When I was a child, rural materials were scarce, but there was a Jindi River connected to the Yellow River in our hometown. During the summer and autumn, fish and shrimp swarmed in the river, which provoked everyone in the village to catch fish: fishing with nets, scooping with large scoops and carrying with bamboo baskets. All the tools available at home were used, and the harvest was often full, mostly palm-length crucian carp slices and willow fish.

After returning home, my mother will clean the internal organs of the small fish, wash them with clear water several times, then spread thick onion leaves on the bottom of the big iron pot, and then stack the fish neatly on the onion leaves like bricks. Finally, sprinkle a handful of salt, pour some vinegar, put some ginger and some pepper. Cover it with a bamboo curtain, press it with a clean stone, and add a few scoops of water, so that the water will not pass the fish. Boil it with high fire first, and then simmer it slowly with low heat.

Cooking spiced fish is usually done after dinner, when the fire boils and the water in the pot is almost dry, stop the fire, block the stove door, let the fish stew in the pot for one night, and get up the next morning, and the house is full of fish fragrance. Mother gently lifted the pot, took the stone and removed the curtain. The fish still kept its original neat appearance and exuded attractive fragrance. We gathered around the cooktop, watching mother carefully pick up the spatula to hold the fish, and brought bowls to the table. When my father gave the order, we wolfed it down. The fish is crisp, salty and fragrant, and the meat is tender. After a night of stuffy cooking, the fish bones are crisp and smooth, and the entrance is instant. We only ate our noses and sweated, and our lips and teeth were fragrant, and even the fish head was reluctant to leave.

Mother's spiced fish doesn't need to be fried, just stew it in a pot and add some ginger, salt and vinegar. Ginger can remove fishy smell and refresh, salt can activate the flavor of fish, and vinegar can make bone spurs crisp and rotten. Spiced bad fish is characterized by rich and mellow flavor, crisp bones and soft bones, delicious fish, and not greasy or fishy.

Mother is a good cook with five spices and bad fish. Spiced fish is rich in nutrition. It is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iodine, zinc, selenium and other minerals and trace elements. Regular consumption can enhance the absorption of calcium and promote physical strength. It is a good food supplement for all ages.

There is a saying in China on the Tip of the Tongue: China people's feelings for food are mostly homesickness, nostalgia and nostalgia for childhood. I miss my hometown, savoring the taste of five spices and bad fish, and the unforgettable childhood in my mind has swarmed through the cracks of the years.