Tongli's catering culture has typical Jiangnan characteristics. The most famous ones are Zhuangyuan's hoof, shrimps in cakes, three-shredded spring rolls, sesame oil eel paste, and famous waterside dishes made from river freshness such as white fish, sea bass, mandarin fish, and soft-shell turtle.

Aquatic plants such as water bamboo, celery, water shield, water chestnut, lotus root, truncatula, etc. all have unique local characteristics.

In terms of snacks, there are sock-soled cakes, mince cakes, Cibao cakes, green dumplings, Min cakes, lard rice cakes, chicken rice cakes, big meat steamed buns, fermented rice cakes, malt cakes, small smoked fish, etc.

Although Zhuangyuan's Hoof is not unique to Tongli, the preparation method is very different from Tongli. As for the preparation method, it is a secret that has not been passed down.

When Tongli people entertain guests and friends, this dish must be on the table.

Residents from nearby villages and towns travel hundreds of miles to Tongli to buy this product, which also shows its popularity.

The pig's trotters, roasted with thick oily red sauce, are shiny red and soft, glutinous and sweet in the mouth but not greasy, leaving you with an endless aftertaste.

Qingtuanzi According to legend, Qingduanzi is made by pounding brome grass juice and glutinous rice together, so that the glutinous rice is soaked in the grass juice and becomes mud, turning it into a green color.

Use this to wrap the bean paste or jujube paste, then put the reed leaves on the bottom into the cage and steam it.

It is recorded in Ming Lang Ying's "Qi Xiu Lei Manu": "The ancients gathered tung poplar leaves and dyed the rice green to offer sacrifices when eating cold food. It is now transformed into green and white dumplings, which is why." There is also a legend.

Related to Dayu.

At that time, Dayu controlled floods for thirteen years and lived in the house without anyone. He used the method of channeling to make the three rivers flow into the sea. The water level of Taihu Lake dropped and the floods subsided, creating conditions for planting winter wheat. He was deeply loved by Suzhou people.

Tuisi Cake Taihu Three Whites Note, these are three dishes, including Taihu white fish, Taihu white shrimp and whitebait scrambled eggs.

They are all delivered early in the morning, cooked using authentic farmhouse methods, rich in nutrients, light and delicious.

Whitebait not only has the effect of conditioning and beautifying, but also tastes good, so it is worth trying.

Tongli Smoked Fish Smoked fish can be found everywhere, but Tongli Smoked Fish is unique, and local residents especially love this flavor.

Especially with its small bridges and flowing water, it is particularly pleasant to eat it.

The raw materials used in the grass chicken pot are all free-range chickens raised by local residents in Tongli in the countryside and grew up eating green grass, tender insects and rice.

The grass chicken is stewed with flat tips, wild fungi, etc. It is delicious and the chicken is tender.

Recommended place to eat: Tongli Mantianxing Hotel.

Jiuniang cake is a seasonal food in spring in the ancient town of Tongli.

It is a pancake made from fermented wine and flour, baked, and filled with sweet fillings.

Malt Cake Malt Cake has an inconspicuous appearance, but it is a traditional Soviet-style snack in Tongli Ancient Town. It is a local snack that people in Tongli make.

The cake is mainly made from rice flour mixed with an appropriate amount of malt powder and sage picked from the fields in the village.

Orange Cake Orange Cake is a traditional winter food among Suzhou-style pastries, with a history of more than 100 years.

In the past, this kind of pastry was specially used by Tongli people to entertain new guests or their sons-in-law.

The orange cake has even particles and a smooth texture, giving it a sweet, soft and waxy feeling in your mouth.

After eating, a faint scent of roses and oranges will be left in your mouth.

Jiuniangyuanzi Jiuniangyuanzi is a representative of rice culture. It looks crystal clear and has a smooth and elastic taste.

The method of making rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice is simple. Boil the water, add fermented glutinous rice, add sugar, then wait for the water to boil again, put the small dumplings you just made into the water, and wait until the dumplings float on the water one by one.

Already cooked.

Finally, make a thin layer of gravy before taking the dumplings out of the pan.

Min Cake Min Cake is a specialty of "Bentangzhai" in Minjiawan, Tongli. It is a famous traditional pastry with a history of more than 400 years. It is made by only one family, the Min family, and its business has been passed down from generation to generation, so it is called "Min Cake".

Min cake is made by kneading "Min cake grass" into rice flour as the skin, filling with red bean paste and walnut meat, and steaming it. It is a kind of green dumpling. It is dark green in color, bright and fine, oily but not greasy in the mouth, fragrant and smooth.

Nuo, with a unique Jiangnan farm flavor.

In the Qing Dynasty, Min cakes were listed as court tributes and were given to the Empress Dowager Cixi for tasting.

Huxian famous vegetable cake with shrimps: Mix egg whites, add rice noodles and shrimps, and boil oil in a pan for a while. It is bright in color, fragrant and delicious. You can also put it in a small box and eat it with tomatoes for a better taste.

Three-thread fish roll: Choose five or six kilograms of herring or grass carp, take the middle part of the female body, remove the belly and leave the skin, roll in shredded ham, shredded chicken, shredded fragrant rhus, add rice wine, chives and other condiments, and put it into the cage

Steam until cooked.

Its meat is tender, fragrant and delicious, with a unique flavor.

Sesame oil eel paste: Prepare with fried eel shreds, ham shreds, chicken shreds, shrimps, etc., add a little shredded ginger, ghee, minced garlic, and pour boiling meat oil over the noodles.

When serving, lightly sprinkle with pepper, the aroma is fragrant and delicious.

Gorgon fruit Gorgon fruit, which is the top product of Tongli local specialties. Gorgon fruit (commonly known as "chicken head rice") produced in Tongli Northwest Dang is known as "water ginseng".

According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica", Gorgon is mainly used to treat dampness, waist, spine and knee pain, tonify the middle, eliminate violent diseases, replenish essence and strengthen the will, make the ears and eyes bright, appetizer and gas, quench thirst, nourish the kidneys, treat urinary incontinence, etc.

It can be used as medicinal food. Soak it in water for half a day and cook it over a slow fire until it becomes crispy. It can be paired with red dates, lotus seeds and longan to make it more delicious.

On the second day of the second lunar month of the second lunar month, the custom of eating "waist-supporting cake" is spread in rural areas of Tongli.