squirrel-mandarin-fish-(松鼠桂魚)-a
“Squirrel mandarin fish” is a well-known and delicious Jiangsu dish. It has a unique shape and golden color. The fish is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with a sweet and sour sauce. One bite is enough to make you want to eat it all; Strong and thick, it is a Suzhou festive delicacy during the New Year and other festivals.
This dish can be said to have a long history. There is a record of "squirrel fish" in "Diao Ding Ji" in the Qing Dynasty: "Take seasonal fish, remove the belly and bone, drag the egg yolk, fry yellow, and make it into a squirrel style. Burn it with oil and soy sauce." Seasonal fish should be seasonal spot Fish, also known as mandarin fish. This record is enough to prove that the current "squirrel mandarin fish" was developed based on "squirrel carp".
This “squirrel mandarin fish” made the "Matsuo Crane" restaurant famous at that time. According to legend, when Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River, he once visited Suzhou privately in civilian dress for a day. In March of Yangchun, the peach blossoms and willows are green, the birds are singing, and the flowers are fragrant, and people go out for an outing. There are many tourists inside and outside the city. Qianlong enjoyed several spring scenes with the people, feeling tired and hungry. He noticed that there was a Matsuo Crane restaurant on Guanqian Street, so he went in. It happened that the owner of “Matsuo Crane” was celebrating his mother's birthday, and the whole restaurant was very busy. Qianlong sat for a while, and finally a waiter came over. Seeing that Qianlong was wearing muddy cloth shoes, the waiter thought he was a farmer in the countryside, so he asked lazily: "Guest officer, what do you want to eat?" Qianlong generously ordered: "Choose whatever good you have."
The waiter thought to himself, seeing you dressed like this, do you also want to eat delicious food? "Can you afford it?" Thinking of this in his mind, he deliberately chose the cheapest dish, and served a bowl of clear soup with less water, less salt, less taste. When Qianlong saw it, he was dissatisfied with this dish, so he asked: "Is there no better dish in your restaurant?" The waiter replied impatiently: "No." At this moment, Qianlong suddenly saw another waiter came out of the kitchen carrying a delicious plate of brightly colored squirrel shape of fish. Qianlong pointed to the mandarin fish and asked the waiter to bring it up. The waiter asked arrogantly: "Squirrel mandarin fish", can you afford it? When Qianlong heard this, he was furious, and poured the bowl of vegetable soup on the boy's face.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and an old man in ordinary clothes came in, helped Qianlong to sit down, and spoke to him in a low voice. The noise caught the storekeeper’s attention, and he quickly apologized to Qianlong and the old man. At this time, the elder took out two pieces of silver from his pocket and asked the storekeeper to bring good dishes and wine immediately. The store owner saw that although these two people were dressed in ordinary clothes, but they showed extraordinary demeanor. Their generosity and calmness are not to be underestimated.
Before leaving, Qianlong asked the storekeeper how to cook the “squirrel mandarin fish?” and rewarded the storekeeper with some silver coins. The storekeeper of the restaurant was very happy. From then on, he put up a signboard in the shop saying, "Initiated by Qianlong, unique in Suzhou cuisine". Later, when Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River for the second and third time, he always stopped by "Matsuo Crane” restaurant and specially ordered to eat “squirrel mandarin fish”. Since then, the “squirrel mandarin fish” in Suzhou has become a legendary dish in the south of the Yangtze River, and this Suzhou dish had been passed down to this day.
So, the owner of "Matsuo Crane" quickly brought to the table previously prepared dishes for his own mother's birthday, including “exquisite squirrel fish", "crust rice dishes", "Expensive soup" and other gourmet food. The owner of the restaurant kept offering dishes to Qianlong and served him attentively. Qianlong saw the elegant posture of the “squirrel mandarin fish”, bright color, tender and crispy taste, with a subtle sweet and sour flavor, which made him feel that the taste here was more delicious than the dishes in the palace, and he was full of praise.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYD6SuTnD0Q
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English