A Niáng’s Shanghainese Russian Borscht with Beef

KATHY: I first visited Shanghai, the city my parents and grandparents are from, when I was in middle school. Prior to that, I always loved listening to my a niáng describe her love for the city and everything she missed about her home, which she called the Paris of the East. She painted a picture of romance: stunning architecture along the Bund (Wàitān), the waterfront area of the historic old town, and jazz clubs inside glitzy hotels.

As a kid, I thought my a niáng