Jingxian Dried Qin Fish 泾县琴鱼干

Jingxian Dried Qin Fish (泾县琴鱼干) is made from qin fish (琴鱼), a tiny fish of the Qinxi River (琴溪) in Qinxi Township (琴溪镇), Jingxian County (泾县), Xuancheng (宣城), Anhui. The county government calls the dried fish a specialty found only in Jingxian. It is less a dish than a drink: most of it is steeped in boiling water like tea, so it is also known as qin fish tea (琴鱼茶).

Ingredients

Qin fish grow no longer than one cun (寸), a little over 3 cm. They keep deep in cracks between rocks and show themselves for only ten days or so around the Qingming festival (清明) in early April, which is the main fishing season. Local fishermen take them in the Qinxi River with bamboo baskets.

How it is made

The fresh fish go into boiling salted water with fennel, tea leaves and sugar, which cooks them, and are then dried over a charcoal fire. The finished fish are golden in colour and crisp.

How it is eaten

The dried fish are put in a cup and boiling water is poured over them. They drift up and down as if swimming, instead of sinking. After drinking the liquid, people eat the fish themselves, which taste savoury, fragrant, salty and sweet. The dried fish are also eaten with meals and with tea, and given as gifts.

Where it comes from

A local legend tells of a hermit named Qin Gao (琴高) who made elixirs in the hills and tipped the dregs into the stream, where they turned into little fish; the fish, the stream and the terrace at the foot of the hill all took his name. The county page dates him to the Jin dynasty, while the Anhui Daily group report calls him a Han dynasty hermit. The Anhui Daily group report describes Qinxi Township as the 'home of the qin fish' (琴鱼之乡), and qin fish were sent to the imperial court as tribute every year from the Song dynasty on. The Xuancheng government's intangible cultural heritage section lists the technique for making dried qin fish (琴鱼干制作技艺) among its city-level items.