Chengjiang Copper Pot Fish 澄江铜锅鱼

Chengjiang Copper Pot Fish (澄江铜锅鱼) is fish simmered in a copper pot, cooked by the fishing families around Fuxian Lake (抚仙湖) and Xingyun Lake (星云湖) in Chengjiang (澄江), Yuxi (玉溪). The Chengjiang government describes copper-pot fish cooking (铜锅煮鱼) as a method the lakeside fishermen worked out over long years of fishing and daily life, and one that has become the main carrier of Fuxian Lake's fishing culture.

How it is made

The cleaned fish goes into a copper pot filled with water from Fuxian Lake, set over a wood-fired stove. Only three seasonings are added: spring onion, ginger and salt. The pot is brought to the boil over a fierce fire and then simmered slowly, and the Yunnan Daily Press Group's travel site Wenlv Toutiao (文旅头条) names live fish cooked in the lake's own water as the ideal.

Flavour and texture

The Chengjiang government notes that the broth comes out clear and clean-coloured and keeps the fish's own taste, fresh and sweet. The flesh is described as fine-grained but with some chew, with pieces of ginger and spring onion floating on a broth dotted with oil.

How it is eaten

The fish is eaten with a 'Mingxing dip' (明星蘸水) made by frying scorched chilli (糊辣椒), chopped spring onion, ginger and garlic in sesame oil, which gives a numbing, hot and savoury dip, and with pickled vegetables that the local fishermen make themselves. Its usual partner on the table is copper-pot potato rice (铜锅洋芋饭). A saying around Fuxian Lake holds that there is no banquet without fish, and almost every fishing household there can cook copper-pot fish. Xinhua reports that a later variation, stone-pot fish (石锅鱼), cooked with steam, grew out of it.

Where it comes from

The Chengjiang government traces the method to the fishermen's inheritance of ancient Dian (古滇) culture. In 2018 the county called in provincial, city and county experts to review its application to put copper-pot fish cooking on Yunnan's provincial intangible cultural heritage list.