Shelled Shrimps with Dragon Well Green Tea

Combining succulent shelled shrimps with freshly picked Longjing tea leaves results in a much sought-after Hangzhou dish, a local specialty both highly recommended and swimming in flavor.

To prepare this dish, the Longjing Tea’s elegantly dark green leaves need to be picked around the Qingming Festival in early spring and the shrimps, selected from local rivers, need to be fresh and as white as snow. The two ingredients, both distinct in color and texture, are then combined together to form a dish oozing in flavor and aroma.

It is widely believed that this time-honored dish was inspired by Su Dongpo’s Ci (a type of classical Chinese poetry), which told of building a new fire to brew new tea.

Inspired by his poem, people came up with the idea of cooking fresh shrimps with Longjing Green Tea over Xinhuo (new fire). Without such poetic words, we would not be able to enjoy such an exquisite dish, a perfect example of Hangzhou’s flavorsome cuisine.

Note: 1. Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shi, was a talented poet and an important figure in Song Dynasty politics.

2. Xinhuo: In the Tang and Song dynasties, there was a custom that on the day before the Qingming Festival, no fire was allowed to be used. Hence, the fire lit on Qingming Festival is called Xinhuo (new fire).