Hanshan Salt-Cured Bream 含山封扁鱼

Hanshan Salt-Cured Bream (含山封扁鱼) is a whole bream (鳊鱼) from Hanshan County (含山县) in Ma'anshan (马鞍山), Anhui, cured in brine, stuffed with seasoned pork and left to dry naturally in the air. Xinhua describes it as a folk food made by hand in Hanshan and passed down through six generations over more than 120 years.

How it is made

According to Xinhua, the fish is opened with a cut of about 10 cm at the neck, gutted and washed. It is then soaked in a mature brine (老卤); the curing follows a rule of 'three rubs and two kneads' (三搓二揉), and the fish usually stays in the brine for two to three days. After the brine has drained out of the belly, seasoned pork is packed into the cavity, and the fish is left to dry naturally for five to seven days. An Anhui party-media photo from 9 December 2019 shows workers of a Hanshan farmers' cooperative laying the fish out to dry in fine weather.

Flavour and texture

The dish is known by the phrase 'fish and meat both fresh, the flat fish not flat' (鱼肉双鲜，扁鱼不扁). It is usually steamed plain. Xinhua describes the flesh as fine and tender, mellow and savoury, with a strong fish aroma.

Where it comes from

The Hanshan stuffed bream making technique (含山封扁鱼制作技艺), put forward by Hanshan County, entered Anhui's fifth list of provincial intangible cultural heritage, published in 2017. In 2022 the dish was also chosen for Ma'anshan in the provincial 'Anhui good flavours, famous snacks of a hundred counties' (皖美好味道·百县名小吃) selection.