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Fish and shrimp recipes making a splash in city
By Xu Wenwen |
April 19, 2012, Thursday
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WATER has been described as "the lifeblood of Hangzhou," where West Lake and Grand Canal have provided food for generations of residents who have fished there over the centuries.
Fish, shrimp and other river food are always delicacies on Hangzhou resident's tables, and two traditional Hangzhou dishes that date back hundreds of years -- West Lake Vinegar Fish and Songsao Fish Soup - remain popular with tourists and local alike.
However, modern chefs in the city have come up with new recipes, often popularizing folk dishes, featuring Hangzhou's aquatic produce. Shanghai Daily checks out some old and new favorites.
West Lake Vinegar Fish
West Lake Vinegar Fish is one of the best-known Zhejiang Province dishes. Glazed with a sweet vinegar sauce, the fish is sweet, sour and very tender.
Before cooking, a grass carp is kept hungry in clear water for one to two days to rinse it well and get rid of the smell of mud. 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. This dish dates from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279), created by a woman, whose name is now lost, who was the wife of a man named Song. The family made a living fishing on West Lake.
However, a man named Zhao who was attracted to Song's wife killed Song. The widow and her brother-in-law protested to a local official, yet this achieved nothing as he was in collaboration with Zhao.
To avoid retaliation from Zhao, the younger Song fled, and before he left, Song's widow cooked the dish for him, with the sauce of sugar and vinegar to remind him that life is both sweet and sour.
In exile, young Song studied and worked hard and became an official who finally punished Zhao and found his sister-in-law, who had concealed her name and worked in other cities as a cook.
Song Sao Fish Soup
The main ingredient is usually a mandarin fish or perch, sometimes steamed before removing its skin and bones. It is then cooked with sliced ham, ginger, mushroom and bamboo shoots.
This is a clear, thick soup with many different textures -- soft fish meat, crispy bamboo shoots and tender mushrooms - providing a multitude of flavors and an overall salty and slightly sour taste.
There is also a story behind this dish. Once upon a time there lived a family in a thatched cottage on the bank of West Lake. The husband died young, leaving his wife Song - the same family name as in the previous tale - a widow and his 12-year-old younger brother in her care.
One day, the younger brother caught a cold, so Song made him fish soup, adding pepper, ginger and vinegar (all ingredients believed to cure cold). After taking one bowl of this delicious fish soup, the boy recovered.
Then one day an emperor sightseeing on the lake asked Song to serve lunch on his boat. The cold-curing fish soup she made was highly appreciated by the emperor, and gained renown nationwide.
Where to get the two fish dishes:
? Louwailou Restaurant
Address: 30 Gushan Road
Tel: (0571) 8796-9682
? Shanwaishan Restaurant
Address: 8 Yuquan Road
Tel: (0571) 8798-6621
? Grandma's Kitchen
There are more than 20 branches in Hangzhou and Shanghai, please check www.waipojia.com.cn to find the nearest outlet.
Fried Shrimp
This folk recipe has been popularized by local restaurant chain Old Man's Fried Shrimp, leading to it becoming a new Hangzhou favorite.
The dish is simply fried shrimp with sauce.
A good fried shrimp is supposed to feature fresh, sweet shrimp meat with a shell crispy enough to be swallowed.
Old Man's Fried Shrimp got its name because over a decade ago when a small eatery opened, it did not even have a name only some stickers writing specialties on its window, one of which was fried shrimp.
And as the owner and chef was a low-profile character whose name was not widely known, the eatery became known simply as Old Man's Fried Shrimp.
More than 10 years ago, when the restaurant had only three tables, people needed to book ahead or, more often than not, waited for hours.
And even now when the brand has six outlets around the city, many still have long queues forming at dinner time.
Some outlets in downtown:
Address: 43 Yaoyuansi Lane
Tel: (0571) 8780-2288
Address: 272 Shenglihe Food Street
Tel: (0571) 8803-1919
Address: 493 Wensan Road
Tel: (0571) 8897-9700
Fish, shrimp and other river food are always delicacies on Hangzhou resident's tables, and two traditional Hangzhou dishes that date back hundreds of years -- West Lake Vinegar Fish and Songsao Fish Soup - remain popular with tourists and local alike.
However, modern chefs in the city have come up with new recipes, often popularizing folk dishes, featuring Hangzhou's aquatic produce. Shanghai Daily checks out some old and new favorites.
West Lake Vinegar Fish
West Lake Vinegar Fish is one of the best-known Zhejiang Province dishes. Glazed with a sweet vinegar sauce, the fish is sweet, sour and very tender.
Before cooking, a grass carp is kept hungry in clear water for one to two days to rinse it well and get rid of the smell of mud. 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. This dish dates from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279), created by a woman, whose name is now lost, who was the wife of a man named Song. The family made a living fishing on West Lake.
However, a man named Zhao who was attracted to Song's wife killed Song. The widow and her brother-in-law protested to a local official, yet this achieved nothing as he was in collaboration with Zhao.
To avoid retaliation from Zhao, the younger Song fled, and before he left, Song's widow cooked the dish for him, with the sauce of sugar and vinegar to remind him that life is both sweet and sour.
In exile, young Song studied and worked hard and became an official who finally punished Zhao and found his sister-in-law, who had concealed her name and worked in other cities as a cook.
Song Sao Fish Soup
The main ingredient is usually a mandarin fish or perch, sometimes steamed before removing its skin and bones. It is then cooked with sliced ham, ginger, mushroom and bamboo shoots.
This is a clear, thick soup with many different textures -- soft fish meat, crispy bamboo shoots and tender mushrooms - providing a multitude of flavors and an overall salty and slightly sour taste.
There is also a story behind this dish. Once upon a time there lived a family in a thatched cottage on the bank of West Lake. The husband died young, leaving his wife Song - the same family name as in the previous tale - a widow and his 12-year-old younger brother in her care.
One day, the younger brother caught a cold, so Song made him fish soup, adding pepper, ginger and vinegar (all ingredients believed to cure cold). After taking one bowl of this delicious fish soup, the boy recovered.
Then one day an emperor sightseeing on the lake asked Song to serve lunch on his boat. The cold-curing fish soup she made was highly appreciated by the emperor, and gained renown nationwide.
Where to get the two fish dishes:
? Louwailou Restaurant
Address: 30 Gushan Road
Tel: (0571) 8796-9682
? Shanwaishan Restaurant
Address: 8 Yuquan Road
Tel: (0571) 8798-6621
? Grandma's Kitchen
There are more than 20 branches in Hangzhou and Shanghai, please check www.waipojia.com.cn to find the nearest outlet.
Fried Shrimp
This folk recipe has been popularized by local restaurant chain Old Man's Fried Shrimp, leading to it becoming a new Hangzhou favorite.
The dish is simply fried shrimp with sauce.
A good fried shrimp is supposed to feature fresh, sweet shrimp meat with a shell crispy enough to be swallowed.
Old Man's Fried Shrimp got its name because over a decade ago when a small eatery opened, it did not even have a name only some stickers writing specialties on its window, one of which was fried shrimp.
And as the owner and chef was a low-profile character whose name was not widely known, the eatery became known simply as Old Man's Fried Shrimp.
More than 10 years ago, when the restaurant had only three tables, people needed to book ahead or, more often than not, waited for hours.
And even now when the brand has six outlets around the city, many still have long queues forming at dinner time.
Some outlets in downtown:
Address: 43 Yaoyuansi Lane
Tel: (0571) 8780-2288
Address: 272 Shenglihe Food Street
Tel: (0571) 8803-1919
Address: 493 Wensan Road
Tel: (0571) 8897-9700
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