a savory, not overly oily, aroma. For Chinese sausage, select one with a dry casing, a clear distinction between lean and fat, and a springy texture when squeezed. Both are suitable for being cut into pieces and steamed thoroughly. Soy-braised duck can be shredded and cooked with vegetables and rice, while Chinese sausage is best steamed whole and then sliced to serve with porridge.

Fermented chicken and pork are made using fermented rice wine lees, resulting in a slightly reddish color and a refreshing aroma of wine. When buying, choose pieces that are wrapped in fermented rice wine lees or submerged in braising liquid; the meat should not be sticky and should not have a sour or rancid taste. They can be eaten cold, or best enjoyed with hot porridge or Shaoxing wine to bring out their unique fermented flavor.

The crispy fish at cooked food stalls is mostly made from freshly fried grass carp or silver carp, fried until the bones are crispy and then soaked in a savory-sweet gravy. Choose fish that are freshly fried, with a crispy skin and white flesh, avoiding those that become soft and chewy. It can be eaten immediately or used as a topping for noodles, where it absorbs the gravy for an even richer flavor.

Handmade pastries: Water-milled rice cake, molded rice cake, steamed buns

Shaoxing water-milled rice cake is made from late-season japonica rice. Choose rice that feels heavy, has a fine texture, and a fresh aroma; avoid rice that tastes sour or has a sticky surface. It is often sliced and stir-fried with shepherd's purse and shredded meat, or boiled into a soup. Thick slices are also commonly steamed until soft and dipped in brown sugar.

Yin Gao is a square steamed rice cake, commonly filled with red bean paste or sesame paste. It's best to buy it while it's still hot from the stalls making it fresh at the market. When choosing, check if the cake is soft and fluffy with no cracked edges. If it cools down at home, you can steam it for three minutes. Orange-red cake is also suitable to be paired with tea, but it's more susceptible to drying out and should be eaten on the same day.

Steamed buns are a representative breakfast item in Shaoxing. Thin dough wrappers are used to cook eggs, then filled with fried dough sticks, sweet bean sauce, and scallions. Market stalls that make them fresh emphasize thin, unbroken wrappers, evenly spread sauce, and crispy fried dough sticks. It's recommended to buy and eat them immediately, as the fried dough sticks will soften and the wrappers will become chewy if left out for too long.

Pickled and preserved vegetables: preserved mustard greens, fermented bean curd, and pickled mustard greens

Choose dried mustard greens that are dark black with a brownish tinge, dry and free of sand, and have a stale aroma without any musty smell; for dried bamboo shoots, look for thin and evenly sliced bamboo shoots. Steaming dried mustard greens with pork belly allows the oil to seep in, resulting in the strongest aroma. They can also be used to make a dried vegetable soup or chopped up for use as filling for pastries.

Shaoxing fermented bean curd is most commonly made with rose petals and ham. It can be sold in bulk or jars, choosing pieces that are whole, have a bright red brine, and are free of a white film. Besides being served with porridge, fermented bean curd can be crushed and mixed with water spinach or used as a dipping sauce, offering a savory and astringent flavor.

Fermented mustard greens (dao du cai) are a type of pickled mustard greens. The best ones are yellowish-green in color, with a sour and crisp aroma; avoid buying those with a white film or an off-odor. They are suitable for stir-frying with shredded meat or edamame, or as a topping for pickled vegetable and shredded meat noodles. They can also be used to enhance the flavor of steamed fish.

Seasonal Fruits: Buy bayberries and peach-shaped plums according to the season.

The fruit stalls in Shaoxing's vegetable markets are highly seasonal. Early summer is the best time to buy Erdu bayberries. Choose those with firm flesh, bright green stems, and no alcoholic smell; a deep purple color often indicates a better balance of sweet and sour. The best way to enjoy them is to rinse them lightly with water and then chill them, or you can make bayberry wine.

From late summer to autumn, Shengzhou peach-shaped plums resemble peaches in appearance and have crisp, sweet flesh. When selecting them, look for purplish-red skin with a bloomy coating and a firm, firm texture. Additionally, in autumn, look for Zhuji torreya nuts at nut stalls; choose plump nuts that are quiet when shaken and not too salty or peppery.

Visiting the local market is the best way to experience Shaoxing. The rich, oily flavor of braised duck, the refreshing taste of fermented meats, the aroma of rice cakes, and the mellow fragrance of preserved mustard greens all become tangible in the dialect exchanged between vendors and regular customers. Here, there's no standardized dining like in tourist attractions, only seasonal ingredients and locals' decades-old buying habits. To truly understand Shaoxing, you don't need to rush to popular restaurants. Just buy a braised duck, a piece of rice cake, and a bag of preserved mustard greens, and the everyday flavors of this water town will speak for you.