0:00:07 > 0:00:11I'm here in Shanghai, one of the biggest cities in the world,
0:00:11 > 0:00:12and it's also, I'm told,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16the most exciting city at the moment for cooking.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I like to travel around the world and pick up dishes,
0:00:19 > 0:00:20I'm a bit of a magpie.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22But I don't like reading about them,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24I just like going out and trying them
0:00:24 > 0:00:26and smelling them, tasting them,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30seeing the colour, hearing the sounds of a city like this.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I think I know quite a lot about Chinese cooking,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37but actually I only really know about Cantonese cuisine
0:00:37 > 0:00:39and there's so much more in China.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43And I'm here to pick up ideas and add to my repertoire.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47But what I'm really excited about is getting out into the streets
0:00:47 > 0:00:49and seeing what it's all about.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04So what is it about Shanghai?
0:01:04 > 0:01:07100 years ago it was a byword for the exotic,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09the forbidden, the dangerous.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14After the war, under Communism, it went into hiding for about 30 years.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19But since the '80s, it's become a global financial centre
0:01:19 > 0:01:22to rival London, New York and Hong Kong.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23And with all that cash,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26restaurants have opened up at a rate of knots
0:01:26 > 0:01:30and chefs have been drawn here from all over the world.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I find it really interesting, I've never been here before,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38but Shanghai was knows as the Paris of the east,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41also the pearl of the east.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44But conversely it was also known as the whore of the orient,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47this sort of rather sleazy rundown place,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50the centre of the opium trade.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55But to me, very interesting, what I'm here for is the food of course,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57the Shanghainese dishes.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59But are they still here, I wonder?
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Because everything's changing,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04there's so many western restaurants opening here.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07What's happening to Shanghainese cooking
0:02:07 > 0:02:11because, at the end of the day as far I'm concerned,
0:02:11 > 0:02:12food is about culture,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16and if you lose your cuisine, you lose your culture.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24My Shanghai journey starts in the heart of the city,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28my cheffy friends told me about the most famous iconic, I suppose,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31dish here - a dumpling.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33A most fabulous dumpling
0:02:33 > 0:02:37filled with soup and bits of crab or pork, or chicken.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40This is a first for me, a new taste.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46- Terrible weather.- Yeah.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50My translator Jia Jia splashed through a Shanghai shower with me
0:02:50 > 0:02:54to one of the oldest dumpling restaurants in the city.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- It's coming.- Oh, good. Oh, I love these.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00So, which is which?
0:03:00 > 0:03:04This one is a hairy crab dumpling. This one is pork.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10- OK.- Actually, you can pick it up and take a little nap...
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- A little nap? You mean a little nip? - Nip, yes.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17And you can take out the soup...
0:03:17 > 0:03:19- Suck it out.- Yeah, suck it out.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21- Yeah.- And then...
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- Oh, so good. - Yeah. And put it into the vinegar.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Mm. And taste the whole dumpling.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38- That's exquisite.- Yeah, delicious. - So yummy.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43And you have hairy crab smell in the mouth, so very seafood.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45- Lovely taste of the crab.- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Let's try a pork one then.
0:03:50 > 0:03:56- So...this is possibly the most famous food in Shanghai?- Oh, yes.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58It's very typical. Oh, be careful!
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Well, that had to happen.
0:04:02 > 0:04:08Yes. It's actually, for foreigners, not easy to take the tips of taking dumplings.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09That's OK.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I never really understood the point of the spoon
0:04:11 > 0:04:13and the chopsticks before.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16In dumplings, there's always a lot of soup inside.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- Inside?- Yes, so you might need it to take out the soup.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27In this shop they serve 1,000 dumplings a day, mostly for lunch.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29You would be forgiven for imagining
0:04:29 > 0:04:33that Xia Long Bao had been here forever, but no.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Mrs Chen's family fell foul of the authorities during
0:04:36 > 0:04:40the Cultural Revolution and they couldn't get jobs because
0:04:40 > 0:04:43of their bourgeois connections.
0:04:43 > 0:04:44In the mid-'80s,
0:04:44 > 0:04:49their only way forward was to start their own little business.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Rick, this is the owner, Mrs Chen.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Would you thank her very much. I'm very impressed.
0:05:02 > 0:05:09THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:05:09 > 0:05:11- You're welcome.- Thank you.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16There are tens of thousands of restaurants here,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18the whole gamut as you can imagine.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24Street food to fusion to nouvelle cuisine. Yes, it's still with us.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28It's a bit of knack to find the best places to eat in a new city,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30but I think I've got it,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and I just want some great recipes to take home.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Now this is right up my street.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41The night market at Shounin Road is teeming with punters
0:05:41 > 0:05:47from early evening to the small hours, all in search of seafood.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Plump crayfish, succulent lobsters
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and huge oysters cooked to order on open-air griddles.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58I can't begin to tell you how exciting this is for a seafood cook.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01I've never seen so much seafood ready to eat,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05but what I'm really after is the local hairy crabs.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08They're revered by the locals and I wrote down this quote
0:06:08 > 0:06:13from a 17th century local playwright called Li Yu.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16"While my heart lusts after them
0:06:16 > 0:06:19"and my mouth enjoys their delectable taste,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24"I can't even begin to describe why I adore their sweet taste
0:06:24 > 0:06:29"and why I can never forget them. Dear, crab, Dear, crab,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33"You and I are to be lifelong companions."
0:06:36 > 0:06:40After a such a eulogy I can't wait to try some.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Here to guide me is Jamie Barys who runs food tours in the city.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58So there we have steamed hairy crab.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00They're going to be quite hot,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02so we're going to have to give them a minute
0:07:02 > 0:07:04before you want to start ripping right into them.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07The hairy crab isn't actually all that hairy,
0:07:07 > 0:07:12apart from a generous tuft on its meaty forearms and not much else.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- Do you have a male or a female? - I got a female.- All right, good.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Lovely roe.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Dip it in a little bit of vinegar.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- So hairy crab is famously very sweet.- That's famously sweet.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Shanghainese food in general is very sweet, so this...
0:07:28 > 0:07:30I'm just going to try some without the vinegar.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34That is very good crab.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- I actually do know a thing or two about crabs.- Yeah.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Cos I'm a seafood cook back in the UK.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44But this is good.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47So tell me about Shanghainese cuisine, cos I know the hairy crabs
0:07:47 > 0:07:51is really essential to them, that's right at the centre of it all.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54So Shanghainese cuisine is kind of the red-headed
0:07:54 > 0:07:56stepchild of Chinese cuisine,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59so there's four major cuisines that are on the compass point.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01And the one that's in the east is called Huaiyang.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04And Shanghainese is a branch of Huaiyang cuisine.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08It's a bit sweeter and has a lot more foreign influences
0:08:08 > 0:08:10than a lot of the other cuisines in China
0:08:10 > 0:08:14because historically Shanghai has always been a port town.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18But I love it and once you find good places serving Shanghainese cuisine,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20and not ones that hide behind the sugar
0:08:20 > 0:08:22and the vinegar, then you have some excellent food.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24So what did you call it again?
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The red-headed stepchild of Chinese cuisine.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Aw!
0:08:31 > 0:08:33We call them wrangers back in the UK.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37But I feel very protective towards red-headed stepchilds
0:08:37 > 0:08:40because I was a wranger once.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42- Really?- Yeah.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- To the hairy crab. - To the hairy crab.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Well, that's my first hairy crab experience.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51Yum.
0:08:51 > 0:08:57On my own personal culinary scale I'd give it about eight out of ten.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01It's good, but a Cornish spider crab straight from the sea
0:09:01 > 0:09:04with all lovely white leg meat takes some beating.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12We're in the former French Concession,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15once a trading enclave within the city,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19a little piece of France inside China.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I've been tipped off about a fantastic place for breakfast,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26and there's always a queue because it's so good.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Mr Wu's spring onion pancakes
0:09:29 > 0:09:33or scallion pancakes as they call them around here are a legend,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36some people absolutely love them,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38others say they're a bit too heavy with lard.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Well, the jury's out. I'm looking forward to trying them.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Actually, the queue is much longer earlier in the morning, so I
0:09:45 > 0:09:49came a bit late for my breakfast so I didn't have to wait too long.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I'm watching everything he does and making notes.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59It looks to me like the secret of these pancakes is lots of lard,
0:09:59 > 0:10:04a big handful of scallions and a ball of fatty pork mince
0:10:04 > 0:10:08stuffed into the dough which will be bursting with flavour.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13So how long do you have to wait normally?
0:10:13 > 0:10:17I would be here more than one hour just for the delicious food.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19- Really?- Yeah.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23- More than one hour. - So what makes them so special?
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Al of my family, including my kids, love the flavour very much.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32It's a very traditional Chinese flavour from when I was a young kid.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36I like to eat this kind of street food.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39- It's nice smelling... - It smells lovely.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Smell of lard. I'm really looking forward to it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Well, I suppose I better get back to my place at the back.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Yeah. Enjoy.- Thank you.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57I know it's a bit fanciful,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01but I couldn't help thinking that Mr Wu would make a fine character
0:11:01 > 0:11:05in a Kurosawa film, Seven Samurai springs to mind.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09I know the Chinese and Japanese
0:11:09 > 0:11:12don't actually see eye-to-eye most of time,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15but here is, without a shadow of doubt, a master of his craft,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18a teacher of tradition and excellence.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27To me in this busy thrusting city, he's a reminder of the past
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and I just know these cakes that smell quite wonderful,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33by the way, are going to be fabulous.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41What really tastes good to me is the lard he cooked them in.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42I love the taste of lard,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46it takes me back to my childhood, funnily enough.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52It's deliciously crisp and doughy and very savoury,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56with the pork inside and the spring onions.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59I think queuing for food like that,
0:11:59 > 0:12:05anticipating, is great cos it's time to stand and reflect,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09think about life, think about what you really enjoy in life.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11I'm a fan.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I would wait an hour, but maybe not two.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24These I know would go like hotcakes back in Padstow.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Seriously, a little stall by the sea
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and the smell of Mr Wu's scallion pancakes
0:12:29 > 0:12:33would give any cheese and onion pasty a run for its money.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Filming in somewhere like Shanghai can be a bit of a difficulty
0:12:40 > 0:12:44because there's a lot of bureaucracy, not just China,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47it was bad in India too, but this one is quite baffling, to be honest.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50We were going to go and film just down there,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53which is where Mao Zedong convened
0:12:53 > 0:12:57the first Chinese Communist Party congress in 1923.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02And the reason I wanted to go there simply in my humble culinary way
0:13:02 > 0:13:06was that Chairman Mao loved one particular dish -
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Chinese red-braised pork.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Now that dish is held by many people to be great brain food
0:13:13 > 0:13:18and that's why people felt that Mao Zedong was so bright.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21That's all I wanted to say,
0:13:21 > 0:13:27but no, for some inexplicable reason we can't film this famous building.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33So let's turn now to what we're actually here for
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and that's inspirational food.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43For a modern take on Shanghainese cuisine,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47I've come to meet Anthony Zhao, a local TV chef.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51He's going to show me how to make one of his most famous dishes -
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Chairman Mao's favourite.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Thank you for coming.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58- Red-braised pork.- Yes. - Fabulous.- Follow me.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Anthony was trained in western cuisine
0:14:02 > 0:14:06and worked for years in European fine dining,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09but now he's returned to his Shanghainese roots.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15One thing that characterises the food here is
0:14:15 > 0:14:19the so-called Holy Trinity of sugar, soy and oil.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22But I think it's really a quartet
0:14:22 > 0:14:25because they use serious amounts of yellow rice wine too.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30First he fries spring onions with ginger, star anise
0:14:30 > 0:14:33and cassia bark - it's a bit like cinnamon -
0:14:33 > 0:14:34and a bay leaf.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Then he adds fat cubes of belly pork.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44That's what we call five-layer pork.
0:14:44 > 0:14:51- How come?- Because they have five layers, skin, fat, meat...
0:14:51 > 0:14:53- That's belly pork though? - It's belly pork.- OK.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- Good texture. So this Shaoxing wine. - OK.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01- I would say use sherry.- Yes!
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Yeah, I like sherry.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Sherry has the same flavour, actually. Very similar flavour.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11So how come you use dark and light soy?
0:15:11 > 0:15:13That's my secret, actually.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I'm sorry. I'll cut it out.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Lots of people, they just use dark soy sauce.
0:15:19 > 0:15:25I just figured out if I have light soy sauce I don't need to put MSG.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29He's putting in some rock sugar because
0:15:29 > 0:15:32it goes so well with the pork and soy sauce.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39I don't know why, for some reason rock sugar will make this shininess on the meat,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44so the meat looks much better and even tastes much better.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Everybody has their own recipe,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49but my recipe is add little bit of vinegar
0:15:49 > 0:15:53because I believe vinegar can cut the fat through.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56What do you call that vinegar?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58This is Chinese dark vinegar.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02But sometimes if you can't find it, you can use balsamic vinegar.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05OK, same colour and just a bit of sweetness to that.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10Yeah, it's OK cos it's already very sweet, so it doesn't matter.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15So now you slowly cook probably 40 minutes to an hour.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- OK. Good stuff.- Yeah.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Antony's wife, she's a food writer, Crystyl Mo joins us for lunch.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27And in front of us this glistening pork dish just waiting to be tried.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34So traditionally we eat this always with rice.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37So if you have a big mouth...
0:16:39 > 0:16:44Big enough, so you put a little bit of rice with the meat
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- and just one bite.- Oh, boy.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52That's a big bite. How is it?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Oh!
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- It's exquisite.- Is it?- Yeah.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- The fattiness and the sweet... - Sweetness.- Yeah.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04It's just like when you dream of Chinese food...
0:17:04 > 0:17:06it's something like that.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Oh, wow! That makes me very surprised.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11I always worry western people won't like this dish.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15- What?!- Sweet, fatty food, you know, how can they like it?
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Perfection.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24So the whole atmosphere of Shanghai is so wonderfully busy,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27luxurious, sophisticated.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29I can't imagine what it must have been like during
0:17:29 > 0:17:33the Cultural Revolution here. I mean, were there restaurants?
0:17:33 > 0:17:36There were basically no restaurants in China.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39I mean, Cultural Revolution people were dirt poor.
0:17:39 > 0:17:40People were on rations.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44You got tickets to get food and you would get a little bit of oil,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46a little bit of rice, you wouldn't be eating meat.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49- You would eat meat, what? Once a month or something.- Yeah.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53So the exquisite culinary culture of China
0:17:53 > 0:17:55was completely dead during that time.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I just sort of remember in the '60s and '70s,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01nobody knew a thing about China, it was just like a dead country.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Oh, yeah. It was a mystery.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05And the idea when suddenly it reappears
0:18:05 > 0:18:08and you hear about Shanghai, you think, "Where's all that come from?"
0:18:08 > 0:18:13- It was so sudden. - It was all latent, I suppose.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16It was all like...China's waiting to get back into what they knew
0:18:16 > 0:18:18and loved.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21To now there's 120,000 restaurants in Shanghai,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23which is just an extraordinary number.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26When I'm talking to you both it's sort of really...
0:18:26 > 0:18:28You're very close.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34- Yeah, there's this mythology around Shanghainese husbands...- Which is.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Which is that everyone in China knows
0:18:37 > 0:18:39you can date somebody from anywhere,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42but when you marry a Shanghainese husband
0:18:42 > 0:18:45because they know how to take care of the household,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50- they are famous for being great cooks.- Housework?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52They do the housework.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54I mean, a funny thing you'll only see in Shanghai
0:18:54 > 0:18:56and not in other cities is you'll see men holding purses.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59They're always holding their girlfriend's or their wife's purses.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01So on the subway you're like,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03"There's a lot of transgender people in this city.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05"No, actually they're just holding their pink purse
0:19:05 > 0:19:07"for their girlfriend or their wife."
0:19:07 > 0:19:09You always see guys holding purses.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I'd love to be able to hold a purse. They're so convenient.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- I want to be clear, I don't do this. - He will not do that.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18I'm like, "I should never have brought him to the States."
0:19:18 > 0:19:21He's like, "What?! Men don't carry purses?"
0:19:21 > 0:19:22Curious that.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26My wife's always telling me I've got a strong feminine side.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29It wouldn't worry me a jot holding her handbag.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33But not all the time.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40All this eating, all these lovely meals,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43it's getting slightly out of balance.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Jia Jia my interpreter said the best thing I could do
0:19:46 > 0:19:50is go to the Peace Park for gentle exercise.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58UPBEAT CHINESE POP MUSIC PLAYS
0:19:58 > 0:20:03You may not think so, but I take exercise very seriously.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08I take a dip every morning in the Camel Estuary, come rain or shine.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09I do!
0:20:09 > 0:20:12In fact, I've heard people say, "Who's that old geezer?"
0:20:12 > 0:20:14I can hear them, you know!
0:20:17 > 0:20:22I know scenes of Chinese people doing their t'ai chi and dancing
0:20:22 > 0:20:27is a bit of a cliche, but here, I think, is a good lesson for us all.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31I must say
0:20:31 > 0:20:34when I heard we were coming to this park early this morning,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36it's now only half past seven, I thought,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39"Oh, gosh, not a lot of people dancing."
0:20:39 > 0:20:42But there are a lot of people dancing and they're all quite old,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44probably about as old as me.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46But I really enjoyed it.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49I think once you get stuck into something like that
0:20:49 > 0:20:51you sort of lose your inhibitions
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and suddenly you realise what it's all about,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56so I know I looked a fool, but I really loved it.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I find all this very uplifting.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07After all, China knew the secrets to a long and healthy life
0:21:07 > 0:21:10long before the Greeks, long before the Romans,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and diet along with exercise was key.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20I've already found some fabulous dishes,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Anthony's red-braised pork is a keeper definitely,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27so are Mr Wu's yummy scallion pancakes,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30but they're both based on fatty pork.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34At this rate, I'll be going home at least a stone heavier.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40As Confucius says, "The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live."
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Now think about it.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46While we're pondering on that,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50what about the way we've embraced Chinese food?
0:21:50 > 0:21:55It seems every tiny village in the UK has at least one takeaway.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Now who would have seen that coming?
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I'm not blessed with a good memory for names,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03but I can remember dishes I've had in my past
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and I can remember my first Chinese lunch.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09I was taken out from my boarding school, Uppingham, for a day -
0:22:09 > 0:22:11because we weren't allowed to sleep out,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13we could only go out for the day - by my parents
0:22:13 > 0:22:16and we went to Peterborough
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and I can remember we had crab and sweetcorn soup.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23And I can particularly remember the gloopiness of it
0:22:23 > 0:22:26and also the savouriness of it, the umaminess
0:22:26 > 0:22:28cos it probably had a bit of MSG in it.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31And the next course, because we did have it in courses I remember
0:22:31 > 0:22:34cos my parents were quite traditional like that,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37was a stir-fry and it was probably beef.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41But it definitely had bean sprouts in it and lots of soy
0:22:41 > 0:22:43and probably five spice.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47And I was absolutely wrapped by it, actually.
0:22:47 > 0:22:53Finally, of course, I had lychees. I had never tasted anything like it.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56And they're a combination of flavours that nobody,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58nobody could fail to love.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05It's a sunny morning at last.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09They say in certain parts of industrial China
0:23:09 > 0:23:13that dogs bark at the rare sight of the sun breaking through.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16I am that dog on his way to see a spot of fishing,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19to leave the city behind and head east
0:23:19 > 0:23:23to one of Shanghai's nearby islands - Chongming.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30And it sits right in the mouth of the longest river in China -
0:23:30 > 0:23:32the Yangtze.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Well, I must say, I've seen these Chinese fishing nets all
0:23:49 > 0:23:53the way from Italy to India, but I've never seen one in China before.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56But this is quite special because it's enormous.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00I'm loving the way they've got it all set up right across the river.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Just a little bit worried, I think they need to get on with it
0:24:03 > 0:24:05because the birds are having all the fish.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09It's a bit tricky this filming
0:24:09 > 0:24:13because actually they haven't got a lot of fish on this haul.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16We should have been here at four o'clock in the morning,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19but then we wouldn't have been able to see anything.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24I love things like this.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27I think if I wasn't involved with restaurants
0:24:27 > 0:24:29I'd be involved with nets, with pulleys and motors
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and all that sort of thing.
0:24:31 > 0:24:32I just find it fascinating.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Interestingly, just watching them raising
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and lowering the nets into the water,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39they have to keep the fish alive
0:24:39 > 0:24:43because in China freshwater fish really has to be live.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49These fishermen seem to work on the basis of one for me, one for you.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53They're having white fish for lunch.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58It looks like a freshwater bream to me. Actually, I think it's a carp.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02I've steamed fish with spring onion and ginger many times,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06but this is a first for me to actually see it done in China.
0:25:06 > 0:25:07And notice a difference.
0:25:07 > 0:25:08First of all,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12I'd be really parsimonious with the ginger always.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15I'm just noticing he's putting loads of slices of ginger,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18plus some chilli as well.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Just a little pinch of MSG, which is fine by me.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26And a good wash of Shaoxing wine, which I've never done.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28And a little bit of oil too and a little bit of salt.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Very interesting.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35I sometimes think I can remember every step of the cooking process,
0:25:35 > 0:25:40but it's so easy to forget one little spoonful of spice
0:25:40 > 0:25:45or a twist of lime, so my notes, my precious notes, are vital.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I'm so glad I've seen them cook steamed fish like this because
0:25:53 > 0:25:57I've always wanted to know exactly how to do it, and now I know.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59It's delicious.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03I'm actually quite amazed cos I don't think I've ever sat down
0:26:03 > 0:26:06with a load of fishermen and ate fish.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08It's just not normally what they'd do
0:26:08 > 0:26:12cos I remember years and years ago I made a series in Cornwall.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15We went to Newlyn fish market and we went into the cafe there
0:26:15 > 0:26:17and asked for some fish.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21And they said, "There's no fish here. It's a fishermen's cafe,"
0:26:21 > 0:26:25meaning fishermen don't actually eat fish.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Well, that's been my experience anyway.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Bacon rolls and Mars bars, yes.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Filet of bream or haddock, definitely no.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Sounds like a sea shanty.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Takes me back to Cornwall.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46RICK LAUGHS
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Before I go back to downtown Shanghai
0:26:55 > 0:26:59there's somewhere else I want to show you on the island of Chongming.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03It's one particular ingredient that turns up in dish after dish -
0:27:03 > 0:27:06yellow rice wine.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09And it's made from fermented glutinous rice.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11In this winery
0:27:11 > 0:27:15the wine they make is more for drinking than cooking with,
0:27:15 > 0:27:16and that's fine by me.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20I'd like to taste, but the owner, Mr Yu, wants to show me
0:27:20 > 0:27:24the whole production process. It always happens.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I'm told he's very, very funny.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Frustrating because I don't speak Mandarin
0:27:32 > 0:27:36and he can't speak a word of English, but I know I like him.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Look at his face.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:27:47 > 0:27:51The temperature of it is going to be brought down
0:27:51 > 0:27:54first by adding some cold water and a little bit of warm
0:27:54 > 0:27:58just so that it's exactly the right temperature for
0:27:58 > 0:28:02the third phase of this, which is adding yeast for fermentation.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Very appetising aroma.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Mr Yu used to be a government official,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16but he says he was born in to wine and he has good taste buds for it.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19His father, like most people on the island,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21used to make it for the family.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26The reason they're making that rice into that cone shape is
0:28:26 > 0:28:30as it ferments the liquid comes out of the rice into that well
0:28:30 > 0:28:32and they can tell at what stage it is.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34If they had left all the rice
0:28:34 > 0:28:36the liquid would have been underneath
0:28:36 > 0:28:38and they wouldn't be able to see it.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40It takes three weeks to ferment
0:28:40 > 0:28:44and by that time the liquid is almost clear.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46It's yellow but clear,
0:28:46 > 0:28:50leaving the rice sediment in the bottom of the jar.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52I think this is probably ready to drink.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55And I can see why they call it yellow rice wine.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58I don't know where the colour's come from, but it is yellow.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01That's nice.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04I think I should mention at this point that this wine
0:29:04 > 0:29:08is considerably stronger than your average Chardonnay.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10I like the cups.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Crikey!
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Cheers.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32I really like this wine.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36It's sort of like... I tasted like really old burgundy, funnily enough.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39It's got real...real... Sorry.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41HE CLEARS THROAT
0:29:43 > 0:29:44Drunk all mine.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49It's nice.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:29:55 > 0:29:59What he says is that this wine above all others,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03you can drink it and it makes your head clearer and clearer.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07You never get a headache. I really like it.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Mmm.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Ha!
0:30:13 > 0:30:17# Why did I tell you I was going to Shanghai?
0:30:17 > 0:30:20# I want to be with you tonight
0:30:20 > 0:30:23# Why did I holler I was going to Shanghai?
0:30:23 > 0:30:25# I want to be with you tonight. #
0:30:27 > 0:30:31The hottest restaurant ticket in town at the moment is Fu,
0:30:31 > 0:30:36the name means good fortune and the waiting list is weeks long.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37I'm lucky to get in.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39It's lovely.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44I've been invited to dine with the owner Mr Fang and his wife Rhianna.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47And as a treat, because no-one's normally allowed in,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49I've been ushered into the kitchen.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53This is sauteed shrimp.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58It's a curious mixture of great simplicity and total sophistication.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04The shrimp are deep-fried for exactly eight seconds.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Then they're washed in boiling water,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09drained and quickly shallow fried.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16To finish, a tiny bit of cornflour mixed with egg white is added,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19which gives them a silky coating.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22The whole process takes less than two minutes.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26I can't wait to try them, they're bursting with freshness.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33We sit down to find cold starters.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36One is lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice,
0:31:36 > 0:31:42but this one has a western touch - a spun sugar cage.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45And the red-braised pork has truffles in it!
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Truffles?! Sacrilege. But delicious.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52It's fusion food, but with a Shanghainese heart.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58You don't need to eat the tail of the shrimp.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01- I like it.- You like it? OK.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06- How is it?- Very good. It's all very wonderful. It's very delicate.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Thank you.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10- Is this eel?- Eel.- Gosh!
0:32:12 > 0:32:15I like the presentation of that with the bone on it.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17- It looks really good.- Thank you.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21And guess what this yellow dish is? It looks and smells lovely.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Well, it's my old chum.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27- This is hairy crab.- Yes.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31- How is it?- Exceptional.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35I use the word too much, but it's fragrant.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41- It just tastes so fragrant of crab. - That's it.- I love it.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43I might have a bit more.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46I love this way of eating.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50The more courses there are on the table the better it is for me.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Eating divides people.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55There are those who love to eat like this, sharing, discussing,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58tasting, comparing.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01And there are those that sit over their own plate of food
0:33:01 > 0:33:03guarding it like a bull dog.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Oh, yes! I've known a few of those, believe you me.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11And what was the idea of the restaurant in the first place?
0:33:11 > 0:33:16Old Shanghai cuisine is very delicious but not...
0:33:18 > 0:33:19Not very beautiful.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24And especially like a foreigner like you, if it's not very beautiful
0:33:24 > 0:33:29maybe you guys not accept it very easily.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Mr Fang gets the restaurant gene from his mum
0:33:33 > 0:33:37who ran a very popular down to earth late-night diner.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40You'd think she'd be awed by his success, wouldn't you?
0:33:40 > 0:33:42HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:33:42 > 0:33:43THEY CHUCKLE
0:33:43 > 0:33:46What does your mother think of what you've done?
0:33:46 > 0:33:48She thinks...
0:33:48 > 0:33:54HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:33:54 > 0:33:58Mother always think, "Oh, you are not doing good enough."
0:33:58 > 0:34:01- Really?- He think he can do much, much more.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04A lot of things need to do.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07How funny. Mothers are the same the whole world over.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Different thinks.
0:34:10 > 0:34:16Well, what I think, what it's worth is what I'm seeing here is
0:34:16 > 0:34:20the food is recognisably Shanghainese cooking.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25It's not fancy international cooking. It's Chinese fine dining.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29- Thank you.- Congratulations. - Thank you.
0:34:40 > 0:34:46What I love about Shanghai is that it's a city of huge food contrasts.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Nestling among the skyscrapers are a few islands of old Shanghai
0:34:51 > 0:34:54still as they were 100 years ago.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Neighbours bustle about, each one growing herbs
0:34:57 > 0:35:01and salads on the pavement in front of their houses.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03Their back yards and gardens have long gone,
0:35:03 > 0:35:07but they still have the urge to grow as much as they can.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16One of the popular snacks around is
0:35:16 > 0:35:18a big plate of noodles from cheap dives,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21which are little more than holes in the wall,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25where the tables spill out onto the street.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Our translator Jia Jia is a big fan.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Apparently noodle shop owners are famous for being very grumpy.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Oh, good. Here comes Jia Jia. I was just a little bit worried
0:35:38 > 0:35:42because we were researching this restaurant which sells
0:35:42 > 0:35:43pig intestine noodles,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46the restaurant is also called pig intestine noodles,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49they told us to go away, they didn't want any filming.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51They've got enough customers... Thank you very much.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54So I'm very glad you're back with the pig intestine noodles.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58And I'm sort of looking forward to eating them.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00- Shall we begin?- Yes, of course.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05- Well, Jia Jia... Are you all right?- Yeah, fine.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09- This is a first for me. - Yes, please.- Thank you.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- How you feeling?- Yeah, not too bad.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17- Yes?- Mmm.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20- Can you accept this?- Can I accept it? I like your use of English.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Yes, I can accept it, actually
0:36:23 > 0:36:26because I've tasted similar things in France called andouillette.
0:36:26 > 0:36:27Oh, OK.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30And the more piggy they taste the more they like them.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33- And these are quite piggy.- OK.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36I'm not sure that a lot of people would like them from the west.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40- Yes, I'm sure.- But just show me how you eat noodles.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Actually we just simply pour some over and have a taste.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46OK.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49So it's a bit like Lady and the Tramp.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54Mmm. I like it.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Why are they so popular?
0:36:59 > 0:37:03Actually it's not expensive and it tastes really delicious.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08And in the ancient time, Chinese people,
0:37:08 > 0:37:13the poor people actually they can support so much money for pig meat,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17or pork, and so they used pig intestine.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19But that's true.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22But why are they so grumpy, why are they so bad-tempered?
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Actually for the traditional noodle shop in Shanghai
0:37:26 > 0:37:30the famous ones always be grumpy because they are too delicious,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34too famous for customers, they don't need to be polite.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38It's interesting cos there's a Chinese restaurant in Soho in London
0:37:38 > 0:37:40which is like that.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43They're so rude to everybody, but it makes people want to come
0:37:43 > 0:37:46because they want them to say, "No, you go! You sit over there!"
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Oh, yes. The same thing. Exactly.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Because I like it too because I'm in the restaurant trade
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and all the time you have to be so polite to people,
0:37:55 > 0:38:00so to see the Chinese people say, "No, no out!" It's, "Yes!"
0:38:00 > 0:38:02I think because it's too delicious...
0:38:02 > 0:38:07- That's it. You've got something good, why not?- Yes.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Overlooking the Huangpu River is the famous Bund,
0:38:15 > 0:38:20named by the British using the Hindustani word for waterfront.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Those were the days when the globe was painted pink
0:38:23 > 0:38:24through British imperialism.
0:38:40 > 0:38:46And set in the middle of the Bund is an Art Deco gem - the Peace Hotel,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48a relic of Shanghai's colonial past.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01This was a favourite of the Hollywood greats
0:39:01 > 0:39:03who adorn the walls here.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06There's Marlene Dietrich sitting on the far right with
0:39:06 > 0:39:09the founder of the hotel Victor Sassoon.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Laurence Olivier with Greer Garson.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14George Bernard Shaw with Noel Coward,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16of course he would be there,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19he's supposed to have finished Private Lives in this very hotel.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27There's a distinct whiff of the '30s in the air.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30The Saturday afternoon tea dance.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33I can imagine louche captains
0:39:33 > 0:39:36and subalterns eyeing the local totty.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Pink gins and Manhattans, cucumber sandwiches
0:39:40 > 0:39:42and vol-au-vents, of course.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50This was the era of the famous Anglo-Chinese cookbook in English
0:39:50 > 0:39:54and Mandarin so you could give it to your cook.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58The recipes included Indian curries, roast beef
0:39:58 > 0:40:05and lobster a-la Newburg, but not one Chinese dish. Not one.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07I think the European expats
0:40:07 > 0:40:10were definitely a bit sniffy about Chinese food.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22Well, I liked it.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26I must say, I'm very happy to be here in the Peace Hotel
0:40:26 > 0:40:31in the centre of Shanghai and I just love afternoon tea.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33I think it's one of the few things that we British
0:40:33 > 0:40:38can genuinely lay credit for - afternoon tea.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42You get afternoon tea in Singapore, in Shanghai, in Sydney.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45But one of the things that slightly irritates me
0:40:45 > 0:40:49is if you're having this particular type of afternoon tea
0:40:49 > 0:40:52it's always referred to a Devon cream tea.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55But I always like to think of them as a Cornish cream tea.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57And the difference is that in Cornwall
0:40:57 > 0:41:01we have the cream on top of the jam.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03In Devon they like it underneath.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06So...
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Perfect.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23There's lots of other Art Deco buildings around the city.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27That's one reason why it's so often compared to New York.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32But not all of its architecture is quite so appealing.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39I think it's fair to say that I've been to more fish markets
0:41:39 > 0:41:42than any other TV cook in the world.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44This one is a biggie.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47It looks a bit like a post office sorting depot.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Every size and species of whelks and clams and prawns,
0:41:51 > 0:41:53crayfish and crab is here.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57But inside there's an encyclopaedia of wonderfully weird fish
0:41:57 > 0:42:00and shellfish too.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05As the Cantonese saying goes, "If it walks, swims, crawls or flies
0:42:05 > 0:42:08"and has its back to heaven, it must be edible."
0:42:10 > 0:42:13I think that probably comes from a country
0:42:13 > 0:42:15that has suffered so many famines,
0:42:15 > 0:42:19to survive you had to try anything that could sustain life.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22But then you could develop a real taste for it,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and that's what cuisine is all about.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28The writer Jonathan Swift apparently said,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32"He was a bold man that first ate an oyster."
0:42:33 > 0:42:37I met up with Zan Lim, a food blogger.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40She's my seafood lover's guide here.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43- Zan?- Rick. - I thought so.- Nice to meet you.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47- Amazingly busy. - Let's take a walk this side.- OK.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51- Is this open all the time? - Oh, this is open 24 hours.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54- Really?- Yes, and we've come at one of the busiest days.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57The weekend is like the busiest time of the week.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01During night-time this whole place is just packed with people.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04It's just a feast for the eyes if you like markets.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Yes, one of my favourite things to do at the seafood market is
0:43:07 > 0:43:11I buy some fish or crab and then I take it to a restaurant
0:43:11 > 0:43:14where they can cook it for me, so I don't have to cook it myself.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16- Wow! Can we do that? - Yes, let's try that.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18What would you like?
0:43:18 > 0:43:20Well, I think I'd probably go for something
0:43:20 > 0:43:23that's quite easy to get back in the UK so I can see how you cook it.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26- OK.- Maybe just some clams.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:43:31 > 0:43:33We always have to haggle when you buy seafood.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38- Every day? - So he just told me 500g for 25 kuai.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40- But I told him, "No, 20 kuai."- OK.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43- That seems a very good price to me. - Yes, I think so.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46- For 500g that's a good price. - That's about £2.
0:43:46 > 0:43:47Thank you very much.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Also, what I usually do is
0:43:49 > 0:43:52I bring a little digital weighing scale of my own...
0:43:52 > 0:43:55- Do you? - Because sometimes they rig this.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00- Oh, I couldn't possibly believe that!- OK, let's go.- OK.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05- Have you tried the pomfret?- I love pomfret. I tried them in India.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07- Shall we try one? - Yeah, let's have some.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09- We can get it steamed, it's a good way to eat.- Steamed?- Yes.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13- With ginger, spring onion?- Yes. - Fabulous.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Just ask him where it's from.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17'And then I was in for a bit of a surprise.'
0:44:17 > 0:44:21- It's all the way from your hometown. England.- From England?
0:44:21 > 0:44:23It's probably from Devon, actually.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26I know they catch them and send them to China.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Can we get one and ask him how much?
0:44:30 > 0:44:34It's weird to think that this brown crab came from Devon
0:44:34 > 0:44:36or maybe Cornwall,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39with beaches full of wind breaks, ice cream, happy families.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41And now it's on the other side of the world
0:44:41 > 0:44:44and shortly it's going to be my lunch.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49This is Zan's favourite here,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52and they're going to cook the clams, the pomfret
0:44:52 > 0:44:55and the crab for us in return for a small cooking fee.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57It's a bit like corkage on wine.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07I've been really looking forward to seeing how they cook our brown crab.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10I've never seen a British brown crab cooked like this before.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Deep-fried in cornflour.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17Very, very simple way of doing it and yet it looks so dangerous.
0:45:17 > 0:45:22But my gosh it's interesting and I'm sure it's going to taste fabulous.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27He adds preserved duck eggs, just the yolks,
0:45:27 > 0:45:31salt and a splash of yellow rice wine
0:45:31 > 0:45:35and just a pinch of MSG, monosodium glutamate.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Lunch in China starts around 11 o'clock,
0:45:38 > 0:45:41the kitchen's really busy here.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43I know what I'd say if a film crew turned up
0:45:43 > 0:45:46when the kitchen's red hot.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49But here, well, they took it in their stride.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53The clams cook in seconds.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56Basically he's got oil and spring onions.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59I think there was a bit of ginger there too.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04And now he's just stir-frying them.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07I must say, it's really, really nice that they've let us in.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10It's the busiest part of the lunch service.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Well, you'll have to show me how to eat most of this.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23With the crabs, just go crazy. Use your hands.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25So this has been salted, egg yolk.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28Should be pretty delicious. What do you think?
0:46:28 > 0:46:30It's very delicious.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33It really brings out the sweetness of our British crabs.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38This crab is really good.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42I find that when I eat local crab it has a bit of a muddy river taste,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45but this one is...
0:46:45 > 0:46:47I'm very proud, very flattered
0:46:47 > 0:46:51and proud of our British crabs in that case.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53How do you cook t in the UK?
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Well, we tend to just have them cold with mayonnaise.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00- Mmm.- Would you eat the clams with your fingers?
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Oh, I think for me I would use my fingers,
0:47:02 > 0:47:05but usually we use the chopsticks or a spoon.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08- OK. So I'm all right using my fingers.- You're all right.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09They're so delicate.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Just have a bit of ginger, a bit of spring onion,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14tiny bit of MSG,
0:47:14 > 0:47:19tiny bit of chicken powder and some rice wine. Lovely.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22So can we have some pomfret? Just show me how you...
0:47:22 > 0:47:24I usually just take it from the belly
0:47:24 > 0:47:25because it has the least bones.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29There's very little local fish here, like from Shanghai itself.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32- Why is that?- Oh, you know, the pollution.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35I suppose pollution's quite a problem in China
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- because it's expanding so fast. - Yes, it is.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Do you want to talk some more about...?
0:47:43 > 0:47:46I don't know how to balance eating and talking.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Fair enough.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52I have to say, I think the Chinese are probably amongst the best
0:47:52 > 0:47:56seafood cooks, probably are the best seafood cooks in the world.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59- Wow!- And I don't think a lot of people realise that,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02certainly not in somewhere like the UK.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06But honestly, those clams, that pomfret, that crab -
0:48:06 > 0:48:09- fabulous dishes. - Wow! Glad you think so.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Let's just eat then.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14I'm spoilt for choice.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Any one of these dishes I would happily cook at home.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24One of the things I wanted to do ever since I started these travels
0:48:24 > 0:48:26was to pay homage to the wok.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31I think it's the greatest culinary invention since the fork.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35Because of the searing heat like the jet blast of an F-18 fighter...
0:48:35 > 0:48:38F-18 ENGINE ROARS
0:48:38 > 0:48:40And the thinness of the pan...
0:48:40 > 0:48:44everything cooks in seconds. Yes, seconds.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48Small pieces of meat, prawns, vegetables, a touch of soy,
0:48:48 > 0:48:53a sprinkling of five spice, ginger, Shaoxing wine. Finish.
0:48:56 > 0:49:02So, to Ken, Ken Hom, who introduced us in the UK to the wok.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04I salute you.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15There's something that China has given the world, and it's
0:49:15 > 0:49:17becoming increasingly popular.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19It's feng shui.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Nothing in China gets built without the force of feng shui being
0:49:25 > 0:49:29taken into account, because it's about the order of things,
0:49:29 > 0:49:33so that buildings are in tune with nature and will bring you luck.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37In amongst the grey concrete supports for the motorway,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40there sits this quite wonderful gilded pillar.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47And it's there because of a fabulous trade-off.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50You see, when they were drilling here to build the motorway,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54the drill stopped working at this very spot.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57It could not get through the rock.
0:49:57 > 0:50:02Now, a monk was summoned, who said they were on top of a dragon's nest.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04Yes, a dragon's nest.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08He was asked to appeal to the dragon for permission to drill.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13"The only way it can be done to appease the dragon," he said,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17"is to forfeit my life."
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Apparently, within three days of the foundations going in,
0:50:20 > 0:50:25the monk died, and some say they saw black smoke
0:50:25 > 0:50:29coming out of the hole, indicating that the dragon had gone.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32It's a nice story, but I think, to me,
0:50:32 > 0:50:37it really illustrates the fact that even in modern, zippy Shanghai,
0:50:37 > 0:50:40feng shui is still very important.
0:50:42 > 0:50:43DRAGON ROAR
0:50:50 > 0:50:53I don't feel entirely happy if I'm miles away from the sea,
0:50:53 > 0:50:57so I just wanted to go to the nearest place to Shanghai
0:50:57 > 0:50:59where they land fish from the sea.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08This is Jinshan, a fishing village overlooking a rather muddy
0:51:08 > 0:51:09East China Sea.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13I'm just looking at what they're catching here.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15I can't quite identify them.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19They look like anchovies or some anchovy-like fish, and there is a
0:51:19 > 0:51:25lot of white shrimps, which I guess they are going to just deep fry.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27And it's not...brilliant.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31It's not exactly a Greek island with boxes of glistening red mullet and
0:51:31 > 0:51:37a taverna across the way, and blue and white boats, but it smells nice.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39It smells of the sea,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43and actually, the water is a little bit muddy, but that's because
0:51:43 > 0:51:48we are the end of the Yangtze, and I imagine that's why it's muddy.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52No, it's not a picture postcard. But, hey, it's fishing.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00These may not look like much to a lot of people,
0:52:00 > 0:52:03but I think they are really important in Chinese cooking,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06and you find them all over south-east Asia, these dried fish.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Sometimes they're just dried and salted.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Sometimes they're salted and sugared.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14It's not really so much the taste of them per se,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17it's when you add them to other dishes.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21They provide an essential savoury element.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23You would really miss them if they weren't there. I'm a great fan.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31It turns out this village has been renovated
0:52:31 > 0:52:33quite extensively by the government.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35And they are jolly pleased that we filmed here
0:52:35 > 0:52:38and are showing how clean and pristine it all is.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43But there is something in the air, a cooking smell?
0:52:43 > 0:52:45It's something indefinable.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51THEY CONVERSE IN CHINESE
0:52:55 > 0:52:59I'm not... Ah! Thank you.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02I'm not totally looking forward to this. I can smell...
0:53:02 > 0:53:05This is called stinky tofu. I don't know what the correct name is,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08but actually, I could smell it as I was walking over the bridge,
0:53:08 > 0:53:10and I thought there was something wrong with the river.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12So it's really like, you know...
0:53:15 > 0:53:17Oh!
0:53:17 > 0:53:21I imagine it's like a Chinese person eating some sort of ripe brie.
0:53:26 > 0:53:27Well...
0:53:28 > 0:53:31..it's not great.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33But I think I could get used to it.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35It's got quite a nice sort of savoury taste.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38It's sort of smells a bit like bad cabbage.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42If you can get that sort of idea.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46But...the taste is a lot better than the smell.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50The first taste, not so good, but I'm beginning to like it.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04- Where do your parents live, then? - Just in the apartment nearby...
0:54:04 > 0:54:07I'm coming close to the end of my taste of Shanghai.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11I've got the opportunity to take home one last dish.
0:54:11 > 0:54:17- Are they supposed to stop?- Um... OK, I think it's the right time to go.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22My interpreter, Jia Jia, wants me to try her mum's boiled chicken.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25She says it's her favourite meal.
0:54:25 > 0:54:26If ever she left China,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29she would make a point of cooking it at least once a week.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34Well, it just so happens I didn't need asking twice.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37For years, I have loved this dish.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39Back at home, we haven't really discovered, I think,
0:54:39 > 0:54:43the sweet joy of chicken - whole chicken - simmered in a pot.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50This recipe couldn't be simpler.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52A big lump of ginger, spring onions
0:54:52 > 0:54:55and Shaoxing wine for the stock.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Then she dunks the chicken straight into the pot.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Apparently, Mrs Chen went to the market this morning
0:55:05 > 0:55:07especially for us.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11She chose a live chicken and then had it killed in front of her,
0:55:11 > 0:55:13and plucked, ready for cooking within hours.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19She simmers it for about 20 minutes, then rests it in cold water
0:55:19 > 0:55:24for half an hour, but I think I would leave it in the stock.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Because it's so fresh, you can see a little blood on the bones.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31It would worry a lot of people, but because I lived on a farm,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33it certainly doesn't worry me.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37It's just a sign that the chicken is ultra fresh.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40Then she dresses it with sesame oil before she serves it up.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45The dipping sauce is made of light soy, chopped coriander,
0:55:45 > 0:55:49ginger and spring onion, and it's lovely.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53- So, do you like coriander? - I love coriander, yeah.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56OK, because a lot of Chinese, they don't like coriander at all.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00- Oh, really?- Yeah, yeah.- I thought everybody liked coriander in China.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02No! That's not true. Please...
0:56:05 > 0:56:06Mm!
0:56:06 > 0:56:10That is very fresh, very moist.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- Thank you. You like it?- I love it!
0:56:13 > 0:56:14Thank you.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19I don't think people realise how very simple and fragrant
0:56:19 > 0:56:25- and elegant a lot of Chinese cooking is.- Oh, yes.- It's lovely.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29Just remind me of what "thank you" is in Shanghainese again.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32- Xia xia.- Xia xia? Xia xia.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35Yes! You've got a good pronunciation.
0:56:39 > 0:56:40So at the end of the day,
0:56:40 > 0:56:44what really set my taste buds going on this trip?
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Well, I'm going to choose three dishes that I know
0:56:47 > 0:56:49I want to cook back at home.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54In third place, it's tong jian ge li.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59I hope I said that right. Clams with ginger and spring onion.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02From the fish market - so sweet, light and tasty,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05with a lovely velvety texture.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Number two - xiaolong bo. Soup dumplings.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12They are unbelievably delicious.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16Soft, delicate, doughy bags of flavour.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20And I think I finally got the knack of the nip and the suck.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22Very important if you want a clean shirt!
0:57:25 > 0:57:26Oh! Be careful.
0:57:28 > 0:57:34Number one has to be hong xiao ro - red-braised pork.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38So sweet and spicy, it's the glossy king of dishes,
0:57:38 > 0:57:41using one of the cheapest cuts.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44Now, this is something that I will definitely cook at home,
0:57:44 > 0:57:47probably only a few hours after I get off the plane.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49It's quite stupendous,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53and it's impossible to talk about it without your mouth watering.
0:57:53 > 0:57:55It's my top dish.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06FERRY HORN BLASTS
0:58:09 > 0:58:11You know that term Shanghaied?
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Will, it meant something terrible about being
0:58:14 > 0:58:17frogmarched into doing something you didn't want to do.
0:58:17 > 0:58:22But it's also got that romantic notion about going off into some
0:58:22 > 0:58:29exotic world, and I've been well and truly Shanghaied in Shanghai.
0:58:29 > 0:58:33# Oh, what did I tell you It was bye-bye for Shanghai?
0:58:33 > 0:58:35# I'm even allergic to rice
0:58:35 > 0:58:39# Why don't you stop me when I talk about Shanghai?
0:58:39 > 0:58:41# It's just a lovers' device
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# Now who's going to kiss me? Who's going to thrill me?
0:58:45 > 0:58:48# Who's going to hold me tight?
0:58:48 > 0:58:51# I'm right around the corner in a phone booth
0:58:51 > 0:58:56# And I want to be with you tonight... #