Chrysanthemum-style Raw Fish

Chrysanthemum-style Raw Fish

　　Shunde: Chrysanthemum-style Raw Fish

　　　　Shunde has long been a prosperous region. In their leisure time, locals enjoy skillfully cooking with local ingredients, critiquing each other’s creations, resulting in generally high culinary standards. Chefs from Shunde have moved to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and cities across Southeast Asia—hence the saying, “The best food comes from Shunde, but the best chefs come from Fengcheng.” Shunde cuisine is known for being light, fresh, refreshing, tender, and smooth. Beyond famous dishes like Stir-Fried Milk and Supreme Bone Eel, Chrysanthemum-style Raw Fish is even more representative of its distinctive style. There are also treats like Shuangpi Milk from Daliang Town and Fish Cakes from Chencun...

　　　Shunde has long been a prosperous region. In their leisure time, locals enjoy skillfully cooking with local ingredients, critiquing each other’s creations, resulting in generally high culinary standards. Shunde cuisine is an important branch of Cantonese cuisine, but unlike many classic Cantonese dishes that favor exotic mountain and seafood ingredients, or those that use unusual items with a “we’ll eat anything” approach, Shunde dishes often feature common freshwater river fish as the star, combined with various ingredients, characterized by being light, fresh, refreshing, tender, and smooth. Beyond famous dishes like Stir-Fried Milk and Supreme Bone Eel, Chrysanthemum-style Raw Fish is even more representative of its distinctive style.

　　Ingredient Selection

　　　　The choice of fish for making raw fish slices is crucial. According to experts, experienced Shunde chefs typically select “robust fish” weighing around 750 grams—perfectly fresh, tender, and smooth. After purchasing, the fish is first kept in mountain spring water and starved for a few days to “slim down,” reducing its body fat. This process results in firmer, sweeter, and cleaner-tasting fish flesh.

　　Preparation

　　1. Bloodletting

　　　　The appearance of raw fish slices is all about visual appeal—the flesh must be crystal clear and translucent to be considered top-quality. Therefore, bloodletting is extremely important and is the most “technical” part of the process. If not done properly, the flesh may appear red or too watery, greatly affecting both taste and presentation. Typically, bloodletting involves making one clean cut under the jaw and another at the tail of a live, uninjured fish, then placing it back in water. As the fish struggles and swims, the blood drains out completely, leaving snow-white, blemish-free flesh. Shunde chefs, however, have a special technique: they first grab the fish by the head, then make a cut at the tail. This keeps the fish alive but in pain, causing it to thrash wildly. The accelerated blood loss ensures the fish is thoroughly bled, resulting in pristine, beautiful flesh without any fishy aftertaste when eaten.

　　2. Slicing

　　　　After bloodletting comes slicing—the quality of the fish slices depends entirely on the chef’s knife skills. The meat from the fish’s back is removed and sliced, with an emphasis on thinness: “the thinner the slice, the less visible the bones; the thicker, the more the bones show.” A skilled chef can slice the fish as thin as 0.5 millimeters—delicate as cicada wings, crystal clear, and utterly exquisite. Generally, after slicing, the fish is placed in the freezer for a while to enhance its smooth, sweet, and refreshing texture. The serving plate is also important, usually a traditional lacquered plate or a boat-shaped dish. Ice is spread and leveled on the plate, covered with plastic wrap, and then the fish slices are arranged neatly and evenly on top—completing the Chrysanthemum-style Raw Fish.

　　Serving Style

　　　　Unlike Japanese sashimi, which is typically served with just wasabi and soy sauce to enhance the umami, Shunde raw fish comes with over ten different accompaniments—garlic slices, shredded ginger, scallions, onion strips, chili strips, soy sauce, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, bird’s eye chilies, taro strips, fried vermicelli...

　　Before eating, diners select their preferred accompaniments based on personal taste, mix them with oil, salt, sugar, and the chilled raw fish in a bowl, and then quickly eat the mixture in one bite—the cool, smooth texture of the fish instantly refreshes the palate. As you chew, the various spicy, aromatic, sour, and sweet condiments further bring out the fish’s freshness, filling your mouth with flavor and leaving a lingering aftertaste that’s simply irresistible.

　　　　Besides the raw fish, other parts can be used in countless ways: the head, tail, and bones are used to make a deliciously sweet and savory porridge; the boneless fish belly is deep-fried until crispy; the fish intestines are baked with eggs for a rich, silky taste; and the fish skin is tossed for a refreshing crunch... One fish, endless possibilities.