Beyond Peking duck: Exploring the food traditions of China's Shunde region

In Shunde, a fish can tell you a great deal about the cook preparing it. It might arrive steamed with ginger and spring onion, be minced and returned to its own skin, or appear as delicate sheets of fish cake. The ingredient changes shape, but the aim remains much the same: preserve its freshness and get the texture right.

From fish dishes to milk custard, discover the food culture of Shunde

This corner of China's Pearl River Delta has long been associated with Cantonese cooking, so much so that it is often described as one of the cuisine's cradles. In 2014, UNESCO recognised Shunde as a Creative City of Gastronomy. Yet its food traditions deserve attention beyond their influence on restaurant menus elsewhere. They belong to a place where cooking has developed alongside waterways, farming and a deep familiarity with local produce.

A landscape that shaped the menu

Shunde, administered as a district of Foshan in Guangdong province, sits amid the waterways and fertile plains of the Pearl River Delta. Fish and rice have historically been central to its food culture. One distinctive feature of the region's agricultural past was the mulberry-dike fishpond system, in which mulberry trees, silkworms and fish formed a connected cycle of production. The system, documented as far back as the 16th century, linked farming and aquaculture rather than treating them as separate activities.

That relationship with the landscape helps explain the attention paid to freshwater fish. Shunde cooks are known for using different parts of the fish in different preparations, from whole steamed fish to fish cakes, soups and dumplings. The skill is often in the handling: removing bones carefully, controlling heat and knowing when an ingredient needs little else.

For a visitor, this is a good place to look beyond the familiar Cantonese restaurant order. A meal built around fish can reveal more about the region's culinary habits than a single signature dish.

The many lives of a fish

One of Shunde's best-known preparations is yusheng, a salad of thinly sliced raw freshwater fish, traditionally served with seasonings and accompaniments such as ginger, shallots and peanuts. The slicing requires considerable precision, and the dish reflects the local emphasis on freshness and texture. It is also a tradition to approach thoughtfully: raw freshwater fish can carry parasites and other foodborne risks. Travellers who prefer to avoid that risk will find plenty to explore in the region's cooked fish dishes.

Try fish steamed simply, with aromatics added to complement rather than overwhelm it. Another speciality is stuffed dace, in which the flesh is carefully removed, seasoned and worked back into the fish's skin before cooking. The preparation is labour-intensive, transforming a bony fish into a dish that can be eaten more easily.

There are subtler expressions of the same craft, too. Fish may be minced into cakes or shredded into soup, where the broth draws out its sweetness. It is a cuisine that rewards attention to the work behind the plate.

Milk, made into something extraordinary

Shunde's dairy traditions offer a pleasing change of pace. The district is particularly associated with buffalo milk, used in desserts that rely on temperature and technique rather than elaborate decoration.

The most famous is shuangpi nai, or double-skin milk custard. Milk is heated and left to form a skin, then combined with other ingredients and steamed so that a second delicate layer develops. The result is soft, creamy and gently sweet. It is usually served chilled or at room temperature, making it an easy stop between savoury meals.

In Daliang, the historic heart of Shunde, dessert shops and snack stalls are part of the food landscape. Around Huagai Road, visitors can look for traditional milk sweets and other local specialities. Nearby Jinbang Upper Street is known for its dairy products, including salted milk slices sometimes compared to a local cheese. These are not the sort of souvenirs that travel well in a suitcase without planning, but they offer a glimpse of a food culture built around a very particular ingredient.

For something less restrained, try fried milk, in which a set milk mixture is coated and fried until the outside turns crisp while the centre remains soft. It sounds like a contradiction until the first bite.

Rice cakes and noodles with a local identity

Shunde's food traditions extend well beyond fish and dairy. In Chencun, thin rice sheets known as Chencun fen are a local speciality. Their appeal lies in their delicate texture, which allows them to take on the flavours of sauces, meat and other ingredients served with them.

Lunjiao, another town in the district, is known for Lunjiao gao, a fermented rice cake with a light, springy texture and a mild sweetness. The cake's history is associated with local vendors and family recipes passed between generations. It is a reminder that a region's culinary reputation is rarely built only on elaborate banquet dishes. Everyday snacks, made repeatedly and sold over years, are part of the story as well.

A useful food trail begins in Daliang, with its older streets and dessert shops, before branching out to places associated with particular ingredients and preparations. The journey is less about ticking off a list than noticing how a dish changes from one neighbourhood to another.

Food as a way of gathering

Shunde's cooking also belongs to a wider culture of shared meals. Traditional village banquets and festival gatherings bring families and neighbours together around dishes prepared for the occasion. Dragon boat celebrations, for instance, can include communal meals, while family restaurants continue to carry recipes that have outlasted the people who first made them.

For a break between meals, Qinghui Garden in Daliang offers a different view of the region's cultural history. This traditional Lingnan garden, with its courtyards, water features and carefully arranged buildings, provides a reminder that Shunde's heritage is not confined to the kitchen. Its older neighbourhoods are worth exploring slowly, with time for a tea stop or a snack along the way.

The region's food is often praised for restraint, but restraint here should not be mistaken for simplicity. A pale custard depends on getting the milk and heat right. A plate of fish may conceal hours of careful preparation. Even a rice cake carries the memory of a technique repeated until it becomes second nature.

Peking duck may be one of China's best-known culinary calling cards, but Shunde offers another way into the country's vast food culture. Start with a bowl of soup, a freshly steamed fish or a spoonful of double-skin milk, and the details begin to emerge. The pleasure is in discovering just how much knowledge can sit behind a dish that looks deceptively straightforward.

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