Tofu Skin-Wrapped Yellow Croaker 腐皮包黄鱼

Tofu Skin-Wrapped Yellow Croaker (腐皮包黄鱼) is a Ningbo (宁波) dish of boned yellow croaker wrapped in tofu skin (腐皮) and fried in hot oil until golden. The China Overseas Chinese Education Network lists it among the ten famous dishes of Ningbo cuisine, also called Yong cuisine (甬帮菜), and Tide News, in its own count of Ningbo's ten famous dishes, names it as one of four yellow-croaker dishes, alongside yellow croaker soup with pickled mustard greens (雪菜大汤黄鱼).

How it is made

A culture article on the Sanya University (三亚学院) site describes the method: fresh large yellow croaker is boned, and fish that has been through cold storage is rejected; small pieces of the flesh are wrapped in fresh tofu skin from eastern Zhejiang and fried in hot oil until golden. China Ningbo Net adds that the wrapped pieces are fried twice, which is what makes them crisp outside and soft inside.

Flavour and texture

The tofu skin cracks audibly when bitten, while the croaker inside keeps its moisture and stays tender enough to melt in the mouth. The same article says the dish is best in the moment it leaves the wok and that it is eaten as a snack with drinks.

Where it comes from

The author of that article remembers it being sold at small stalls by market gates and lane entrances. The golden, crisp-skinned dish was also served at a tasting banquet of Ningbo food in Saint Petersburg in August 2016, where many of the ingredients were bought locally.