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Home 禄 City specials 禄 Hangzhou

Divine dishes to cure a wish for fish

By Wu Huixin | July 3, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

HANGZHOU residents love freshwater fish. With numerous rivers, creeks and, of course, West Lake, there is no shortage of fish in local wet markets.

The most popular species are the “four home fish” — grass carp, black carp, chub and big head carp. Residents favor these species as they grow fast, taste tender and don’t cost too much.

Restaurant chefs and home cooks have recipes aplenty for fish. Some are spicy, others are sweet, while some prefer sour.

Shanghai Daily recommends five famous fish dishes and where to find them in Hangzhou.

Fried and baked fish

Chongqing people have some serious skills when it comes to cooking fish.

The fish is marinated with various seasonings for 15 minutes, then wrapped in starch and fried in oil until it turns yellow. Next, put the fish in a baking dish and top with mushrooms, tomato and potato slices and a layer of butter. Chefs then put it in the oven to bake.

Wanzhou, an area of Chongqing, claims fame for this tasty dish. Nowadays, many Wanzhou natives move to other cities around the country and open restaurants. They usually serve this savory dish as a specialty.

Where to eat:

• Lu Yu

Address: 124 Pinghai Rd

Tel: (0571) 8763-2588

• Shu Shan Kao Yu

Address: No. 189, Xiangjisi Lane

Tel: (0571) 8509-1214

Fish head soup with pancake

It is featured in an episode of the popular television documentary “A Bite of China” as a signature dish of northeastern China (including Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces) cuisine. The fish head and pork is stewed in broth with garlic, shallots and ginger. The thin pancakes are either dipped into the soup or stuffed with some meat.

Where to eat:

• 787 Dream Restaurant

Address: 215 Zhonghe Rd

Tel: (0571) 2800-3530

• Northeast Hometown

Address: No. 25-26, Xinyi Lane

Tel: (0571) 8826-9706

Fish filet boiled in chili oil

It is said the dish was created by a Sichuan native who dwelled along the Jiangling River and earned a living by catching grass carp.

One day when friends dropped by, the man gutted a fish and boiled the meat in chili oil, which turned out tasty and tender.

The pungent dish was quickly favored by Sichuan and Chongqing natives because the spicy chili stimulates the intestinal tract and helps them resist the city’s humid and damp weather.

Thereafter, the dish became popular in Zhejiang and Sichuan. However, it was not until the late 1980s when a chef from Sichuan won a nationwide cooking contest with the dish that it began to spread around the country.

Today it is considered a signature dish in Sichuan cuisine. The key step is cooking the fish in the peppery chili oil made of pimiento, paprika, pepper, garlic and ginger. The flesh remains tender and tasty when boiled in the chili oil.

Where to eat:

• Fei Teng Yu Xiang

Address: 18 Yan’an Rd. S.

Tel: (0571) 8791-8777

• Hong Jing Yu

Address: 535 Wensan Rd

Tel: (0571) 8893-1777

Fish filet stewed with pickled vegetable

This dish originated in Chongqing, but is cooked in homes across China.

Fishermen combined fresh fish one day with pickled vegetables to create this popular dish.

The fish is boiled in a clear soup with chopped pickled vegetables. Since it is often prepared without chilies, many people don’t realize it originated in Chongqing.

Cooking methods vary according to different provinces, but the most common concoction is to marinate the fish and then stew the filets with green peppers and pickled vegetables.

Where to eat:

• Ba Guo Bu Yi

Address: 32 Jiefang Rd

Tel: (0571) 8704-8888

• Ding Ge Hei Yu Guan

Address: 691 Moganshan Rd

Tel: (0571) 2817-6969

West Lake vinegar fish

West Lake vinegar fish appeared in an episode of the popular television documentary “A Bite of China” as one of the most well-known dishes from Zhejiang Province. Glazed with a sweet vinegar sauce, the fish is sweet, sour and very tender.

To get rid of the smell of mud, a grass carp is kept hungry in clear water for one to two days before cooking.

It is cut in half from head to tail but not separated, then delicately poached. It is topped with a sharp sweet and sour, vinegar-based sauce.

In Hangzhou, Lou Wai Lou is the place to go for this fish dish. It represents the highest level of Hangzhou cuisine and was featured in the documentary.

Where to eat:

• Lou Wai Lou

Address: 30 Gushan Rd

Tel: (0571) 8796-9682

• Wei Zhuang

Address: 10-12 Yanggong Causeway

Tel: (0571) 8797-0568

Hangzhou
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