【Seafood Love Notes】The Beauty of Black Fish in the Lunar December

Approach: A gourmet author visited these places: Shanghai Yu Garden. Published on 2020-01-22 13:55. [...]

Approach: A gourmet author visited these places: Shanghai Yu Garden. Published on 2020-01-22 13:55. [Mylopharyngodon piceus] Black fish.

Foreigners often say that girls named after food are not serious, such as pear, apple, cherry, and so on. Similarly, fish named after food are not serious either, like snail black fish.

“In the first month, the perch with cauliflower; in the second month, the knife fish; in the third month, the mandarin fish; in April, the shad; in May, the white fish; in June, the bream; in July, the eel; in August, the carp; in September, the crucian carp; in October, the grass carp; in November, the silver carp; in December, the black fish…” Among freshwater fish, I have the least connection with black fish.

Upon closer examination, if black fish were a person, it would be the cunning type. It usually dwells in the middle and lower layers of the water, feeling the snails, bullying the clams, mussels, and other creatures that don’t move much, and it also accepts small fish, shrimp, and insect larvae; in short, it survives on the weak, sick, and young in the water.

When it comes to courtship, the male fish starts to act like a big shot, with white granular pearl-like stars growing on its head and pectoral fins, as if wearing diamonds. Black fish doesn’t even need to be so secretive; it’s not very tasty when directly fried, with a taste of moss. It’s a protective color, but I think it’s a protective flavor.

Last year, the founder of Grandma’s Home, Uncle Wu (Wu Guoping), took me to Anji Reservoir to eat fish. The black fish is the most delicious in the twelfth lunar month. Fishermen told me, “The wild black fish in the reservoir are different every day, with fish of varying sizes upstream and downstream; the upstream fish are smaller, and the downstream fish are larger. The larger ones weigh over 30 pounds, but the largest snail black fish can weigh up to 180 pounds. The winter pickled snail black fish is rare because the locals don’t eat pickled fish; it’s the people from Shaoxing who eat it.”

I started eating black fish with Shaoxing wine lees black fish. The seemingly stiff fish body, due to the favor of Hua Diao and sugar, is fully soaked with sauce in the gaps of the fish meat, making it plump and juicy. Black fish is the most tender and fatty in winter, and the cold climate is suitable for pickling. I heard from the elders at home that those who have old black fish brine all run restaurants. For home use, salt is used for pickling, and it must not be washed with raw water. A few holes are poked with a bamboo stick on the thick meat of the back to ensure that the salt penetrates as well as the thin belly area. The traditional formula used to add nitrate to enhance the aroma, but now, for health reasons, it is gradually becoming less common.

The delicate fish flakes turn into delicious dandelions as soon as they enter the mouth and chew, and a gentle bite turns into a girl’s feeling. Ah, I didn’t understand enough before. Black fish is just deliciously low-key and needs a master’s guidance. The old recipes from the Ming and Qing dynasties have already proven it, and a fragrant evidence is the smoked fish!

“Diao Ding Ji” writes: “Use live black fish cut into large pieces, soak them in oil, add soy sauce, vinegar, and steam them with oil. Once cooked, quickly remove from the pot. This dish is most famous at the Wuliu Residence on West Lake in Hangzhou.” Although more and more high-end restaurants now use the middle thin slices of pomfret because the meat is more abundant and juicy, smoked fish made with black fish is actually very suitable because its meat is relatively thick, making it possible to achieve a crispy outside and tender inside. The original thick smoked fish, along with the special mossy stone-like flavor of black fish combined with soy sauce and sugar, creates a complex aftertaste that is irreplaceable.

The dish of smoked fish first became popular with the people of Suzhou. Peter Zhou (Zhou Hongbin), the general manager of Hangzhou Park Hyatt Hotel, has been a powerhouse in the high-end hotel industry for many years.

Approach: A food writer visited these places: Yu Garden in Shanghai. Published on 2020-01-22 13:55. [Mylopharyngodon piceus]. The black fish. Foreigners say that girls named after food are not serious, such asUpon closer examination, if it were a person, the black fish would be cunning and strategic. It usually inhabits the middle and lower layers of the water, touching snails, bullying clams, mussels, and other sedentary creatures, and is not picky about small fish, shrimp, and insect larvae; it basically feeds on the weak and vulnerable in the water. When it’s time to mate, the male fish starts to play the role of a rich man, with white granular pearl-like stars growing on its head and pectoral fins, as if adorned with diamonds.

Black fish doesn’t even need to be so secretive; it can be directly cooked, but it’s not very tasty, with a mossy flavor. It’s a protective color, but I think it’s a protective taste. Last year, the founder of Grandma’s House, Uncle Wu (Wu Guoping), took me to Anji Reservoir to eat fish. The plump season for black fish is in the twelfth lunar month. Fishermen told me, ‘Wild black fish, the fish caught in the reservoir every day is different, the size of the fish upstream and downstream varies, the upstream fish are smaller, and the downstream fish are larger. The larger ones weigh over 30 pounds, but the largest snail black fish can weigh up to 180 pounds. The winter pickled snail black fish is rare because the pickled fish is not eaten by the locals, but by people from Shaoxing.’

I started eating black fish with Shaoxing wine-soaked black fish. The stiff fish body, due to the favor of Hua Diao and sugar, is fully soaked with sauce in the gaps of the fish meat, making it plump and juicy. Winter black fish is the most tender and succulent, and the cold climate is suitable for pickling. I heard from the elders at home that those who have old black fish brine have all opened restaurants. The common household method is to salt it, without washing with raw water, and to poke a few holes in the thick meat on the back with a bamboo stick to allow the salt to penetrate evenly. The traditional recipe requires the addition of nitrate to enhance the aroma, but it has gradually decreased due to health reasons. The delicate fish flakes turn into delicious dandelions as soon as they enter the mouth and are chewed, and the light bite of an elegant woman turns into the feeling of a young girl. Ah, I didn’t understand enough before. Black fish, it’s just deliciously low-key and needs a master’s guidance. The old recipes from the Ming and Qing dynasties have already proven it, and a fragrant evidence is smoked fish! ‘In the collection of 调味鼎’, it is written: ‘Use live black fish cut into large pieces, soak them in oil, add sauce, vinegar, and steam them with oil, and quickly remove the pot when they are cooked.’

This item is most famous at Wuliu Ju on Hangzhou’s West Lake. Nowadays, although more and more high-end restaurants start to use the middle section of pomfret for smoked fish due to its richer flesh and it is more delicate and juicy. However, herring is actually very suitable for making smoked fish because it has relatively thick flesh, so it is possible to achieve a crispy exterior and tender interior. The thickness of the original smoked fish, as well as the special fragrance of herring like mossy flagstones and the complex aftertaste after combining with soy sauce and sugar cannot be replaced. This dish of smoked fish first became popular among Suzhou people.

Peter Zhou (Zhou Hongbin), the general manager of Park Hyatt Hangzhou, has been in the high-end hotel industry for many years. His decision to enter the catering industry stems from helping his mother cook Suzhou dishes at home when he was young: ‘I remember when I was sixteen, I cooked a dinner for forty or fifty people. I did it by looking at a book. There was a dish that was Suzhou-style smoked fish. Smoked fish is made by frying herring and then soaking it in soy sauce for a longer time (putting ginger and scallions in the soy sauce juice), soaking for another two hours, then frying in high-temperature oil. After that, make a sauce with soy sauce and sugar, and then put the fried fish back in to soak and let the flavor permeate the fish.’

‘Smoked fish is a very characteristic Jiangnan dish. Suzhou people are good at making this dish. It is slightly sweet and a little bit of vinegar is added. The flavor profile is sweet and with a soy sauce aroma. Probably in the Jiangnan area around the Yangtze River Delta, there are relatively few types of fish. In addition to whitebait, crucian carp, and yellow catfish, the more common ones in lakes are carp. In the Yangtze River, there are long-tailed anchovy, puffer fish, or other fish species. TheyHis skill lies in controlling the heat. Herring tail dish is actually an old dish. To put it simply, it is braised herring tail. However, generally, chefs dare not take old dishes as their signature dishes.

Cooking is like falling in love. With ordinary skills, it is easy to deceive one girl, but it is difficult to deceive a bunch of girls. Not to mention making people from 8 to 80 years old all like it!

The classic way of making Suzhou smoked fish requires thickening. The thickening sauce is thick but not viscous, and the fish is flavorful and not dry. The key is also the balance between saltiness and sweetness. Just like a lady from a good family, neither heavy makeup nor light makeup is appropriate. One more bit of cinnabar is frivolous, and one less bit of powder is impolite. Only being just right is proper.

In direct confrontation with the picky palates of diners, in addition to controlling the heat, the selection of fish is also crucial.

Pectoral fin dishes are found in both Shanghai and Hangzhou, but different fish are used. Nowadays, grass carp and silver carp may be used for braised pectoral fin. Strangely, the charm of thickening with starch in braising can only be balanced by the wildness of black carp.

I remember the unforgettable ones are not only the black carp pectoral fin in a high-end restaurant in Shanghai, but also the one in Dongqian Lake, Ningbo.

A new official takes on three fires. A new chef takes on more than that. Otherwise, the beloved black carp won’t be cooked well.

When Master Zhang Shaohua started working by Dongqian Lake, he heard that the black carp pectoral fin is one of the four treasures of Dongqian Lake. His restaurant also has this dish. For the sake of his idol image, he must perform at a different level.

Many chefs under him lived by Dongqian Lake at that time. He used his skills of flirting with girls, inviting them to meals and solving their life and emotional problems, asking them to take him fishing. As expected, the young men by Dongqian Lake are all masters at catching fish. Probably they did a lot of ‘bad things’ in the limelight when they were young. Their skills are so high that they are almost as good as those who catch wild hares by listening for sounds.

I said, isn’t it all earthy smell? ‘The fish caught by oneself will naturally have an earthy smell. It needs to be starved for a few days before making pectoral fin dish. Because the bottom of Dongqian Lake is muddy. When tasting, I felt that the meat is so thick. Adjustments need to be made in the cooking method.’

‘The black carp here has thick meat and more materials can be taken, so the cooking time is also longer. Boil it over high heat and then simmer over low heat until it is fully flavored. Finally, collect the juice over medium heat. In terms of seasoning, add rice vinegar to enhance the freshness. This is different from the scallion oil cooking method in Hangzhou. I now formulate the braised sauce into a recipe to ensure consistent taste for each dish.’

Like Master Zhang, my favorite black carp dishes are smoked fish, dried black carp, and black carp pectoral fin.

When I was young, I often couldn’t eat rice when eating smoked fish because it is sweet and most suitable for eating alone. In the morning, to finish soaked rice, either rely on deep-fried small hairtail or dried black carp.

Dried black carp was often eaten by people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang when they were young. This fish is very cheap and every family will use it to make salted fish. When salting, the internal organs and blood of the fish are not thrown away. Instead, a lot of salt is mixed together and then rubbed on the fish for salting and air-drying. The salted fish meat steams out with a faintly ambiguous red color and tastes delicious. It is a good dish for drinking and having meals. Putting the cooled dried black carp in soaked rice warms it up, and the rising temperature is like a second spring.

Recently, my sister Yu Xiaoqin is making ‘The Marine World in the Forbidden City’. This time, let the Forbidden City and Yu Garden accompany you in an intertwined play.

‘Illustrated Handbook of Marine Creatures’ was Emperor Qianlong’s bedside book. The author is Nie Huang, a painter in the Qing Dynasty. He visited rivers, lakes and seas, looking for marine creatures. Over decades, he visited local fishermen and depicted marine creatures in fish markets. Finally, through practice and imagination, he completed ‘Illustrated Handbook of Marine Creatures’.

Xiaoqin, the mother of the China NASA Exhibition, has taken this exhibition to outer space! SheHowever, like a giant cat on earth, after feasting on the fresh and damp sea breeze seasonally, I discovered that the migration, mating, and spawning of marine life are closely related to delicacies.

There is too much imagination loaded with lustful saliva in the ancient descriptions of marine life, and of course, I am not a biologist. It is a great fortune to be a taster of life. I can only organize meaningful fragments from the interesting people I have eaten, heard, and seen, and the memorable meals.

Looking at the history of aquatic creatures and my relationship with them, perhaps the taste is not an issue. To bring delicacies closer, I am willing to include some freshwater fish familiar to inland people. Fish, like humans, may evolve into another species when living in a different environment, such as sea crucian carp and crucian carp. There are also migratory fish like salmon that must experience both fresh and salt waters to find true love. The ocean and rivers and lakes are not that far apart.

I cannot help but blush and, with a bloated belly, write this book with great interest, hoping that overfishing will not happen. I still remember Joe Hisaishi’s excitement when he recorded ‘gurgling’ in the Arctic glacier, saying it was the purest music in the world. The song Joe Hisaishi gave to Hayao Miyazaki has also been used as background music for the Ghibli Museum.

WAVE – HIRASAI Jō LP album cover, good environment, good season, good ingredients, good chefs, every ‘good’ they bring us should be cherished with patience, just as we revere love. Love with moderation lasts long.

In the spring of 2020, ‘Love Notes on Haicuo’ will be published by Shanghai Sanlian, hoping to bring freshness to you.

Goddess asks you what fish you like to eat? ‘I want to take you to wander, will you go with me to the ends of the earth?’ – ‘The Sea and the Shoes’

Food Bless You!

Consultant of the China International Food Expo, Producer of ‘God-like Dining Table’