Dongpo Fish

Dongpo Fish

　　Su Dongpo was a food connoisseur in China’s Song Dynasty. Legend has it that one day, he asked his chef to prepare a fish dish to tempt his appetite. When the dish was served, it was steaming hot and fragrant, with knife marks on the fish resembling willow leaves. Dongpo’s appetite soared, and just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks to taste it, he noticed a shadow flash past the window — it was his good friend, Monk Fo Yin. Dongpo thought to himself: “What a food-loving monk. I won’t let you have any. Let’s see what you do.” So, he casually placed the plate of fish on the bookshelf.

　　Monk Fo Yin had actually seen it all and thought, “No matter how well you hide it, I’ll make you take it out.” Dongpo greeted Fo Yin with a smile and invited him to sit down. He asked, “Great Monk, what brings you here today instead of staying in the temple?” Fo Yin replied, “I’ve come today especially to ask you about a character.” “Which character?” “How do you write the surname ‘Su’?” Knowing that Fo Yin was well-educated and that there must be a catch, Su Dongpo pretended to answer earnestly, “The character ‘Su’ has a grass radical on top, with ‘fish’ on the left and ‘grain’ on the right underneath.” Fo Yin then asked, “What if ‘grass’ is on top, ‘grain’ is on the left, and ‘fish’ is on the right?” “It’s still pronounced ‘Su’.” “What if the fish is placed on top of the grass?” Su Dongpo quickly responded, “That won’t do.” Fo Yin burst into laughter and said, “Then take the fish down.” Only then did Su Dongpo realize that Fo Yin’s questions were all leading up to wanting that plate of five-willow fish.

　　Later, when Fo Yin heard that Su Dongpo was coming, he similarly steamed a plate of five-willow fish, thinking, “Last time you played a trick on me, now it’s my turn to challenge you.” So, he casually placed the fish inside an incense burner nearby.

　　Unexpectedly, Su Dongpo had already seen it but pretended not to know. He said, “I have a question for you: I want to write a pair of couplets, but after finishing the first line, I can’t think of a good second line.” Fo Yin asked, “What’s the first line?” Su Dongpo answered, “The first line is ‘Sunny homes enjoy everlasting spring.’” Unaware of Su Dongpo’s scheme, Fo Yin almost instantly replied, “Then the second line is ‘Virtuous families have abundant fish (余).’” Hearing this, Su Dongpo pretended to be amazed and said, “Brilliant, brilliant!” So, you have fish (余) in your ‘abundance’ (庆) incense burner (馨)! Quickly take it out and share it. Only then did Fo Yin realize he had fallen for Su Dongpo’s “trick.” But he still wanted to “tease” Su Dongpo a bit — looking over, he saw a steamed West Lake fresh fish with five knife cuts on it, and said with a smile, “It’s the five-willow fish.” Fo Yin smiled and replied, “This ‘five-willow fish’ has been ‘caught’ by you — why not call it ‘Dongpo Fish’ instead?”

　　Since then, people have also called the “five-willow fish” the “Dongpo Fish,” and the dish has gained increasing fame, continuing to be passed down to this day.

　　  Select a live carp, scale and clean it, remove the internal organs, and make five deep slashes on both sides of the fish close to the bones. Rub some salt on it. You can either pan-fry or boil it. For pan-frying (spicy stir-fried style): heat oil in a pan, fry until half-cooked, then add ginger, garlic, soy sauce, broad bean paste, a few drops of distilled liquor, mix with chopped scallions, coriander roots, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and a little sugar and vinegar. Serve hot for a delicious taste. For boiling (light and clear stewing style): place in clear water to boil, commonly known as “river water cooking river fish.” When the soup turns milky white after adding scallions, ginger, etc., add a little salt. Be careful not to add salt too early, or the soup may turn yellow. Add a little pepper before serving to enhance the flavor.