Dongsheng Crisp Grass Carp 东升脆肉鲩

Dongsheng Crisp Grass Carp (东升脆肉鲩) is grass carp raised in ponds in Dongsheng (东升), a former town now part of Xiaolan (小榄) in Zhongshan (中山), Guangdong, and, once grown, fed broad beans for a period, which makes its flesh firm and crisp. Under the name Zhongshan crisp grass carp (中山脆肉鲩) it became a national geographical indication product in 2008.

How it is made

The fish starts as ordinary grass carp. Grown fish are fed broad beans (蚕豆) for a time; the Zhongshan Archives (中山市档案馆) says they look no different afterwards, but the flesh changes greatly, becoming firm, crisp and full of flavour, with more protein than ordinary grass carp, most noticeably in the belly. Dongsheng worked with the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute (珠江水产研究所) on a series of Guangdong provincial standards for farming it.

How it is eaten

Zhongshan's culture and tourism bureau describes the meat as firm, clean-tasting and crisp, with a light fragrance, and says it stands up to long cooking without falling apart. The classic way to serve it is 'one fish, six flavours' (一鱼六味): sliced fish, fish balls, minced fish with yellow chives cooked in a hotpot, the belly steamed with soy sauce, the bones deep-fried, and the head and tail braised. The Dongsheng area of Xiaolan, where large crisp grass carp farms are spread out, holds a crisp grass carp food festival every year.

Where it comes from

The Zhongshan Archives records that crisp grass carp was first raised successfully in the 1970s by the Zhongshan County Changjiang Forest Farm, beside the Changjiang Reservoir (长江水库) southeast of the city centre and north of Wugui Mountain (五桂山), using the reservoir's spring water. In 1987 Dongsheng succeeded in raising it in fish ponds and gradually expanded farming to 8,000 mu (about 530 hectares). In 2006 the fisheries bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture named Dongsheng the 'home of Chinese crisp grass carp' (中国脆肉鲩之乡), and in 2020 'Zhongshan Dongsheng crisp grass carp' entered the national list of famous, special, quality and new agricultural products.