10 Must-Eat Summer Foods for Shanghai Locals
1. Cold Noodles
Steam the noodles, add salt and oil, dry them with a hair dryer, then toss with peanut sauce, Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar, sesame oil, and mung bean sprouts. If you like it spicy, add a little chili oil, and a delicious bowl is ready. No toppings are needed at all, because you must never let the toppings steal the spotlight. The chewy noodles and the refreshing seasonings make this simple summer delight truly irresistible.
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2. Cold Wontons
Cold wontons and cold noodles are wonderfully similar in spirit, with comparable flavors. But it is worth mentioning that deep-fried cold wontons dipped in light soy sauce take things to another level, a finishing touch that elevates the whole experience.
3. Mung Bean Soup
Drinking mung bean soup in summer clears heat and reduces internal fire. A bowl of iced mung bean soup in particular is just so "refreshing." This is a summer essential that is far healthier than cola.
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4. Drunken Edamame, Salted Edamame
Trim off both ends of the edamame, boil them in clear water, then soak them in drunken brine. If you are not fussy, just boil them in salt water; you lose a bit of the drunken aroma, but the freshness remains. Drunken edamame is one of the signature dishes of Shanghai cuisine: emerald green in color, delicately fragrant, with a mellow and lasting taste, fresh and easy on the wallet, truly a summer treat. Drunken edamame carries a faint hint of wine within its savory fragrance. That wine will not make you drunk, yet you somehow feel intoxicated already.
5. Iced Watermelon
Iced watermelon could not be more common, since every household now has a refrigerator, making it easy to prepare. Of course, I should also remind everyone that watermelon is best eaten the same day it is cut. Expert scientific experiments have shown that cut watermelon left in the refrigerator overnight will breed a large amount of bacteria. For your health, please do not eat watermelon that has sat overnight!
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6. Salted Popsicles
Made from salt, sugar, starch, and water, this is a great choice for beating the heat. For people who sweat heavily in summer, salted popsicles are a good option, as they replenish the salt the body has lost. They are low in calories, making them a good choice for those worried about gaining weight. They clear heat and relieve summer discomfort. When eating one, if you suck on it, the salted popsicle will gradually lose its sweetness.
7. Ice Brick (Ice Cream Block)
Shanghai's Bright brand ice brick was once something people longed for during the dog days of summer. The ice brick was wrapped in wax paper and packed in a blue cardboard box. It was first produced in 1950, and even now its price is still only 2 yuan. This Bright medium ice brick can be mixed with many things, such as strawberries and Sprite, as well as the Lemon soda of that era. The version with Sprite tastes great, with a very rich creamy flavor.
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8. Smoked Plum Juice
I believe Shanghai locals are all familiar with this. Come summer, when people talk about drinks, it is either salt soda or smoked plum juice. The moment someone mentions buying smoked plum juice, the elders in the family get excited too. Smoked plum juice is fragrant, with a lovely sweet-and-sour taste. You can drink more of it when feeling irritable, and it also helps promote salivation and reduce internal heat. It is an essential summer beverage.
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9. Salt Soda
The sodium chloride contained in salt soda is one of the normal components of the human body. In the extracellular fluid, Na (sodium ions) account for 90% of the total cations, and it is a major component in maintaining the content and osmotic pressure of normal body fluids and extracellular fluid, as well as a necessary condition for maintaining cell excitability and neuromuscular responsiveness.
10. Goji Berry and White Wood Ear
Goji berries have many benefits, including immune regulation, antioxidant effects, anti-aging, anti-tumor, anti-fatigue, lowering blood lipids, lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, tonifying the kidneys, protecting the liver, improving eyesight, beautifying the skin, benefiting the brain, detoxifying, and resisting radiation damage. If placed in the refrigerator's cold storage compartment, it also makes an excellent cooling and healthy food for summer.