Shanghai Benbang Cuisine Cooking Craft

Benbang is Shanghai's local cuisine, grown from the home cooking and restaurant fare of the old city and blended with Jiangsu-Zhejiang flavours. The "Shanghai Benbang cooking craft" entered the fourth national ICH list in 2014.

Benbang cooking favours rich oil and dark soy, savoury with a sweet finish, and excels in red-braising, slow-stewing, wine-curing and quick-frying; signature dishes include red-braised pork, oil-sautéed shrimp, kou san si and eight-treasure duck.

Benbang cuisine carries Shanghai's everyday food memory and its spirit of fusion, a flavourful window onto the city's culture.

The craft is transmitted chiefly by time-honoured benbang restaurants around the old city and the Yu Garden area.