Wuhu Yangtze Knifefish 芜湖刀鱼

Flavour and texture

Knifefish has fine, tender flesh. The old saying in Wuhu was that it tastes best before the Qingming festival in early April, when the fish is large and thick-fleshed and its bones are still soft. Today it is mostly eaten after Qingming. Wuhu calls these later fish lao dao (老刀, "old knives"): the bones have hardened and the flesh has toughened, and frying them to be dipped in sauce suits them best.

How it is made

Boned knifefish is the method aimed at these post-Qingming fish: it is complicated, but rated the most refined of the ways Wuhu cooks knifefish, and it needs an experienced chef. With fine knife work the cook cuts along both sides of the fish from the tail towards the head and takes out the bones. The flesh is given a quick seasoning of spring onion and ginger juice, then the two sides are rolled up in opposite directions as far as the head and held with toothpicks. The shaped fish is fried golden and the toothpicks are removed.

The finished plate is crisp outside and tender inside, has a distinctive rolled shape and is easy to eat. It comes with three different sauces for dipping. Knifefish balls, salt-and-pepper knifefish and red-braised knifefish also turn up on the table now and then.

Where it comes from

In 2018 the Wuhu stretch of the Yangtze had a one-month special fishing period for knifefish from 27 April, under 192 city permits. None were issued in Wuwei County (无为县), whose waters had become part of a freshwater dolphin reserve where fishing is banned.