Baiyangdian Stewed Mixed Fish 白洋淀炖杂鱼

How it is made

China News Service describes the dish as an iron-pot braise (铁锅炖鱼). The iron pot is heated before cool oil goes in. While the oil is still only warm, a few Sichuan peppercorns and star anise are fried for aroma, then streaky pork is stir-fried, followed by a handful of spring onion, ginger and garlic.

When the pork changes colour, fermented yellow-bean paste (黄酱) goes in, then a splash of vinegar, soy sauce and water. Only when the pot comes to the boil are the cleaned fish of different kinds added, and they are left to simmer slowly for some tens of minutes. Cornmeal cakes are stuck to the wall of the pot as it cooks: half of each cake soaks up the fish juices and the other half turns crisp.

Flavour

Chen Hewan (陈合湾), who has made Baiyangdian dishes for 36 years and runs a pot-fish restaurant in Anxin County (安新县) in the Xiong'an New Area (雄安新区), was taught by his master to cook it the old rural way, without complicated steps or many seasonings, so that the freshness of the fish comes through. Every Baiyangdian household makes braised fish and each family's version tastes different, but using little seasoning to bring out the fish is described as close to a common rule. Dongzi Li (冬子李), a Xiong'an food writer, credits the lake itself: its wide waters, dense waterweed and reed beds give the fish a tender, fresh taste with a hint of lotus and waterweed.

Where it comes from

The braise began as everyday food in fishing families. When lakeside households entertained guests, they traditionally braised a single kind of fish in a big pot, with carp the most prestigious choice. Now the small pot of mixed fish is increasingly popular locally.

Restaurants have changed the same way. Chen has seen fish braised in advance in big iron pots in the courtyard, for diners to choose from, give way to diners picking live fish by kind and size and having it braised in a small pot at the table, with vegetables and a staple cooked in the same pot. Dongzi Li counts braised fish among the best sellers in local restaurants, and Chen links its appeal partly to the auspicious meaning of fish, 'surplus every year' (年年有余).