Yellow Croaker Soup with Pickled Greens 雪菜大汤黄鱼

Yellow Croaker Soup with Pickled Greens (雪菜大汤黄鱼) is a Ningbo (宁波) dish pairing yellow croaker with locally preserved xuelihong (雪里蕻) mustard greens. In an original Yongpai (甬派) report, chef Han Zhangwei (韩张伟) of Dongfuyuan (东福园) demonstrates a version with winter bamboo shoots.

A chef’s soup preparation

Han cleans and scores the fish, chops the preserved mustard stems, and blanches slices of winter bamboo shoot. Ginger and scallion are fried before the fish is lightly browned. He adds Shaoxing (绍兴) rice wine, briefly covers the pan, then adds water and simmers. Bamboo shoots and mustard stems follow once the broth becomes milky; a final boil and a little salt complete the dish.

Fish and generous broth

The reporters describe tender, smooth fish in plentiful broth, combining savoury fish flavour with the saltiness of the preserved greens. Ningbo’s heritage inventory independently names this traditional pairing of fresh yellow croaker and xianji (咸齑), the local preserved greens.