Shanglu Wonton

Shanglu is a town in Dongyang City. A wonton (the Mandarin pronunciation is hundun) is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines. Shanglu wonton is quite famous in Dongyang. It is special for its materials are carefully selected and its cooking is different.

The meat used as the fillings is the pork between the fore leg and the head of a pig. It features alternate layers of fat and lean pork. Hence, it tastes soft and has modest fat. Seasoning, such as minced ginger, pepper, is needed to flavor the fillings. And the wonton wrappers are handmade, so they are pliable. The cooking of Shanglu wonton is quite demanding. It is often cooked in the old-fashioned cooking stove, which uses firewood instead of coal, coal gas or natural gas. The firewood comes from the particular pine trees growing in Shanglu. The pine trees have high oil content, so the firewood catches fire easily and gives out bright flames and great heat. The wontons with thin wrappers and delicate fillings catch the heat and get cooked quickly. When they are cooked, take them out and add seasoning, such as chili, oil. You had better eat the cuisine in Shanglu, for the cooked cuisine should be eaten right away or it will be unsavory.