Fish Tea

Fish Tea

　　Everyone who has tried Fish Tea speaks highly of it, considering it truly exceptional. The preparation of Fish Tea is rather complex: first, plump freshwater live fish are cleaned and cut into chunks, then mixed with salt and marinated for one to two hours. After that, the salty water is squeezed out, and the fish is combined with cooled rice, distiller’s yeast or fried rice, stirred evenly, and then sealed in a clean jar. If the weather is hot, it can be opened and eaten after 7–10 days; if the weather is cold, it may take half a month or even a month before it’s ready to eat. Fish Tea has a sour and slightly salty taste, is fragrant and delicious, and stimulates the appetite.

　　Fish Tea tastes sweet and sour with a fragrant aroma. When eaten, it is soft yet slightly chewy, refreshing and invigorating, leaving one feeling light and clear inside. It is highly favored by both domestic and international diners. According to local Li and Miao people, they have been eating it for generations. Legend has it that long ago, after a harvest celebration banquet, to avoid wasting leftovers, someone accidentally stored leftover rice and raw fish together in a sealed jar. A few days later, they discovered the mixture had an extraordinarily delicious flavor — and thus “Fish Tea” has been passed down to this day.

　　Fish Tea contains essential mineral elements and various amino acids needed by the human body, along with rich active lactic acid bacteria, unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, and other nutrients that aid digestion and absorption. Eating “Fish Tea,” you might dislike it the first time, find it okay the second time, and become addicted by the third. “Fish Tea” is much like Beijing’s stinky tofu or Sichuan’s strange-flavor beans — it smells “foul” but tastes delicious, being both “stinky” and fragrant.

　　As a fermented flavor side dish, Fish Tea takes simplicity as its essence of deliciousness and nature as its source of taste. Gradually emerging from the deep mountains and becoming known to outsiders, it is loved by more and more people. This is a true reflection of the Li and Miao people’s ultimate philosophy of simple and unadorned cuisine.