China, Suzhou - Crayfish

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The Chinese city of Suzhou is well known for its cuisine. The relatively light flavours of Suzhou cuisine brings out the natural taste and "sweetness" of its ingredients. This is because the key ingredients in Suzhou dishes are not masked by the overpowering and overt taste of spices, herbs and flavourings.

My recent visit to Suzhou in the beginning of July 2015 coincides with the Crayfish season. Aptly named as Xiao Long Xia (han yu pin yin) which translates literally as Little Dragon Prawn (a.k.a. Little Lobsters). For the dish that was served in my dinner, these small freshwater crustaceans were prepared boiled and possibly dipped or marinated in Chinese rice wine. They were then served cold on a bed of ice.

The taste was unique and the rice wine brought out the rich natural flavours of the Crayfish. I enjoyed the Crayfish and I must say that it can get really addictive as I ate quite a number of them during that dinner. Whether that addictive streak was due to the Crayfish or rice wine didn't really matter to me because I really did enjoy my Crayfish dish, prepared Suzhou style!

Crayfish Dish, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China (2015)

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