"West Lake Vinegar Fish" is one of Hangzhou's famous dishes. Today, the most famous restaurant for cooking West Lake vinegar fish is Louwailou, a century old restaurant at the southern foot of Gushan Mountain.

Legend of "West Lake Vinegar Fish"

The West Lake Vinegar Fish is also called "Uncle and Sister in law pass treasure". It is said that in ancient times, there were two brothers surnamed Song. They were knowledgeable and knowledgeable. They lived in seclusion in the West Lake to fish for a living. The local villain, Senior Official Zhao, once visited the lake and met a woman who was washing gauze beside the lake. Seeing her beautiful appearance, he wanted to occupy her. As soon as they sent someone to inquire, it turned out that the woman was brother Song's wife, so they used conspiracy to kill brother Song. The invasion of evil forces made the Song family's uncle and sister-in-law very angry. They went to the government together to complain, hoping to show their righteousness and punish the villain. They didn't know that the government at that time was angry with the evil forces. Instead of accepting their complaints, they beat them and drove them out of the government. After returning home, Sister Song asked her younger brother to pack up his bags and flee, so as to avoid the villain following and coming to revenge. Before leaving, my sister-in-law cooked a bowl of fish with sugar and vinegar in a strange way. Brother Song asked his sister-in-law: Why is the fish so hot today? The sister-in-law said, "Fish is sweet and sour. I want you to go out this time. Don't forget how your brother died. If your life is sweet, don't forget the bitterness of people being bullied, and don't forget the bitterness of your sister-in-law's hatred.". The younger brother was very excited. He ate the fish and left with his sister-in-law in mind. Later, the younger brother Song returned to Hangzhou after he gained fame, avenged his brother's death and punished the villain. But by this time, Sister Song had already run away and could not find her. Once, brother Song went out to a banquet and ate a dish that tasted like his sister-in-law cooked when he left home. He quickly asked who cooked it, and then he knew it was his sister-in-law's masterpiece. It turns out that since he left, his sister-in-law hid her name in order to avoid being pestered by villains and worked as a cook in the official family. The younger brother Song was very happy to find his sister-in-law, so he resigned from his official position, took her home, and began to live as a fisherman again.

In ancient times, when someone ate this dish, he was very poetic. He wrote a poem on the wall of the restaurant: "I came drunk with my skirts and clogs. I went upstairs in the shadow of the green sun. How many lake boats in front of the door came back half from the Three Pools and the Moon. Why go back to find Zhang Hanba (known as the West Lake vinegar fish is better than the delicious Songjiang perch)? The fish taste of the West Lake is beautiful, but I know you have such a harmonious hand, and I know that Song sister-in-law didn't have it in those days." The last sentence of the poem refers to the creation legend of "West Lake Vinegar Fish".

Raw materials:

One grass carp (about 700g)

Shaoxing Wine 25ml

Soy sauce 75ml

Ginger 2.5 g

White sugar 60g

Wet starch 50g

Rice vinegar 50ml

Right amount of pepper

Preparation method:

1. Keep the grass carp hungry for one or two days, so as to promote the excretion of grass and soil flavor, make the fish firm, and kill and wash them before cooking.

2. Cut the body of the fish from the tail into two pieces, female and male, and cut off the teeth. On the male piece of the fish, from 4.5 cm away from the gill flap, bevel a knife every 4.5 cm or so, and batch a total of five knives. When batch the third knife, cut it 0.5 cm behind the lumbar fin, so that the fish can be divided into two sections for cooking. Cut a long knife obliquely towards the abdomen at the thick ridge of the male section, so as not to damage the fish skin.

3. Put 1000ml of clear water in the wok, boil it with high heat, first put the first half of the male slice, then connect the fish tail segment to it, then put the male slice and the female slice together, align the fish head, put the fish skin up, and cover the lid of the wok. When the water in the pan boils again, open the lid, skim the foam, rotate the frying pan, continue to cook for about three minutes with the hot fire, and gently pierce the lower part of the male jaw of the fish with chopsticks. If it can be pierced, it will be cooked. Leave 250ml of soup in the pot, add soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and ginger, remove the fish, put it on the plate, put the skin of the fish on the plate, put the two backs of the fish together into fish tail segments and male pieces, and drain the soup.

4. Add white sugar, rice vinegar and wet starch into the original soup in the pot, mix the sauce evenly, push it with a spoon to form a thick sauce, and pour it all over the fish. Bring pepper with you.