Haipai cuisine facts for kids
Haipai cuisine (Chinese: 海派西餐; pinyin: hǎipài xīcān) is a special kind of Western-style cooking. It was created in Shanghai, China. This food mixes ideas from different parts of China and Western cooking. It changes them to fit local tastes and ingredients.
Haipai cuisine has several main types: French, Italian, Russian, British, and German. Russian-style dishes are very popular because they were cheaper. A famous Russian-style dish is the Shanghai-style borscht (simplified Chinese: 罗宋汤; traditional Chinese: 羅宋湯; pinyin: luó sòng tāng).
Today, the most well-known Haipai dishes are luó sòng tāng, fried pork chops (which are breaded), and Shanghai salad (a type of Olivier salad). Other popular dishes include baked clams, baked crabs, and jin bi duo soup ("million dollar soup").
For about 100 years after Shanghai opened to foreign traders, Haipai cuisine became very popular. But after China started its economic changes in 1978, many new, real Western restaurants opened in Shanghai. Because of this, the number of Haipai restaurants slowly went down. Only a few are left today. Still, luó sòng tāng and fried pork chops with Worcestershire sauce are still loved. They are seen as the true taste of "old Shanghai."
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How Haipai Cuisine Started
After Shanghai opened its doors to the world, Western culture slowly came into the city. Western restaurants began to appear. The first Western restaurant, called Xiang Fan, opened on Fuzhou Road. Back then, Western dishes were sometimes called "Fan dishes."
Even though Western food became trendy, it was hard for Chinese people to get used to some dishes. For example, many found beefsteak that was cooked rare (still red inside) unusual. So, Shanghai Western cuisine took the best parts of different Western cooking styles. It slowly created its own unique types of food. These included French, Italian, Russian, British, and German styles.
French-style food focused on fresh ingredients and fancy dishes. British-style food was all about seasonings. Italian-style food kept the original flavors of ingredients. Each style had its own special features.
Russian Influence in Shanghai
After the October Revolution in the Soviet Union in 1917, many Russian people, called White Émigrés, moved to China. A large number of them came to Shanghai. These Russians were sometimes called luó sòng. They opened more than 40 Russian restaurants on Xiafei Road (now Middle Huaihai Road). This area became known as "Little Russia." Two of their dishes, borscht and buttered bread (butterbrot), became very popular in Shanghai. They were liked because they were cheap. By the end of 1937, Shanghai had over 200 Haipai restaurants. Most of them were on Xiafei Road and Fuzhou Road.
Changes Over Time
When the Communist Party of China took control, it changed how Shanghai Western cuisine developed. Many Western-style restaurants closed during this time. Only 18 restaurants remained in the Huangpu District. They had to become joint public-private businesses. Also, there wasn't much food available back then. So, "going to Western restaurants" was not common for everyday people.
However, people in Shanghai still found ways to enjoy Western food. They did this because they loved the taste or remembered the old times. One way was to use local ingredients instead of imported Western ones. For example, they used Chinese mitten crabs instead of sea crabs. They also used crushed soda crackers instead of breadcrumbs.
Western food was almost completely removed from China during the Cultural Revolution. A famous Western restaurant called the Red House was even renamed the Red Flag Restaurant. It started serving traditional Chinese dishes.
Since China began its economic reforms, the number of real Chinese restaurants in Shanghai has grown a lot. But the number of Western-style restaurants offering Haipai dishes has slowly gone down. Many Western restaurants closed in the 1990s.
Popular Haipai Dishes
Shanghai-style Borscht
The Chinese-style borscht (Chinese: 罗宋汤; pinyin: luósòng-tāng; literally "Russian soup") is quite different from its original Russian version. It first appeared in Harbin, a city close to the Russian border in northeast China. From there, it spread to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
A Shanghai version of borscht came about when Russian immigrants settled in the former French Concession in the early 1900s. The recipe was changed because beets, which give borscht its red color, didn't grow well in Shanghai. Also, the original sour taste of borscht was not popular with local people. So, cooks used tomato paste to color the soup and make it sweeter. They often fried the tomato paste in oil to make it less sour. Then, they added white sugar to make the soup both sour and sweet. Sometimes, pre-sweetened ketchup is used instead.
Also, cream was replaced by flour to make the soup thick without making it sour. Most recipes include beef and its broth, potatoes, and leafy vegetables. Sometimes, Hongchang sausage and worcestershire sauce are added. As more people made borscht at home, the recipes changed to fit different tastes. Sometimes, it took ideas from mirepoix or minestrone. This meant adding carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves. This soup is often eaten with rice.
Shanghai-style Fried Pork Chops
The Shanghai-style fried pork chop is a local version of a breaded meat cutlet. It is very popular as street food. Like in Japanese tonkatsu, the meat is made tender and flat by hitting it with the back of a knife. The pork chop is covered with bread flour before being fried. This makes it less greasy and gives it a crispy outside with a tender inside.
In the past, when food supplies were low in Shanghai, soda crackers were crushed and used instead of bread flour. This gave the pork chop a different and special flavor. In Shanghai, the pork chop is served with a local là jiàngyóu sauce. This sauce is a local version of the British Worcestershire sauce.
Shanghai-style Potato Salad
This dish is usually called Shanghai-style salad. It is a local version of the Russian Olivier salad. It is made by mixing salad dressing with shredded boiled potatoes and diced sausages. It can also include minced turnips and diced peas.
Today, most people make Shanghai-style salad using ready-made salad dressing from supermarkets. But originally, the dressing was made by carefully mixing salad oil, egg yolks, and mayonnaise for a long time.
Baked Clams
Baked clams are a famous Shanghai-style Western dish. This dish was created by chef Yu Yongli from Maison Pourcel, a French restaurant. He got the idea from the French dish escargot (snails baked with cheese).
The invention happened because French snails were hard to get after 1946. After many tries, Maison Pourcel chose clams to replace the snails. To make baked clams, the clam is taken out of its shell and cleaned. Then, it is put back into the shell with salad oil, red wine, mashed garlic, minced celery, and other ingredients. Finally, it is baked in the oven.
Customers loved this new dish so much. The French president Georges Pompidou even called it a Chinese-born French cuisine when he tasted it during his visit to Shanghai.
