年糕八爪鱼 Octopus and Rice Noodles

Pinyin: nián gāo bā zhuǎ yú

Visually it's hard to get a feel for what is going on here, so let me explain. The rectangular block shaped things are a sort of rice noodle called nian gao (年糕）, they remind me of rice dumplings. There are also bits of baby octopus, some peppers, scallions and a few other minor ingredients. The whole dish is cooked in a thick sweet brown sauce reminiscent of terriyaki sauce.

It's classic Shanghai style cooking. The rice noodles, the seafood, and the thick sweet brown sauce are all commonly associated with Shanghai style food. The combination works very well together, the sweetness of the sauce is counterbalanced by the thick noodles which also provide some unique texture while the octopus adds that seafood flavor and a meaty texture.

A real surprise find for me and I'll be searching out dishes of this nature in the future. I'd like to find more options with those rice noodles and I'm always a sucker for something sweet.