Stir-fried Eel Paste

Stir-fried Eel Paste

　　    When visitors come to Shanghai, they are often amazed by the city’s Western cuisine, and locals are more than happy to serve up a variety of “authentic” international dishes. Meanwhile, the richly sauced and soy-heavy Shanghainese cuisine has gradually lost its following, with only a few signature dishes still holding nostalgic appeal, such as Stir-fried Eel Paste. In an essay dedicated to eating eel, Liang Shiqiu once remarked that Stir-fried Eel Paste was a less desirable alternative made when the eels were too small to be sliced into strips. But the fact that such “leftover” ingredients can be turned into something both sweet and salty, rich yet not greasy, speaks volumes about the ingenuity and skill of the Shanghainese.