River Crucian Carp

Last updated 2026-10-09 — The crucian carp, one of the "Three Flowers," also known as the Crucian Flower, is not your ordinary crucian carp—it’s the River Crucian Carp. Regular crucian carp are shuttle-shaped, at most slightly wider than a shuttle. The Crucian Flower, however, is oval-shaped, with a plump and very appealing body. Ordinary crucian carp have dull grayish-black scales that don’t catch the eye, but the Crucian Flower boasts silvery-white scales that are dazzlingly beautiful. A regular crucian carp weighing half a jin (about 250 grams) is already considered decent, and if it gets any bigger, it doesn’t taste as good. The Crucian Flower, on the other hand, can grow up to five jin (about 2.5 kilograms), and the bigger it is, the tastier it becomes. With its large size and fresh meat, the Crucian Flower can be prepared in clear soup, stewed soup, clear stew, steamed, pan-fried and braised, or red-cooked—no matter how you cook it, it’s delicious.