Shanghai-style salad facts for kids
 |
|
| Course | Appetizer |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | China |
| Region or state | Shanghai |
| Invented | Early 20th Century (probably 1930s) |
| Serving temperature | Chilled or room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Hongchang sausage, potato, carrot, pea, handmade sauce (made with egg yolk, olive oil, white pepper and white vinegar) or thousand island dressing or mayonnaise |
Shanghai-style salad is a classic appetizer from Haipai cuisine. It's a special kind of salad that started from Western cooking but was changed to fit the tastes of people in Shanghai, China. Many think it's a local version of the Olivier salad, which is a Russian potato salad.
Contents
History of Shanghai-style Salad
How Shanghai Salad Began
After the 1840s, Western restaurants started opening in Shanghai. These restaurants wanted to make their food appeal to Chinese people. So, they mixed Western cooking styles with local flavors. This led to a new kind of food called Haipai cuisine.
Shanghai-style salad is a great example of this mix. It combines Russian potato salad, also known as Olivier salad, with ingredients and tastes popular in Shanghai.
The first versions of this modified potato salad appeared in the early 1900s. Russian restaurants, opened by Russians who moved to Shanghai, served these dishes. By the 1930s, a dish called "Shanghai Potato Salad" was on the menu at Chez Louis Restaurant. This restaurant is now famous as the Red House Restaurant. The recipe they used back then is very similar to what we eat today. Soon, this salad became very popular in Western restaurants across Shanghai.
Shanghai Salad Today
After 1949, the number of Western restaurants in China went down. But Shanghai-style salad didn't disappear. Instead, it moved from fancy restaurants to the homes of everyday people.
Today, places like Deda and Red House Restaurant still make the salad the old-fashioned way. You can also find it in many local food shops in Shanghai, where it's sold at a good price.
What's in Shanghai-style Salad?
Shanghai-style salad usually has diced Hongchang sausage, boiled potatoes cut into cubes, carrots, and peas. What makes it really special is its sauce.
The traditional Shanghai salad uses a special handmade sauce. This sauce is made by mixing egg yolk, olive oil, white pepper, and white vinegar. This unique sauce is different from the mayonnaise used in Olivier salad. It shows how Chinese and Western cooking methods came together.
Sometimes, people use Thousand Island dressing or regular mayonnaise for a quicker version of the sauce. But the other ingredients in the salad usually stay the same.
Where to Find Shanghai-style Salad
You can find Shanghai-style salad at some famous old restaurants in Shanghai.
- Shanghai Deda Western Food Restaurant: This restaurant opened in 1897 and is one of the oldest and most well-known places for Shanghai-style salad. They still serve it today.
- Peace Hotel: This hotel, once called Cathay Hotel, started serving Shanghai Salad in 1938. This shows how much Russian-style food influenced Shanghai's cooking.
- Red House Restaurant: This famous restaurant used to be a French place called Chez Louis Bar. It's another popular spot for Shanghai-style salad.
The Cultural Impact of Shanghai Salad
Shanghai salad is more than just a dish. It tells a story about how Western and Eastern cultures mixed in Shanghai. When Russians first brought their salad, it was changed to better suit Chinese tastes. For example, sometimes the cold potatoes were served warm.
Over time, this salad, along with dishes like Shanghai-style borscht (a soup) and Shanghai-style fried pork chops, became a symbol of Haipai cuisine. It's a common and loved dish on dining tables in Shanghai homes.
The blending of cultures seen in Shanghai-style salad is even mentioned in a book called "Shanghai Salad" by Chen Danyan.
