Fish Boiled in Acidic Broth

Fish Boiled in Acidic Broth

　　"Plum blossoms in spring, pear blossoms on crabapple trees, and in summer and autumn, rice-field fish." Whenever late summer and autumn arrive in the four plains of Xiangyun County—Chengchuan, Yunnanyi, HeDian, and MiDian—you can once again delight in savoring the uniquely flavorful fish boiled in acidic broth.

　　"Rice-field fish" doesn’t refer to any one specific type of fish, but is a general term for the fish that grow in the rice paddies during summer and autumn.

　　When the rice flowers fill the air with their sweet scent, the fish also mature within the rice stalks—plump, fat, and tender, with soft bones. At this time, all you need is a colorful plastic bucket and a green bamboo sieve. Bend down through the grassy ridges, pry open an opening in the field, and as the field water drains through the sieve, the black, silver, orange, and yellowish rice-field fish leap and wriggle about in the sieve. Bring them home, rinse them clean with deep well water, then pan-fry them until both sides are golden brown. Pour in prepared boiling water over high heat—"a fierce fire to make the soup"—a technique locally called "thunder rolling in the pot." Season with yangmei (bayberry) jam simmered in earthenware pots by the Dongshan Yi people, and add locally grown shredded green chili peppers. Garnish further with chopped green onions and fine cilantro sprigs, making it irresistibly mouthwatering. Because rice-field fish can only be found in years with abundant rainfall and plentiful rice harvests, tasting them is truly a celebration of the joy of a bountiful harvest.