Ship dishes are delicacies made on board and enjoyed on board. Boat dishes have dual characteristics of tourism and food, and are extremely popular in Wuxi, Suzhou, Jiaxing and other places in the Jiangnan water towns.

Nanhu boat dishes originate from the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. After continuous improvement by generations of boat girls in Nanhu, Jiaxing, it has become a banquet dish with its own characteristics. It is a major cuisine in Hebang cuisine and is unique in the history of Jiaxing cooking. . Tracing back to history, Nanhu boat dishes were famous during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Cruise ships at that time generally had kitchens in the back cabins. The boat ladies played the roles of stir-frying, stewing, boiling, frying, and cooking in the small stern cabins. Special skills such as braising and braising are suitable for the "boat". Various delicacies are prepared and ready for guests to enjoy at any time.

Nanhu boat dishes are valued for their finesse. The raw materials mainly come from Nanhu’s specialty fresh food, such as fish, shrimp, crab, eel, etc., with special emphasis on fresh raw materials and cooking techniques. The items of the ship's dishes include: spiced squab, emerald crab bucket, honey-glazed fire recipe, and two fresh delicacies, etc. Many dishes are caught, killed, cooked and eaten fresh on the ship. They are delicious. Nanhu boat dishes also include shrimp, shrimp balls, crab powder, tendons, white fungus, lotus seeds, etc. The famous dishes include crab roe and shark fin, eight-treasure duck, fish maw, cold turtle skirt, ham, steamed pork with rice flour, etc.

Characteristics of boat dishes

On the boat, on the one hand, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains, and on the other hand, you can taste special dishes. You can see everywhere that "the painting boat is in front, the wine boat is behind, The boat banquet scene has a unique flavor, with the oars and poles moving in response to the current, and the meal being passed around with sound. There are many rivers and lakes in the south of the Yangtze River, so there are conditions for boat banquets using cruise ships as the carrier. Usually there is a painted boat in the front. Because it needs to be kept clean and does not have a stove, there is an additional sand flying boat behind the painted boat, which is specially used for cooking.