Hangzhou, · Zhejiang · Province Techniques

Legendary Hangzhou dish of whole marinated chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and clay, then baked in a firepit or oven for 3–4 hours. The clay seals all moisture and fragrance inside, creating an extraordinary steaming-baking environment. Diners crack open the clay at table in a theatrical presentation. Origin story: a beggar who had no cooking equipment wrapped his stolen chicken in mud and buried it in embers.

Longjing (Dragon Well) tea ceremony preparation: the precise brewing of China's most celebrated green tea. Pre-Qingming (mingqian) first-flush Longjing from West Lake, Hangzhou has a 5-day window each spring. The flat-pressed leaves are brewed in a glass (not ceramic) to observe the 'standing needle' — leaves slowly standing upright as they hydrate. Temperature: 75–80°C. Three infusions maximum.

China's most celebrated green tea, produced in the hills surrounding Hangzhou's West Lake. The flat, jade-green leaves are pan-fired in a bare wok (chao qing) using bare hands to halt oxidation — the wok temperature and hand pressure create the characteristic flat shape and toasty-sweet character. The highest grade, Ming Qian (before Qingming Festival, April 5), is harvested and processed within days — a matter of weeks defines the most expensive batches.

The most celebrated dish of Hangzhou cuisine: freshwater river shrimp stir-fried with first-flush Longjing (Dragon Well) tea leaves. The shrimp must be crystal-clear, barely-cooked, and the tea leaves wilted to jewel-green perfection. A dish that requires extraordinary technique: velveting the shrimp to achieve the signature crystalline texture, and wok technique that does not discolour the tea.

Whole pork knuckle braised Dongpo-style in a sealed clay pot or casserole with Shaoxing wine, soy, rock sugar, and spring onion and ginger for 3+ hours until the collagen has fully dissolved into the braising liquid and the skin is tremblingly soft. Related to Dongpo Rou (belly) but uses the entire knuckle for more collagen and deeper flavour.

The story of Dongpo pork (dong po rou) illuminates how Chinese culinary history connects food to literary and historical figures. Su Shi (Su Dongpo, 1037–1101), polymath of the Song Dynasty, wrote extensively about cooking, particularly pork. Exiled to Hangzhou, he supervised flood relief works where he served braised pork to labourers — the method he described in his poem 'Ode to Pork' became the dish's foundation.

Named for Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo, this pork belly braise is a cornerstone of Hangzhou cuisine. The meat is first blanched, then tied with straw or string to maintain shape, then slow-braised in Shaoxing wine, soy, rock sugar, and aromatics for 2+ hours. The final dish trembles on the chopstick and dissolves on the tongue — fat and lean layers in perfect equilibrium.

Longjing (龙井) — Dragon Well green tea from Hangzhou's West Lake area — is China's most celebrated green tea. The top-grade ming qian (pre-Qingming) leaves are hand-fired in a wok over low heat using a distinctive pressing-flattening motion that creates the characteristic flat leaf shape. The brewing ceremony (gongfu cha adapted for green tea) emphasises low water temperature and short steeping.

Xi hu cu yu (西湖醋鱼) — West Lake fish in vinegar sauce — is one of Hangzhou's iconic dishes: a whole grass carp (li yu) is blanched in water with ginger and Shaoxing wine, then doused with a sweet-and-sour sauce thickened with starch. The sauce is clear, not red — using Zhejiang dark vinegar, sugar, soy, and ginger. Historically served on West Lake itself, at floating restaurants.