Summary of Daily Eating Habits#

Life in a big city like Shanghai often means food habits are shaped by busy schedules.

Breakfast is usually quick and often eaten outside the home or grabbed on the way to work. People might pick up something from a street vendor or a small shop. It’s rarely a long, sit-down meal on a weekday.

Lunch is also often eaten outside the home, especially for people working or studying. Many will go to small restaurants or canteens near their workplace or school. It’s common to have a simple meal, like noodles, rice with a few dishes, or a set lunchbox.

Dinner is the main meal of the day, and for many families, it’s a chance to eat together at home. It’s usually the most substantial meal, featuring several dishes shared by everyone at the table, along with rice.

Common Home-Cooked Meals vs. Street Food#

Home cooking in Shanghai tends to be balanced, with a mix of vegetables, meat or fish, and soup, served with rice. Dishes often feature fresh, seasonal ingredients. Common cooking methods are stir-frying, steaming, and braising. Home-cooked food is seen as healthier and more comforting. You’ll find dishes like steamed fish, braised pork belly (known as hongshao rou, a local favorite), simple stir-fried greens, or various soups.

Street food and small eateries are popular for their convenience and speed, especially for breakfast and lunch. This is where you find quick bites like jianbing (savory crepe), baozi (steamed buns), shengjianbao (pan-fried pork buns), xiaolongbao (soup dumplings - also found in restaurants), noodles in soup, and fried dough sticks (youtiao) with soy milk. While delicious, people don’t usually rely solely on street food for all meals; home cooking is central to dinner and family life.

Local Ingredients and Spices#

Shanghai cuisine, part of the broader Jiangnan style, is known for being slightly sweet, savory, and using fermented products. Key ingredients include:

• River seafood: Being near the coast and rivers, fish and shellfish from freshwater are very common.
• Pork: A staple meat, used in many dishes including the famous hongshao rou.
• Seasonal greens: Lots of different leafy vegetables depending on the time of year, like bok choy, various cabbages, and other local greens.
• Rice: The main carb, eaten at lunch and dinner.
• Soy products: Tofu, dried tofu, and of course, soy sauce.

Key spices and flavorings:

• Soy sauce: Adds the base savory flavor.
• Sugar: Used more generously than in some other Chinese cuisines, giving Shanghai dishes their characteristic slight sweetness.
• Shaoxing wine (rice wine): Adds depth and aroma, especially to braised dishes.
• Ginger and Scallions: Basic aromatics used in most stir-fries and stews.
• Vinegar: Used in some dishes for a touch of sourness, balancing the sweet and savory.

Traditional Dishes Eaten During Festivals or Weekends#

Festivals are a time for special foods and family gatherings in Shanghai, just like in other parts of China.

• Chinese New Year: A huge family feast with many dishes symbolizing good fortune, abundance (like fish, as the word for fish sounds like ‘surplus’), dumplings, and spring rolls.
• Lantern Festival / Winter Solstice: Tangyuan, sweet or savory glutinous rice balls served in soup, symbolizing family togetherness.
• Dragon Boat Festival: Zongzi, sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, with various fillings (pork, beans, egg yolk).
• Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncakes, round pastries filled with lotus seed paste, bean paste, or other fillings, eaten to celebrate the full moon and family reunion.

Weekends often mean more relaxed meals. Families might spend more time cooking elaborate dishes at home or go out together for a meal at a restaurant, trying a wider variety of dishes than on a busy weekday.

Popular Snacks and Drinks#

Snacking isn’t as dominant as in some Western cultures, but people do enjoy snacks.

• Fruits: Seasonal fresh fruits are very popular.
• Nuts and seeds: Things like watermelon seeds are common to munch on.
• Pastries: Chinese pastries and sometimes Western-style baked goods.
• Packaged snacks: A variety of chips, biscuits, etc.

Drinks:

• Tea: Consumed throughout the day, often green tea or jasmine tea.
• Soy milk: Especially popular for breakfast.
• Bottled drinks: Sodas, juices, and other packaged beverages are widely available.
• Water: Increasingly, people carry water bottles or buy bottled water.

Cultural Food Taboos and Unique Rituals#

Food is central to social life in Shanghai. Here are a few points about customs:

• Chopsticks: Never stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice. This looks like incense sticks at a grave and is considered very bad luck. When not using them, rest them on a chopstick rest or the side of your bowl.
• Sharing: Dishes are typically served family-style in the center of the table, and everyone takes food from the shared plates using their chopsticks.
• Serving Elders: It’s polite to wait for the elders to start eating before you do, and sometimes younger people will serve food onto the elders’ plates.
• Leaving food: Traditionally, leaving a little bit of food on your plate was a sign that your host had provided plenty. However, with increased awareness of food waste, it’s becoming more common and acceptable to finish what you take.
• Offering food: When someone offers you food, especially serving it to you, it’s polite to accept or at least politely decline a few times before possibly accepting.

Eating in Shanghai is a mix of fast-paced city convenience and traditional family values centered around fresh, flavorful dishes. Enjoy exploring the tastes of this vibrant city!