糟毛豆 Wine Soaked Soy Beans

Pinyin: Zāo Máo Dòu

This is a beer food if ever there was beer food in China. It's quite simply soybeans soaked in Chinese wine and then served up cold.

Now of course you don't eat the pods, you just suck out the beans inside and spit the pods onto the plate. Flipping them around with your chopsticks can be a challenging feat and fun too!

The term Zāo actually refers to foods being soaked in Chinese wine and is a traditional Shanghai style of cooking. It's also possible to find chicken, chicken feet, and sliced meat in this same style.

I've heard that people from outside of Shanghai aren't too fond of this style of cooking, and I must admit the first time or two I had it I wasn't impressed, but since then it's grown on me a bit and I rather enjoy it now.