Sating a crustacean fixation

In the Wu dialect (native to Jiangsu and Zhejiang), "shisan" means someone slow or honest. Wang named the restaurant Shaoshisan to reflect the restaurant's spirit of integrity. He added the word "shao" to represent Shaoxing.

Besides the drunken crab, Wang's summer menu also highlights the freshest seasonal ingredients and presents their authentic flavors without the use of heavy seasoning.

Pickling is another signature of Jiangzhe cuisine, where a range of ingredients are marinated in huangjiu together with condiments and distillers' grains, before being packed into jars and left to ferment.

Each region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang province has its own special ingredients they like to pickle: chefs in Shanghai use green soy beans, while in Ningbo and Shaoxing they prefer chicken or goose.

Wang recalls when he was young, to celebrate Spring Festival, his family would prepare several kinds of pickled dishes. One recipe involved placing a deboned, boiled chicken or goose coated with salt into a jar, then covered with layer after layer of ingredients separated by distillers' grains. Half a month later, the food was ready to eat.

According to Wang, any common ingredients can be marinated using huangjiu, from meat to vegetables.