Wuning Stick Fish 武宁棍子鱼

Wuning Stick Fish (武宁棍子鱼) is a small freshwater fish from Wuning (武宁), in Jiujiang (九江), Jiangxi, which the Jiujiang city government lists among the city's local foods as a specialty dish of the Wuning lake area (武宁湖区), cooked either red-braised or as a spicy stew.

The fish

The Jiujiang city government's local-food listing, dated 2009, gives Wuning Stick Fish a second name, horse-head fish (马头鱼), and describes a small species with a large head, a flat snout, thick lips and one pair of barbels. Even the largest grow to only a little over 20 centimetres. It lives in the lower water layer of rivers and lakes and, although it eats both plant and animal matter, feeds mainly on animal food such as bottom-dwelling water creatures and larvae.

How it is made

The fish has a small body cavity and a short gut, and its innards make up only a small part of it; a popular saying has it that the fish has "only one gut" (只有一根肠). It is easy to clean, and a large share of the fish is edible. The city government names two ways of cooking it: red-braising (红烧), the Chinese method of simmering in soy sauce and sugar until the sauce darkens and reduces, and a spicy stew (辣烩).

Flavour and texture

The flesh is firm, with few intermuscular bones, and the Jiujiang government describes the flavour as fresh and savoury.