What is qingtuan and where to eat it in Shanghai
Two stores offering traditional takes and one fit for more modern palates.
April 5 is Qingming Jie (清明节) or tomb sweeping festival, a day when the Chinese honor their dead by visiting their ancestors’ graves, clean the tombs, burn offerings, and light incense. The holiday is also associated with qingtuan (青团), a green dumpling that’s stuffed and steamed. It’s made of glutinous rice and the color comes from Chinese mugwort juice, and traditionally filled with red bean paste, but other regional varieties exist. In Shanghai, for example, there’s one with salted egg yolk and pork floss, and now there are modern flavors such as durian. If that’s your thing, here are three places around the city where you can try qingtuan.
Xing Hua Lou (杏花楼)
Xing Hua Lou is a Shanghai restaurant chain that’s been around for over a century. They have outlets all over town, but the original branch still stands on Fuzhou Road, near the Bund. They’re known for their salted egg yolk and pork floss qingtuan, which they make 120,000 of each day and people wait in line for up to three hours for it. But it’s worth it: “Fragrant and delicious,” wrote Dianping user Xiaohan55. It comes in a box of six for ¥50, limited to four boxes per person. Eat it hot.
2/F, 343 Fuzhou Road / 福州路343号二楼
Wangjiasha Dim Sum Shop 王家沙点心店
Wangjiasha is another old-school Shanghainese chain that’s popular for its dumplings. Qingtuan, naturally, is one of those draws, and they sell them with an array of fillings. One of the more popular is the mugwort bean paste qingtuan (艾叶豆沙青团), which has a “light grassy fragrance” and red bean paste that’s slightly sweet, wrote Dianping reviewer Xixishigexiaoshagua. Also try the salty malantou qingtuan (马兰头青团), a type of salted vegetable with dried bean curd and pine nuts. Both are ¥30 each for a box of six.
805 West Nanjing Road / 南京西路805号
Fields
Online grocer Fields is going off-piste with their take on qingtuan. The exterior is what you’d expect — glutinous rice flour dyed green with mugwort juice, but inside is filled with durian paste. Steam it for five minutes before serving, and you get a nourishing snack oozing durian goodness. Traditionally very wrong, but tastes so right. Box of four for ¥58.
Get it here.
