SHANGHAI BINGE

The best place for yellow croaker and snow cabbage is probably Hong Kong, not Shanghai. But only if the restaurant is Shanghainese. Noodle soup, or a gently braised stew. Either way. Snow cabbage (雪菜 'suet choi') is basically salty pickled mustard greens. It also requires bamboo shoots (竹筍 'juk suen') and good quality dried ham (金華火腿 'kam waa fo teui').
In addition, of course, to the yellow croaker (黃魚 'wong yü') which is the essential part.
Plus chopped scallions.

And making this dish shows why a good clean stock is essential. Clean sweet flavour and clarity contribute considerably. The fish chunks are dusted, poached in hot stock, with a dash of sherry or rice wine for added flavour, simmered briefly with slivered ham, bamboo shoot, and well-rinsed snow vegetable added. Or the fish could also be cornflour dredged and fried on medium till golden, and then inundated with the soup. It stands up well either way.
Adding one or two stalks of mustard cabbage (油菜 'yau choi') is good.
Scallions to garnish.

Mostly fish. Noticeable quantities ham, bamboo shoot, and snow vegetable, in balance with each other. Clean good quality stock, and colourful minced scallion.


The whole thing goes well with typical Shanghai preference hand made wheat noodles, but because I am a total barbarian (can't even speak Shanghainese) my tendency is to use broad rice stick instead. Plus, of course, an oily chilipaste for added whoomp.
And I might use a little 酸菜 ('suen choi') or 榨菜 ('jaa choi') too.

Excellent for an all-night jag watching the first season of Shanghai sands (上海灘 'seung hoi taan'; The Bund). You'll need sustenance at some point. Plus packs of ciggies, because the mechanics you are watching it with are all chainsmokers who normally spend the evening playing cards and turning the air blue. You started with red braised porkbelly (紅燒肉 'hong siu yiuk') just after dark, then pizza past midnight, here it is dawn and you know it's going to hit ninety degrees at least. Last bit to eat. You are dehydrated. Could have been worse.
You might have played mahjong all night. Then you'd be dehydrated and broke.

Instead of cooking it yourself, you could order take out. Just like the pizza. There are some good Shanghai eateries not too far from the garage in Yautong (油塘). The problem is they open around ten or eleven at the earliest. You'll be asleep by then.


You know, I don't think I've ever seen scallion oil noodles (葱油拌麵 'chong yau pun min') here in SF. It's probably not offered anywhere in Chinatown.
Might have to make that myself.



AFTERTHOUGHT: Shanghainese also do yellow croaker won ton (黃魚餛飩).
As well as spring rolls. 黃魚春卷 ('wong yü chun kuen')
Probably nowhere in San Francisco.
Haven't looked.
幚麵。



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