Jar-Fermented Sour Fish 酸酢鱼

Jar-Fermented Sour Fish (酸酢鱼) is a Zhangjiajie (张家界) food associated with Tujia (土家族) and Miao (苗族) communities. Small fresh fish are coated in salted rice flour and left in a vegetable-pickling jar before being fried.

Rice flour and a jar cure

The fish are gutted and washed first. A little salt is mixed evenly into the rice flour, which coats the fish before they go into the jar. Wulingyuan News (武陵源新闻网) describes a three-to-five-day cure, until the fish acquire a sour taste. They are then removed and fried in tea-seed oil or another vegetable oil, turning golden and developing a sour, fragrant flavour.

A dish for guests

Wulingyuan News presents the fish as a hospitality dish among the local minority communities: households reserve it for visiting guests rather than routinely eating it themselves.