Winter comfort dish warms heart and palate

Amid chilly winter temperatures, the city's residents eagerly look forward to trying a beloved culinary delight: 腌笃鲜 (Yan Du Xian), a traditional home-cooked dish that warms both the heart and the palate.

This dish, celebrated for its savory and umami-rich flavors, is a staple of the cold season.

The star ingredient, winter bamboo shoots, heralds its arrival with the drop in temperature. As a seasonal favorite, it floods the market in abundance, much to the delight of epicureans. Recently, the cost of these tender shoots has become more wallet-friendly, making this delicacy an even more appealing choice for family meals.

Sourced primarily from Zhejiang, these shoots are picked and delivered to the markets of Shanghai overnight, ensuring peak freshness. This year, thanks to a bountiful harvest in the "big year" of the bamboo shoot cycle, prices have pleasantly plummeted, making these shoots a bargain for their quality.

Naturally, the best use for these fresh and flavorful winter bamboo shoots is in the preparation of 腌笃鲜.

This dish is a gastronomic gem among Shanghai residents. It is a harmonious blend of salty pork trotters, fresh pork ribs, winter bamboo shoots and tofu skin knots.

The process begins with blanching the bamboo shoots to remove any bitterness and the pork to temper its saltiness. After this initial preparation, the ingredients, including succulent pork ribs and carefully selected seasonings, are combined in a pot.

The mixture is then simmered for two hours. Towards the end of the cooking process, tofu skin knots and other preferred vegetables are added, requiring only an additional twenty minutes of simmering.

The result is a rich, hearty stew that encapsulates the essence of Shanghai's winter comfort food.