Monopterus albus is not only a delicious food in Suzhou, but also a unique flavor in the whole south of the Yangtze River. It is said that in the early years, there was a whole table of whole eel banquet in Nandi, and dozens of dishes were all dominated by eels, and they tasted completely different, but the most famous one was the oily eel paste. After the eel paste is made, it is put into the plate. When it is served, it is poured with hot oil, and you will hear the crackling in the plate. This is the reason for the "ringing oil". This dish is delicious when the winter bamboo shoots are crisp, tender and refreshing, and the eel segments are full of elasticity. The flavor of soy sauce and eel is mixed together, and then it is very rich in fragrance after the fragrance of pepper and garlic. It is absolutely wonderful to drink and eat.

You can see the oily eel paste in Huaiyang and Benbang time-honored brands in Beijing. However, although they are the same dish, due to the different traditions of restaurants, the taste is naturally not exactly the same. It can be said that each family has its own ingenious ways. Take Yuhuatai, Tongchunyuan and Delicious Zhai as examples. Yuhuatai participated in the first banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and has always adhered to the standard of Huaiyang cuisine, so its oily eel paste is impartial, moderate in taste and easy to be accepted by the public. Although the main theme of Tongchun Garden is Su Xibang, it has been deeply influenced by Shandong cuisine since it entered Beijing in 1931. There are more peppers in eel paste, which are spicy and have a thicker taste. The most different is Delicious Zhai, an old-fashioned Shanghai restaurant transferred to Beijing by Premier Zhou in 1958. According to the tradition of Shanghai local cuisine, eel paste naturally needs sugar, and its taste is sweet. Every time I eat its oily eel paste, I will think of the scene of soy sauce bottle and sugar jar with one hand, thick oil red sauce.