A meal of Jing-Su cuisine [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Yang Yong]

Nanjing cuisine is a branch of the Huai-Yang cooking school, which is historically called Jing-Su cuisine. Of the multitudinous cuisine schools in China, Jng-Su cuisine is knowned for careful selection of materials, prominence of the main ingredient, attractiveness of colors, and different dishes in different seasons.

The cooks are especially good at the cooking methods of simmering, stewing and fork roasting. Many dishes are hard in appearance but soft in essence. The broth is thick with pure fragrance; the meat looks fat but not greasy, soft and boneless.