Half-Dried Fried Fish 熏鱼

Half-Dried Fried Fish (熏鱼) is a New Year and wedding dish in the Zhoushan (舟山) islands. Writing for Shangguan News (上观新闻) in November 2023, Yu Yan (虞燕) recalls a family preparation commonly made with Spanish mackerel or hairtail.

Drying before frying

The mackerel is cut into slices that retain their skin. Hairtail is cut into sections about ten centimetres long and scored across the surface. The pieces are then air-dried until half dry, a stage judged by appearance and touch.

After drying, the fish is briefly seasoned with brine or soy sauce. It is fried in hot oil and turned carefully as its surface becomes golden. Yu describes the desired result as neat and glossy, crisp outside and tender within. She emphasizes that drying too far makes the fried flesh hard, while insufficient drying leaves pieces prone to breaking.

At the family table

Yu recalls the dish being relatively rare in earlier family meals because it required time, attention and a substantial amount of oil. Festive occasions justified that extra work.

The cooked pieces also become an ingredient in another family dish: Chinese cabbage stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms, carrot and soybean sprouts. In this preparation, the fried fish is mixed directly with the vegetables.