Crab Feasting in Jingjiang, Jiangsu: The Most Glorious Thing to Do This Autumn

Golden autumn is the perfect time to visit Jingjiang, Jiangsu. This place is simply brimming with unforgettable culinary delights: the mouthwatering Xilai Eight Bowls, each one a temptation; the dancing crab roe soup dumplings that are so fresh they'll knock your socks off; and a whole array of specialty snacks and authentic home-style dishes.

If you're a foodie with a passion for outstanding flavors, then this Jingjiang food guide is a must-keep for you!

First stop in Jingjiang: Xilai Town, to experience the deliciousness of the Xilai Eight Bowls.

Writer Qi Zhi wrote in 'Hometown Xilai': 'Jingjiang is the homeland of taste, and Xilai is its elevated spot. Xilai cuisine has the freshness of Huaiyang, the sweetness of Suzhou and Hangzhou, and a hint of Sichuan and Hunan's boldness.'

The local dishes of Xilai are mouthwatering, with a profound culinary culture. The most famous are the Xilai 'Eight Bowls'.

My personal favorite is the Tuqiao Miaojiadai mutton.

The Tuqiao Miaojiadai mutton has long been renowned. Cooked by braising, stir-frying, pan-frying, stewing, simmering, deep-frying, and roasting, a full lamb banquet warms up the entire winter.

The braised lamb is especially distinctive: tender meat, rich flavor, and glossy color, with health benefits for the spleen and stomach.

Miaojiadai mutton cooking techniques have been listed in Jingjiang's second batch of intangible cultural heritage.

Another unique dish is Yujiadai braised eel shreds with egg. While eel is usually prepared as braised sections, stir-fried with onions, or simmered with pork tripe, the Yujiadai version stands out.

In Xilai folklore, this dish has a cheerful nickname: 'Tiger Back Bear Waist Joyful Dish'.

Eel shreds braised with egg can be a dish or a soup, and has gradually become a beloved home-style dish in Jingjiang. A local folk song goes: 'Eel shreds with egg, cooked and served right away, good as a dish or mixed with rice.'

Then there's Lanniqiao freshwater clams with greens. Its fame comes from two key ingredients: clams and greens. The perfect combination of the clams' umami and the greens' tenderness, meat and vegetable, yellow and green, makes this home-style dish irresistible.

The Xilai 'Eight Bowls' embody the locals' relentless pursuit of exquisite cuisine, and are a cultural inheritance of honesty, humility, and courtesy passed down through generations of farming households. The way Xilai people approach an ordinary family meal reflects their embrace of a happy life.

In the afternoon, head to Jishi Old Street, where you'll find many traditional local snacks that require long queues to get.

Traditional snacks like Jishi oven bread, lotus leaf osmanthus cake, and Yulan Zhang flatbread are all brimming with the nostalgic flavor of everyday life.

In the evening, enjoy an authentic Jingjiang dinner at Baisheng Hotel.

Jingjiang cuisine is vast, with a wide variety of dishes, beautifully plated, and every one delicious.

When in Jingjiang, you must try the local Xiangsha taro.

In 2012, Jingjiang's Xiangsha taro made its debut on 'A Bite of China'. Jingjiang people adore taro, and their ways of eating it are countless: tossed into rice to make taro rice, made into vegetarian taro paste, turned into Yakou taro balls, fried taro rolls, sugar-frosted taro, wrapped with savory fillings into taro buns, or added to sweet soups – it's delicious every way.

Wooden barrel-served fugu slices, tender and exquisite.

Double-flavor river delicacies, made with freshwater shrimp and snails, bursting with freshness.

And free-range chicken soup, both visually appealing and deeply satisfying.

Don't miss the season's hairy crabs. The Daoducai-style hairy crabs here are prepared tableside with yellow wine and lard, a highly ceremonial and flavorful experience.

If you want more, head to Sanjiang Road to experience the bustling night market, where Maqiao wontons are another Jingjiang specialty.

The wonton filling is meticulously prepared, mainly with pork, greens, chives, and spinach. Almost every wonton contains a freshwater shrimp, and the shrimp and pork are carefully sourced – the pork comes from a specific cut. The broth is made from simmering large bones, resulting in a rich, savory flavor.

Of course, this food street has everything: barbecue, clam vermicelli, beef soup, and more. It's said that things really get lively after 11 p.m.

The next morning, head to Nanyuan Hotel to try their signature Nanzhiyuan soup dumplings.

When visiting Jingjiang this season, you absolutely cannot miss the crab roe soup dumplings!

Especially in late autumn. As the autumn wind blows, crabs start to stir; when chrysanthemums bloom, it's time to smell the crabs. From October to November, at the cusp of autumn and winter, crabs are at their richest with golden roe and creamy fat. As gourmands say, 'Eating crabs is the most important affair of autumn.'

Crabs can be enjoyed in many ways, and crab roe soup dumplings are a traditional specialty of Jingjiang, Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, with a history of over 200 years, recognized as one of China's six famous types of buns.

Today, we've come to Nanyuan Hotel in Jingjiang to taste their signature Nanzhiyuan soup dumplings.

The dumplings here have thin skin, abundant filling, and a unique character.

Steamed to a snowy, crystalline whiteness, the skin is as thin as paper, almost transparent. A gentle nudge reveals the soup inside swaying softly, evoking a tender delicacy that seems it might burst. Some call these 'dancing soup dumplings,' and it's absolutely true.

Moreover, the ingredients for the filling and soup are meticulously chosen: premium fresh pork skin, free-range old hens, and pork shoulder bones. The broth is simmered for six hours using a combination of traditional techniques and modern technology to achieve a filling that is 'clear but not greasy, thick but not oily, and exquisitely flavorful,' perfectly satisfying modern palates.

The skin isn't just paper-thin; when rolling, the edges must be thin while the center is slightly thicker, with at least 30 evenly small pleats. This skill takes years to master.

Of course, there's an art to eating soup dumplings. The restaurant has a mantra: 'Lift gently, move slowly, make a window first, then sip the soup.' After sipping, add ginger shreds and aged vinegar to enjoy the full flavor.

Savoring soup dumplings is both a culinary delight and a unique pleasure, an irreplaceable charm. In the past, soup dumplings were a delicacy reserved for honored guests. Now, everyone has the chance to enjoy them. Whenever soup dumpling season arrives, a trip to Jingjiang is a must!

This golden autumn culinary journey through Jingjiang gave me the opportunity to get to know the city and its cuisine, and I even bought plenty to bring home and share with my family. That is probably the most glorious and happiness-filled thing to do this autumn.